125 Years Of Service: Chatham Fire Department Plans Celebration

CHATHAM, NJ — George Sweetin, a member of the Chatham Borough Volunteer Fire Department, addressed the borough council last week and provided an update on the fire department's 125th anniversary celebration.

Sweetin unveiled the special banners made for the anniversary in front of the council, saying that the department hopes to hang them all around town on lampposts, as well as on a few empty poles at the train station.

"After it's all said and done, I would like to use them for recruitment for the fire department," Sweetin said.

In honor of the occasion, Sweetin said the department will hold an open house on May 6 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be live music, food trucks, an ice cream truck and a beer garden at the event.

"We'd like to show our appreciation for what all the residents have done over the past 125 years for us and at the same time, put a little feather in our hats," Sweetin said.

Chatham Borough Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz agreed that the celebration was important for Chatham and that the council would support whatever the fire department wanted for a celebration.

"I don't think there would be any electives here that would say no to any of that, so that's an absolute yes," Kobylarz said.

The Chatham Borough Fire Department was founded in 1898, and it was split into two companies, each with a membership of only twenty people.

As time passed, the department began several community service projects and recreation events that borough residents still enjoy today. Events included the annual fishing derby, Christmas tree pick-up, and, of course, the Fourth of July parade.

The annual Fourth of July parade and fireworks event is one of the most cherished in the borough, and Sweetin anticipates this year will be even grander.

"On the Fourth of July we are going to do a little extra with the fireworks at the end of the day, and we are trying to get a couple more fire departments to participate in the parade, as well as bands… It's a work in progress," Sweetin said.

The fire department's original quarters were in the Ryerson Building on South Passaic Avenue, near the parking lot in front of the old Post Office. In 1996, the borough council authorized the construction of an addition to the fire station, which is now located on Fire House Plaza, just off Main Street.

The firehouse currently has five bays, a commons room that is frequently used for community events, a kitchen, a conference room, three offices and a member's area.