For Manchester Family, Fighting Fires Is 'Something That’s Born And Bred Into You'

MANCHESTER, NJ — Daniel Umlauf says some of his earliest memories are of being at the Whiting Fire Company's firehouse.

"That was the hub of Whiting," he said in a recent telephone interview. "It was a close-knit family. Everything went through the fire company."

Daniel, better known as Danny, is the third generation to have served in Whiting Fire Company; his father, Clement Umlauf Jr., and grandfather, Clement Sr., also served. It's a legacy carried on by his son, Daniel Jr., for a time.

"It’s just something that’s born and bred into you," he said.

His grandfather first joined the Whiting Fire Company in 1939 or 1940, not long after moving to Whiting. The fire company had just incorporated in 1937, according to the company's website.

In those early days, the fire engine was "kept in the garage at Allegrinia's Bar, located at the end of Lakewood Avenue," the fire company's history page says. The first fire station was built a little later, on Central Avenue between Manchester Boulevard and Cherry Street and was "basically a two-bay garage with no other rooms; the trucks had to be pulled out for any function."

The fire alarm back then consisted of a large metal ring that was hit with a sledgehammer to alert the members of a fire call, the fire company says.

Daniel's father, Clement Jr., better known as Clem, joined the fire company with Clement Sr. and fought fires together. Clem enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served during World War II in the South Pacific, and when his service was over, lived in Minneola, N.Y., with his wife, Marie, until 1953, when the family — including Danny and his older brothers, Kenneth and Gerald — moved to Whiting permanently.

Clem served for more than 50 years, Danny said. While he never served as chief, Clem served in another important role: Ocean County Fire coordinator. As the coordinator, he would relay requests for assistance to other fire companies, calling in other equipment and support to battle large blazes.

When age limited his ability to physically fight fires, Clem remained active with the fire company, taking on the administrative work, handling the hall rentals and other paperwork.

"He was around the fire house all the time. It was his second home," Danny said.

For the kids — not only the Umlaufs, but other well-known families of the time including the Cranmers, the Wrights and the Sloans, among others — it was a second home, too.

"If you had nothing to do you went down to the fire house," Danny said.

It was a complete family affair, as Danny's mother, Marie, was a member of the company's ladies auxiliary, which played an important support role from fundraising to making sure there was food and water available when firefighters rotated in and out from fighting a large fire.

"They would sell Easter flowers and hold bake sales" to raise money. The fundraising was — and still is — critical; it allowed the company to purchase the land at Lacey Road and Cherry Street in 1957, which gave them space to add more equipment to fight fires in the still heavily wooded township. Among the equipment was a GMC pumper tanker the company purchased in 1960.

"This truck was one of the biggest trucks on the East Coast at that time," the fire company says.

The fire company had graduated to using a siren by then to call the volunteers to service when there was a fire, the company says.

"Fires were reported by calling the homes of one of three different firemen who lived near the firehouse; they in turn would go to the firehouse and sound the siren," the company says.

The fire company "was called on for everything," Danny said. In hurricanes or other bad weather, they cleared debris and helped reopen roads. If residents' basements flooded, they pumped them out.

"We did what we had to do for all the ones who were in need," Danny said. There were good things they did. Lives saved, people rescued. But those aren't the strongest memories, he said.

"The tragedies stick with you," said Danny, who was Whiting's fire chief for 17 years. He also served with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

There are positive memories, he said. In 1995 there was a wildfire in the Pasadena section of Manchester. "I was chief then," he said.

The wind was blowing hard, driving the fire toward Whiting itself and the Windward area, Danny said.

"Then a miracle happened. The wind shifted and moved (the fire) toward Bamber Lakes," and away from what was hundreds of homes, similar to the April 2023 fire that burned nearly 4,000 acres in Manchester. In that fire, dubbed the Jimmy's Waterhole Fire, tragedy was averted in part because of a wind change but also thanks to the training and actions of firefighters in controlling it.

That's one of the biggest things that has changed through the years, Danny said. When he first volunteered, training was done by the fire company's chief. Now Ocean County has a fire academy that teaches firefighting techniques and how to handle the various equipment.

The technology has changed the course of firefighting too, with an array of equipment that not only allows faster communication but also helps firefighters see the scope of a fire to better attack it and cut it off.

"You have to get the right equipment and know what you’re doing with it," Danny said.

While Danny and his wife, Penny, raised his son, Daniel, and daughter, Anne-Marie, in Whiting and joined his father in serving at the fire company, his brothers also carried on the firefighting tradition.

Kenneth was a firefighter for 10 years, Daniel said. Gerald, better known as Jerry, volunteered for more than 50 years with the Williston Park Fire Department and Emergency Rescue Squad. Jerry's sons — Gerald "Jerry" Jr., Arthur and Kristian — have carried on the family tradition as well, serving with Williston Park. "Artie's a retired NYPD detective," Danny said, and still serves with Williston Park, while his other nephews have moved to other states.

Daniel Jr., meanwhile, served in the fire company for a couple of year before spending six years serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, between active duty and reserves, Danny said. His son now is a police officer in Lakewood.

Penny, who died in 2019, and Anne-Marie continued the tradition of serving in the ladies auxiliary, Danny said.

"It was all hands on deck," he said.

Danny, who also served as assistant fire chief and captain, along with being the fire company's secretary for a time — "that was the first thing they handed me when I was sworn in was the secretary’s badge," he said — finally stepped down from active service after more than 40 years, he said.

"It was hard but I knew that the younger guys, it was their turn," he said. "They're a good bunch of guys and they've really expanded their capabilities," with the addition of a dive team and extrication team.

He's grateful for the time he did spend, and can't imagine having done anything else.

"You see the people at their worst and you're there to help," Danny said. "That’s what was born and bred in me."

"The Umlauf family embodies the kind of legacy we’re proud to carry forward — generations of dedicated volunteers who helped shape what Whiting Fire is today," current Fire Chief Ian Engel said. "We honor our roots while operating with a forward mindset. From our newest junior members to our most seasoned veterans, our focus remains clear: develop people who make a difference when it matters most. This is what a modern volunteer fire company should look like."

The fire company answered 463 calls and logged more than 1,300 hours of service in 2024, while welcoming 13 new members. The company also has started a junior firefighter program that has 10 members so far.

The company has become a New Jersey Division of Fire Safety-certified training site, and has an Emergency Response Diving International-certified water rescue and recovery team, the fire company said.

"We are now a trusted regional resource, equipped for critical rescue and recovery," Engel said. The company is equipped with advanced gear such as drysuits, full-face communications masks, and has a boat, Boat 3316.

Whiting Fire Company is accepting membership applications; those who are interested can send an email to info@whitingfire.org.