Fire Department Preps Ice For Skating In Chester (Photos)

CHESTER, NJ — Members of Chester’s Volunteer Fire Co. endured frigid wind chills at Chubb Park on Thursday to prepare the pond for the 2022 skating season.

The fire company sprayed the ice down with fire hoses to help even out the pond’s surface. Firefighters were out for about two hours in temperatures that hovered in the low 20s, said Curran Lucke, the fire company’s president.

Chief William Taquinto and other firefighters were on the scene to help make it happen, Lucke said, along with a member of the Fairmount Fire Co. from neighboring Long Valley.

Chester Township set up a special ticker on its website’s homepage to alert people when the ice is considered safe to skate on.

Skating is only allowed when the surface of the pond has frozen to minimally 4 inches in thickness, according to the township. After township volunteers check the ice, it is either marked with a green sign if it’s safe or a red one if it’s not.

“Given what the Fire Company did yesterday [Thursday] to smooth the ice, and the temperatures for the week ahead, it looks like there will be many days of skating ahead of us,” Councilman Mike Inganamort told social media followers.

Stay tuned to the township’s website at www.chestertownship.org for skating updates.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.