South Brunswick’s 3 Fire Districts Form Joint Response Crew

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — South Brunswick’s three fire districts have formed a joint daytime response crew, fire chief Scott Smith announced.

The crew has been formed through a shared services agreement.

Since April 1, a crew of four firefighters has been manning one of the fire stations within the township Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition to providing much quicker response times during the day, this agreement will also result in achieving financial efficiencies as well, Scott said.

Discussions for a daytime fire protection crew began back in May of 2023 between representatives of the three Boards of Fire Commissioners, as well as the Chief Officers of the Kendall Park, Monmouth Junction and Kingston Volunteer Fire Departments.

Over 11 months, discussions continued and officials decided to pursue a shared services agreement to establish a crew, with each fire district splitting the cost equally.

The four-person crew rotates the stations they are based out of each day and provides the ability to respond to emergencies immediately upon dispatch of an incident. The three volunteer fire departments will continue to be dispatched for all calls within their respective response districts, supplemented by the joint crew on weekdays.

Organized fire protection in South Brunswick began in 1924 with the creation of the Kingston and Monmouth Junction Volunteer Fire Departments, which are celebrating their 100th anniversaries this year.

The Kendall Park Volunteer Fire Company was established in 1967.

The three fire departments have a combined 257 years of service.

In 1978, the township moved to the fire district concept with the creation of three separate fire districts, each with its own elected five-member Board of Fire Commissioners. The Commissioners are responsible for providing fire protection to the residents and businesses of their respective districts.

Fire protection is funded through the levy of a fire tax on all property owners within their respective fire districts, which is paid as part of the township property tax.

Prior to the creation of the fire districts, funding for fire protection came through fundraisers run by the local volunteer fire departments, along with a small spend provided by the town council.

Nationwide, volunteer firefighters compose 65 percent of the more than 1 million firefighters, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council.

But like most departments across the country, all three local departments are experiencing a drop in membership, with the availability of volunteers to respond to calls during weekdays being the lowest.

The volunteer fire departments are always looking for new members, and residents are encouraged to visit their local fire station to inquire about joining. Residents can also contact the departments at the following phone numbers or email addresses:

• Kendall Park: 732-297-0388 or joinkpvfc@sbfd1.org
• Monmouth Junction: 732-329-2001 or volunteer@mjvfd.com
• Kingston: 609-924-1181 or NewMembership@KingstonFireCo.com

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