Hawthorne (NJ) Approves Fire Apparatus

The Hawthorne (NJ) council voted in favor of funding a new fire engine.

Fire Chief Joseph Speranza said Fire Company 1’s engine has been out of service more this year than it has been in. It will be out of service again starting Aug. 19 for seven to 10 days for more repairs.

A bond ordinance appropriating $590,000 for a new fire engine was approved at the Aug. 21 council meeting, with Councilmen John Lane and Joseph Wojtecki abstaining because they are active firemen. The borough will now send out a proposal for bids to move forward in the process in purchasing a new engine.

Speranza said while the engine is out of service, the borough calls on help from Wyckoff and North Haledon to shadow Hawthorne if anything serious happens.

“If it’s anything serious we will call them right away expeditiously,” Speranza said. “It’s safer to call a company for help. If it’s anything minor the borough can maintain their own.”

Speranza said one of the big things with the 20-year old truck has been the engine, which has been expensive to keep it running. He said all the vehicles, three engine trucks, a ladder truck and a rescue vehicle, including their secondary vehicles go through a complete maintenance check.

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