Surf City Fire Co. receives donated siren from Marmora firefighters

The fire siren in Surf City should be up and running again in a few weeks, thanks to the Marmora Volunteer Fire Co., which has donated its old siren as a replacement. The siren is made by Federal Signal, which is the same model as the Surf City Volunteer Fire Co. and EMS’s current siren that unexpectedly stopped working a few months ago due to damage from the salt air environment.

“I'm not sure of the age, but it is in pretty good shape,” said Surf City Fire Chief Michael Wolfschmidt.

Photo via SCVFC
Surf City firefighters are in the process
of refurbishing the donated siren.

After being contacted a couple of weeks ago by Paul Hoster, a Marmora firefighter who offered the siren on behalf of the fire department in Upper Township, six Surf City firefighters traveled to the area to pick it up.

Wolfschmidt thanked Eric Tum Suden, a former longtime Surf City firefighter, for letting them borrow his truck and trailer, which “made the move much easier.”

To extend the life of the new siren, the chief said department members are working on grinding off some rust, priming the metal and repainting it. The company plans to have an electrician install the siren, which will necessitate the use of a crane to remove the old one and raise the new one.

“The Beach Haven Volunteer Fire Co. has graciously offered the use of the tower truck to use as a working platform so we can wire and install the siren,” Wolfschmidt said.

A portion of the $5,000 the Surf City Fire Co. received in public donations for the project will be used to fund the installation costs. Any remaining funds will go toward helping to maintain the siren each year.

A Surf City resident who wishes to remain anonymous donated $2,500 to help start a siren fund after Wolfscmidt made a post on the fire department’s Facebook page in May about the siren’s untimely demise. Purchasing a brand-new siren would have cost the department $15,000.

“On behalf of the fire company, we would like to give a huge thank-you to the Marmora Volunteer Fire Co. and to the generous contributors of donations,” Wolfschmidt said. “We cannot save lives, protect property and help our community without their amazing support. We are truly grateful.”

The local department normally activates the siren, which was last replaced in 2004,­­­­­­ for all fire and rescue calls, though it is not used for emergency medical calls. The siren is of critical importance for summoning firefighters to the station for urgent situations.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.