The Raritan Township Fire Company is raising funds to restore its gear and station after the remnants of Hurricane Ida deluged the building with flooding and water damage, rendering it uninhabitable for a few months.
The storm inflicted damage on the whole station, including the firefighters’ wooden gear lockers, walls, kitchen, generator, bay doors, and other pieces of equipment, said Chief Keith Paradiso.
The kitchen was recently upgraded and will need to be replaced, along with the other gear, he said. It will be an ongoing process to assess what needs to be repaired or fully replaced. And the station itself is not currently operational, he said.
“We are hoping to (have a) modified return this year, hopefully November, but there is still some work to determine that,” he said.
The fire trucks were safely removed before it was too late to move them, Paradiso said.
Judy Sterling, a township resident who was helped by the fire department during the flooding on Sept. 1, launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the station.
“Most everything had to be thrown out,” she said of the station’s aftermath. “The guys lost a lot of their personal gear.”
Although the campaign is set at $50,000, Sterling said the firefighters will be happy with any amount they receive. More than $3,900 has been raised so far. People can also donate directly to the fire station.
Paradiso said the fire company had about 100 calls and 20 water rescues from the evening of the storm’s arrival to 10 p.m. the next night. During the storm, they also had to shut down their Station 2 on Old Clinton Road because it had water at the doors, he said.
“We were forced out of the station early on due to extreme flooding and we adapted to help the township residents in need,” he said. “I cannot speak highly enough of our members, the rescue squad, (and) police department for all the efforts that evening.”
Sterling said the sooner the fire company is back in their building, the better it is for the community.
“They’re real important to everybody in the community and we just need to get them back up and running as soon as possible,” Sterling said.
Brianna Kudisch may be reached at [email protected].
©2021 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
