On Dec. 23, just two days before Christmas, Gloucester County N.J. 911 Center telephone lines lit up like a Christmas tree for a reported fire at the Oak Valley Fire House in Deptford Twp. NJ.
Shortly after 8 p.m. the Wenonah and Woodbury Heights fire departments, along with Deptford's stations 9-1 and 9-2, were dispatched to Oak Valley Fire House for a building fire. Callers were reporting heavy fire showing from the front of the fire house.
Oak Valley Fire Chief 9101 was on location and reported that he had a working fire. Deptford Chief of the Department Steve Hubbs was also responding and requested a second alarm be struck, bringing five more companies from Deptford Twp. and two Fast Team companies from Mantua Twp. and Woodbury Fire Department.
Firefighters were now arriving on location and found heavy fire showing out the windows from the recreation room of the fire station. Members were able to remove the fire apparatus and most of the fire equipment, helmets, coats and SCBA from the smoke-filled apparatus room.
The Pumper was removed to the fire apron and firefighters stretched two one-and-three-quarter inch attack lines and were making an aggressive interior attack to the heavily involved recreation room.
Within minutes, firefighters from Wenonah and Woodbury Heights arrived and quickly went to work helping Oak Valley firefighters contain the fire to the recreation room.
Deptford Ladder Company 926 went to the roof to ventilate but most of the fire was knocked down.
Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to the apparatus section but the rest of the fire house received heavy smoke damage.
According to the Deptford Fire Marshal's Office, the fire seemed to be caused by an electrical problem. The fire station is still operable according to Fire Chief Steve Hubbs, who credited all of the firefighters for their quick action in saving all of the apparatus and the fire fighting gear and the rest of the building.
