New firehouse OK'd in 28-20 vote in E.B.
Crowded Rues Lane station to be replaced with new facility
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK - - A margin of just eight votes made the difference Saturday in the approval of a $6 million bond referendum for a new firehouse on Rues Lane.

The new fire station for the township's Fire District No. 1, which is served by the Old Bridge Volunteer Fire Company, was approved in a vote of 28-20. The district's operating budget meanwhile was approved 61-35 in the annual fire district elections.

Why so few people voted on the firehouse, especially when many more people voted on the budget issue, is unclear.

"I don't know if people didn't care, or if they chose not to vote [on the referendum]," said Greg Marciniak, a fire commissioner for District No. 1. "To me, if you're going to walk into the voting facility, whether it's the budget, the firehouse, the commissioners on the ballot, you should vote on all three of them, regardless of which way you vote."

The district is badly in need of the new fire station, Marciniak said. Though it has two other firehouses, on Fern Road and Pine Street, its primary and largest facility on the old Rues Lane is both lacking space and in need of replacement.

Marciniak said the department needed the new firehouse in part because the area it covers has become much more developed over the years, resulting in more calls and the need for more firefighters. In addition, government mandates have made it necessary to purchase and store more equipment, he said.

The current firehouse on Rues Lane will be demolished and replaced with an entirely new building, though the time frame for the project is not yet known.

The district can spend up to $6 million on the new firehouse, though Marciniak stressed it is unlikely to cost that much. Plans for the new building, expected to comprise about 15,000 square feet, are still being drawn up.

"I presume something may start this year," Marciniak said, noting that the district does not want to rush into construction and risk making a design mistake.

"We want to do it the right way," he said. "We want the design process thought out. We have not even picked out a general contractor yet."

The current building has multiple roof leaks, and gear racks are covered with tarps to protect equipment from the elements, he said. There is also a structural problem with the newest bay.

And with new mandates such as having decontamination equipment, the building is too small.

"You start to lose space," Marciniak said. "In a town this big, it keeps growing and growing. You need to be able to store equipment and protect it."

Like East Brunswick's other two districts, No. 1 is staffed entirely by volunteers.

The building that is being replaced is nearly 30 years old and houses a ladder truck, rescue truck, two fire engines, and jet skis needed for water rescues.

"It's really jammed up," Marciniak said.

Also planned as part of the referendum is a structure that will house the equipment while construction is ongoing. Marciniak said that structure will remain as a place to store equipment even after the new building is complete.

While he is glad it was approved, Marciniak said he is unsure why there was such a low turnout in the 28-20 approval.

"A lot of times people don't realize the election is taking place. It is [advertised] in the newspaper, and the required public notices are distributed throughout the district," he said, noting that most fire districts have the same problem of getting people out to vote.