history

History

On April 20, 1920, at a regular meeting of the City Council under the direction of Mayor Crissy,
the Somers Point Volunteer Fire Company #2 was duly approved and organized. The first
meeting of the Company was held and officers were elected. Farrest L. Conover was elected
Treasurer and, at a later date, also assimilated the duties of Secretary.. He remained in these
positions until his death in 1982.

The Company meetings at this time were held on the second floor of Old City hall where the
Council Chambers and Municipal Court were located.

The first piece of fire equipment appropriated was a Model T Ford Pumper, which was
purchased by the city and housed in City Hall.

On April 25, 1949, two building lots were purchased from the City at a cost of $50 and, in the
same year, the original building was constructed by the members and by the various local
tradesmen who donated their labor for the project. The building was added to twice and was
renovated several times before the idea of a major addition was decided upon.

When a split with the City of Somers Point came in 1981, it seemed as though we were
destined to stay in the old building forever, but then in 1986, we were returned to active status
in the City and the idea of expansion once again came to the forefront.

In 1990, under the direction of the late Chief Joseph Cottrell, a Committee was formed to look
into financing for a major addition to our building. We were put in touch with the Farmers Home
Administration and Mr. Stephen Bereznai took us under his guidance to start the lengthy
process toward a low interest loan. After several project changes and a good deal of
paperwork, we were ready to begin. With the cooperation of the City Council and the Building
Dept., the project moved closer to reality each day.

Finally; on November 24, 1991, a groundbreaking ceremony took place, bringing our dreams to
reality. The construction of a new three-bay engine room and the renovation of the facade of
our old building began soon thereafter. Time was of the essence as we were anticipating the
arrival of a new Grumman Pumper and had no place to house it. With the cooperation of our
neighbor, this problem was overcome with temporary facilities provided for the new truck. In
May 1992, we were able to move our apparatus into the new engine room and thus began the
renovation of our old engine room into our new rec room. With the help of several of our
members who worked diligently on this project, our new room was recently completed bringing
us to this a Dedication and Housing on Saturday, June 11, 1994.

We would like to thank everyone for their support and we are glad we are able to provide an
improved level of fire safety to the citizens of Somers Point.

Somers Point Fire Department
Station 2