2023 Labor Day Issue

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Fire Departments Celebrate 100 Years of Service 22 Story by MICHAEL DAIGLE Photos by KAREN FUCITO One hundred years ago, in 1923, the newly minted Borough of Hopatcong had about 200 residents. And a fire department. The roads were bad, the water supply—other than Lake Hopatcong—spotty. But it had a fire department. And a need for one, said Frank Steinberg, Hopatcong Fire Department’s informal historian. This was Lake Hopatcong’s resort era and surrounding the lake were many large, popular wooden hotels that, if they caught on fire, burned quickly, Steinberg said. To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Hopatcong Fire Department is hosting the 103rd Sussex County Firemen’s Association Inspection Day and Parade on October 7. The parade will step off at 1 p.m. from St. Jude Roman Catholic Church on Maxim Drive and travel River Styx Road to Hopatcong Defiance Engine Co. No. 3 at Hopatchung Road and Durban Avenue. The parade will be followed by a hose rolling competition and public celebration. The Sussex County Firemen’s Association has 26 volunteer fire department members, the first of which joined in 1920. Charter members were the departments in Hamburg, Franklin, Newton, Ogdensburg, Sussex and Branchville Hose Co. No. 1. Hopatcong joined the association in 1926. Twenty-six departments will be represented at the celebration, said Lt. Carlos Goncalves, a 12-year member of the Northwood Engine Company No. 2, the borough’s oldest fire company. He has been working since October to organize the parade. LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Labor Day 2023 “This is a great honor,” Goncalves said. “Sussex County has a tradition to hold countywide parades in honor of such events as the 75th or 100th anniversary of a department,” he added. Goncalves’ duties include lining up participating fire companies, arranging fire coverage for Hopatcong from neighboring Roxbury and putting together post-parade festivities, including a band and food trucks. Hopatcong has hosted the parade five times. The parade also honors the tradition of the volunteer firefighter, Goncalves said. Sussex County is one of the last counties in New Jersey with all-volunteer fire departments. Hopatcong Fire Chief Esad “Steve” Kucevic, a 12-year veteran of the department, said the parade is “a testament to the values of the fire department and the community.” Beyond the job of protecting the borough from the ravages of fire, Kucevic said the department’s members reflect the values of community, companionship and courage. Across Lake Hopatcong on July 29, the Mount Arlington Fire Department also celebrated its centennial with a parade down Howard Boulevard and a post-parade celebration. During the parade, Mount Arlington borough Mayor Michael Stanzilis stood shoulder to shoulder with Assistant Chief Mike D’Arco, as they recognized the dozen or so departments that rolled by during the procession. In 2024, D’Arco said he will take the helm as the fire department’s new chief, which have one-year tenures. “We are so blessed to have him,” Stanzilis said of the retired Paterson firefighter. Nick Lima, the department’s current chief, said the parade recognized the dedication of the local firefighters, volunteers and families. And it was a personally meaningful day for Lima. “I knew the anniversary was coming up, but I never thought about being chief on that day. And there I was. It was special,” he said. Mount Arlington Fire and Rescue Department President John Feinberg said the event was an opportunity to “show pride in and appreciation for the department’s members.” The Hopatcong and Mount Arlington departments share similar histories, said Feinberg and Steinberg. In the 1920s, both lake towns were, tiny is not the word, more like vacant. Mount Arlington had 213 residents in 1920 and had suffered a loss of about 30 residents from the year before, the U.S. Census reported. Hopatcong, meanwhile, recorded 179 residents in 1920. What both towns had, both men said, were hotels and a burgeoning temporary summer population intent on fun and relaxation. “These were big hotels with wooden hollowwall construction,” Steinberg said. “Once they caught fire, they kept going.” Mount Arlington also had numerous wooden ice houses dotting the shore, adding to fire concerns, according to a department history provided by Feinberg. And no fire departments, until in both towns a few residents saw the need to organize them. These were the “summer workers,” and in both towns they were joined in creating fire departments by what few year-round residents lived there, Steinberg said. This was Lake Hopatcong’s heyday, a glamorous splash before the lake region settled into the thriving residential and recreational community of today. Attracted by the fresh air and lake life, the wellto-do occupied hotels and waterfront villas. Some also built fabulous cottages, like actress Lotta Crabtree, whose Mount Arlington home still draws admiration. And comedian Joe Cook, whose Sleepless Hollow compound in Hopatcong was
Left to right: Hopatcong Fire Chief Esad “Steve” Kucevic places a wreath at this year’s Memorial Day ceremony. Mount Arlington’s 1939 Ahrens-Fox pumper truck leads the department’s anniversary parade in July. Mount Arlington Mayor Mike Stanzilis and Assistant Chief Mike D’Arco greet parade attendees. Members of the Hopatcong volunteer fire and rescue department gather before Memorial Day ceremonies in May. legendary and still dominates Davis Cove today. Historian Marty Kane, writing in the Lake Hopatcong News in 2022, said, “From the 1880s to the 1930s, Lake Hopatcong was a major northeast resort with hotels of all sizes operating on its shores. During the 1925 season alone, there were some 36 locales, ranging in size from 10 to 250 rooms.” The most famous hotel was the Hotel Breslin in Mount Arlington, Kane wrote in 2008. “The Hotel Breslin was the single most important factor in Lake Hopatcong’s growth as a major northeastern resort. The hotel’s construction gave Lake Hopatcong instant credibility.” In 1948, after its career as a major hotel had passed, it burned during reconstruction. In the history of the Mount Arlington Fire Department Feinberg provided, the department historian wrote: “Mt. Arlington’s firefighters were called to battle a blaze at the former Breslin Hotel, which was undergoing renovations, fighting the enormous fire for 5 days during which the Ahrens- Fox pumper continuously pumped water from Lake Hopatcong to quench the fire.” Feinberg said that the 1939 Ahrens-Fox is one of 21 such pumpers in the United States. It was shipped to Mount Arlington from Ohio on the Lackawanna railroad, he said. It was featured in the 100th anniversary parade. The lake resort also brought day-trippers, trolley riders to Bertrand Island Amusement Park and others whose campsites later evolved into homes and a more permanent population. By 1960, Mount Arlington reached a population of 1,246. Today, it has 5,900 residents. Hopatcong reached 1,173 residents in 1950. Today, it has nearly 15,000 residents. Steinberg, a past Hopatcong fire chief, is also the borough’s deputy fire marshal. The first fire company in Hopatcong was formed in 1923, he said. It was Hopatcong Fire Department No. 1, located near the center of town. This was a forward-thinking move for a borough that had only officially become Hopatcong in 1922, the year that residents in the Byram Cove and Northwood sections of the borough voted to leave Byram Township and join Hopatcong, which since 1898 had been known as Brooklyn Borough. The trouble at the time were the roads, Steinberg said. Hopatcong had few good ones, and there were no winter roads, which made for slowed response times, he said. Sometimes the Hopatcong fire department traveled around the lake, through Mount Arlington to get to a Hopatcong fire in Northwood. Roads were a problem that persisted, Steinberg said. “The borough didn’t get real roads until the 1950s and 1960s,” he said. The demands of more than 1,000 residents had to be met. “There was also no central source of water,” he recalled. The department used the lake and wells, as needed. Facing such issues, in 1926, the Northwood Engine Company No. 2 was formed, providing fire service in what had been a difficult-toreach section of the borough. Then the department history got complicated, Steinberg said. Fred Modick, who was mayor for 37 years and a fire chief for 28, decided to form a third fire company that would be placed in the “center” of the borough, though it is located in the southern portion, he said. The company was named Defiance Engine Co. No. 3 because it was formed in “defiance” of the majority of the department members’ wishes, Steinberg said. Over time, the original Hopatcong Fire Department No. 1 withered and became inactive. When a new department was created in 1953 in response to the rapid conversion of summer cottages into year-round homes, it was called Hopatcong Hills Fire and Rescue Co. No. 4. The result of Modick’s determination, Steinberg said, is that Hopatcong has no “fire company No. 1” but has a fire company number “4” even though there are only three fire houses. One persistent issue is finding a water source in the Hills section of the borough, which relies on wells. Hopatcong, like the other lake towns, sits on hard rock hills and, at times, he said, there is not enough water to fight a fire. The firefighters get creative, he said, and once emptied a swimming pool. “They refilled it,” he added. In 1924, Steinberg said, the department purchased an American LaFrance fire engine. The apparatus is still proudly maintained. It will be featured in the 100th anniversary parade, he said. Feinberg said Mount Arlington has 50 fire volunteer firefighters and operates two fire houses, one on Howard Boulevard and the other in the Lake Rogerene section. Hopatcong firefighters are also volunteers. Going forward, Kucevic said, the department will continue to seek ways to draw new recruits. With an aging population and members and potential members working out of town, “retention of members is an issue,” he said. “People retire, take a new job out of town or move, you know, to like Texas.” Still the department has a steady roster of 55 members and getting sufficient firefighters to a fire has not been a problem, he said. Hopatcong firefighters are volunteers, but it can take an average of three years to qualify for service, he said. Training costs can average $8,000, state reports said. New Jersey requires a minimum 110 hours of training. There are a few reimbursement or award programs designed to offer tuition reimbursement or some stipend after retirement. The state’s Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) offers some retirement funding based on the amount of time on the job, Kucevic said. In 100 years, the equipment has gotten better, the roads have improved and modern building codes have resulted in safer, more fireresistant buildings. But what hasn’t changed in that time is the willingness of Hopatcong and Mount Arlington residents to stand ready to save a structure, save lives as members of fire and rescue departments. Volunteers then, volunteers now. “It’s about pride of service,” Kucevic said. Left to right: Lt. Carlos Goncalves from Northwood Engine Co. No. 2 in Hopatcong at this year’s Memorial Day ceremony. Members of the Mount Arlington volunteer fire and rescue department walk past the station during the July anniversary parade. lakehopatcongnews.com 23
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2023 Labor Day Issue

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