2023 Labor Day Issue

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.
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