Madison Fire Chief Hopes To Increase Career, Volunteer Staffing

MADISON, NJ — The Madison Fire Department responded to more than 1,000 calls for service in 2020 — a figure consistent with past years. But the department has operated with fewer firefighters than usual, according to Madison's fire chief.

Madison has both career — meaning, professional — and volunteer firefighters. Three career firefighters have retired since January 2020, and borough officials have replaced one.

Like other towns, the Madison Fire Department also faces challenges with finding enough volunteers, according to Chief Lou DeRosa. Recruiting voluntee firefighters has been difficult for departments across the board because of the coronavirus pandemic, he says.

The agency has nine volunteers with the training required to perform actions inside buildings.

Madison has eight volunteers who can help with operations outside of buildings but will require additional training and experience to do more. That can take a few years from when someone signs up to volunteer.

"Our call volume has pretty much stayed the same. Requests for services from citizens of Madison have stayed the same. But the people that deliver that service — that number just isn’t there. When you’re a small group of 14, being down two really hurts."

The Madison Fire Department responded last year to 724 fire calls and 369 medical calls. Fire calls also include issues such as gas leaks, fire-alarm activation and suspicious smells.

Close to 35 Morris County towns solely rely on volunteer firefighters, according to Madison spokesperson Michael Pellessier. Officials feel that puts the fire department in a strong position to respond to emergencies.

"Residents health and safety is our top priority," Pellessier told Patch via email, "and with the combination paid/career and volunteer department, we feel that we are ahead of the 35 other towns in Morris County who solely rely on volunteers to respond to community needs."

This is the time of year municipalities begin planning annual budgets. Borough officials expect the fire department's budget to exceed $2.69 million for 2021. Only two departments exceeded that mark: the police department at $6.67 million and public works at $4.42 million.

Madison also finalized a $1 million commitment to purchase a new rescue/pumper truck, Pellessier said.

The fire department's appropriations totaled $2.74 million for 2020. But borough officials feel confident in their financial support for the fire department.

"That (2021 appropriations) figure does not include expenses for the Public Safety Building or capital expenses for their trucks and equipment," Pellessier said. "By comparison, Chatham Borough budgeted $208,000 and Parsippany budgeted $415,508 for their Fire Departments in 2020."

But the borough and fire department both encourage people to sign up and volunteer. Click here to find out more about volunteering throughout Madison.

Madison Borough Council will next meet at 8 p.m. Monday. Find more meeting information here.

Read Pellessier's full statement below:

"Unlike close to 35 other towns in Morris County who solely rely on volunteer firefighters, Madison, along with three other towns in the county, provide paid/career 24/7 fire protection, as well as volunteers.

"For example, the Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Fire Districts, which service roughly 53,000 residents over a land area of 23 square miles, is completely serviced by volunteers. Madison has far less residents (16,000) and land area (4 square miles), yet we have paid/career firefighters at the ready 24/7/365 at our public safety complex.

"Just for the Fire Department alone, the annual operating budget is expected to exceed $2.6 million for 2021, the third highest department appropriation behind police and public works. That figure does not include expenses for the Public Safety Building or capital expenses for their trucks and equipment. By comparison, Chatham Borough budgeted $208,000 and Parsippany budgeted $415,508 for their Fire Departments in 2020. (More information can be found on slide 13 of the February 8, 2021 Budget Presentation PowerPoint here.)

"In addition to the department appropriations, in 2020 we finalized the $1,000,000.00 commitment to purchase a brand new rescue/pumper truck. In 2020 the fire department also took delivery of their new 20’ trailer, which was customized to hold equipment necessary for trench and confined space rescue. This trailer is used when MFD is called for trench rescue, in addition to mutual aid as part of a trench rescue group within Morris County.

"Residents health and safety is our top priority, and with the combination paid/career and volunteer department, we feel that we are ahead of the 35 other towns in Morris County who solely rely on volunteers to respond to community needs.

"Volunteers are always welcome. If you or someone you know are interested in becoming a Madison Volunteer Firefighter, please visit www.volunteermadisonnj.org."

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