By Michael N. Ciampo
Garfield is located in southern Bergen County, New Jersey, a few miles across the Hudson River from New York City. The city is a residential community with light industry nestled into various sections of it. It once hosted larger industrial complexes but since has downsized and become more of a residential and suburban area. The city is dotted with housing developments that host one- and two-family dwellings and also has areas where large three-story framed dwellings sit a few feet from each other. These areas can quickly escalate to multiple-alarm fires because of the proximity of the structures to one another. Garfield borders Passaic County, New Jersey to its west as a section of it sits on the eastern shoreline of the Passaic River. Often the department will run mutual aid to Passaic and Clifton because of the proximity and bridges that cross the river into these cities.
Originally organized in 1893, the Garfield (NJ) Fire Department now is a fully staffed volunteer department and operates out of five fire stations, running: three engine companies, one rescue-engine, one unique ladder truck (tiller with a tank and pump), a hazmat unit, a rescue boat, and foam tender. It covers more than two square miles and has New Jersey Route 46 ighway running through the city as well as the NJ Transit Bergen County commuter train line. Rescue-Engine Company 3 responds to all structure fires, fire alarms, motor vehicle accidents with entrapments, stalled elevator emergencies, and water rescues. It recently received its new Ferrara MVP rescue-pumper with an Igniter custom chassis and MVP cab with eight-inch raised roof, which is painted black over red on the cab and apparatus body. It is equipped with an extruded aluminum body with roll-up compartment doors that provide access to more than 600 cubic feet of compartment storage space.
The rig has reflective striping running along the lower side of the cab and running diagonally upward on the body’s first compartment then running horizontally across the remain compartment to the rear of the apparatus. Gold leaf lettering is featured on the upper section of the body stating, “Garfield Fire Rescue Engine.” Between the wording is a unique Maltese cross logo: a Boilermaker with G3 is in the center of it; the local school district logo is the Boilermakers. There are also company graphics in gold leaf on all the doors—the front doors have a company Maltese cross logo design on them, while the crew cab doors have the department’s name on them. The windows on the side of the crew cab, when rolled up, sport an American flag logo sticker on them. The front bumper sports the “Cross Town Express” slogan on it while in between the front windshield is a train logo customized to reflect the company’s logo. “Rescue 3 Engine” is also on the raised roof protective cover for the Will-Burt light tower.
The apparatus body features numerous roll-out shelves, trays, and tool boards. It has six upper body compart