By Michael N. Ciampo
The Wyckoff (NJ) Fire Department is located in Northwest Bergen County and considered a metropolitan suburb of New York City. It was originally home of the Lenape Indians and it is believed to be named after an Indian word meaning “high ground,” which the town is located on with views of New York, New York in the horizon. Much after the Indians, many Dutch settlers entered the area and began farming the lands. Up into the late 1980s there were still a few farms left, but now only one is still functioning. The town is home to many commuters and suburbanites. The Wyckoff Fire Department provides protection to the township out of three fire stations: Protection Fire Company 1, Community Engine Company 2, and Sicomac Engine Company 3. The department runs six engine companies, one tower ladder, a rescue company, and two chief vehicles.
Protection Fire Company 1 is home to the department’s 2010 Rescue 1/Spartan fire apparatus. The fire apparatus responds to numerous types of runs throughout the township and into neighboring communities on mutual aid as a RIT or to assist on extrications on the heavily traveled Interstate 287 or New Jersey Route 208. Both of these thorofares have put members to the test with intricate auto extrications over the years. Rescue 242 is a 2010 Spartan Gladiator aluminum extrusion cab with a tandem axle chassis and a 24-foot stainless steel Rescue 1 walk-around box. Rescue 1 was founded in 1985 and is considered a premier manufacturer of heavy rescue apparatus. P.L. Custom Body and Equipment Co., which has been manufacturing emergency vehicles since 1946, is Rescue 1’s parent company.
Rescue 242 is 42 feet long with a height of 11feet. It is painted white over red with a white, black, and red reflective stripe running along the lower side of the cab and then transferring to the midsection of the body of the apparatus. On the upper white section of the cab, a few distinct logos are attached: the unit’s logo—a design of a firefighter holding a hook and a nozzle over the number 1, in red brick design like the firehouse, with the Jaws of Life as the background—is located just behind the crew cab door, and an eagle with a ribbon in its talons with the words “Never Forget 9-11-01 DRH” is located above the chauffeur’s door. DRH represents the initials of Firefighter Dana Rey Hannon of the FDNY and the Wyckoff Fire Department, who perished at the World Trade Center.
On the rear box’s upper white section, the department’s patch is affixed; the patch is a replica of the Department’s 1904 Knott steamer being pulled by three Belgium draft horses and the date of organization, 1907. Besides beautiful gold leafing affixed to the whole vehicle, the department’s Web site is on the rear compartments of the apparatus. On the cab’s roof is a 9,000-watt light tower protected by a frame that is painted with