Holidays are no different than any other day for volunteer and career first responders.  Volunteers leave their homes and families at all times of the day and night to answer calls.  Career firefighters leave their homes and families in the early morning hours to report to the firehouse for a 24-hour tour.  They spend holidays with their “second family,” at “the house.”  

On Christmas morning, volunteer and career firefighters joined forces to battle a dwelling fire in Ridgefield Park.  Overheard comments included: “My kid is going crazy.”  “I was just getting the food out.”  “I'm getting too old for this!”  

More recently, volunteer and career firefighters responded to a fire racing through a Bogota apartment building on Super Bowl Sunday.  Not an official holiday, but many people prepare plans for parties while watching the biggest sporting event of the year.  Firehouse parties included.

Four alarms of fire companies operated at this incident plus EMS, OEM and volunteer rehab personnel. The fire was declared under control at 5:05 p.m., before the game started, but many plans were altered.  Local firefighters posted a fire watch at the building and fire companies reported back to the scene for a flare up of flames during game time.  

On St. Valentine's Day, plans were again altered for many volunteer and career firefighters. Two townhouses were quickly consumed by flames on a cold and windy morning in Leonia.  

As master streams started to knock down  visible flames, fire also traveled through open spaces in the structures.  A collapse zone was established and portions of the roof and walls did come down.  Firefighters operated at scene until the early evening hours and a demolition crew showed up to take the remains of the structures down.  

A few ladies got their flowers late on St. valentine's Day!

Of course, the victims of these fires were devastated.  They lost all of their belongings.  

Folks and organizations in those communities have gotten together collecting donations for the victims.  That included such items as clothing, gift cards and pet food.  The American Red Cross has also assisted the displaced residents from the Ridgefield Park dwelling, some 60 displaced Bogota residents and ten displaced families in Leonia.