Ventnor City Fire Department

Dial (609)823-7942 for non-emergency use

Ventnor City is a 1.75 square mile community with a year round population of 13,000 increasing to about 25,000 in the summer months. The city consists of both residential and commercial properties. Nine of these properties are from 5 to 20 stories tall. This is a large number of high-rises in the small geographic area, which requires additional resources for fire protection.

The Ventnor City Fire Department was founded in 1906 as a 6 member volunteer department and went to a fully paid department in 1934. Ventnor City is cut in half by an inter-coastal waterway and there is only one city road that crosses it. This road contains a drawbridge to allow boaters to use the inter-coastal. Because of this bridge, a second fire station had to be built and staffed on the Ventnor Heights side.

The Department is a civil service department and is under the command of Chief of Department Daniel J. Cahill. The VCFD has 44 sworn personnel including the Chief. Of the 44 personnel, three are staff personnel consisting of the Chief, one full-time Inspector and one Training Officer/Inspector. In 2002, the VCFD responded to 2,487 calls. Medical emergencies accounted for 1,595 of these runs. The on-duty shift runs from two stations with two engines, a tillered truck and ambulance. The minimum number of personnel on duty is seven.

The four department platoons work on a 'FOUR ON - FOUR OFF' shift. This consists of two ten-hour days followed by two 14-hour nights. Change of shifts is at 0800 and 1800 hours. Salaries for firefighters range from $24,180 to $55,881. Starting salary to top salary takes six years. Approximately two thirds of the personnel reside in the city of Ventnor City with 4 more within one half mile.

Ventnor City Fire Department responds to all medical emergencies in the city. Ninety-five percent of the personnel are EMT and defibrillator certified. Ambulance #1 handles all first and mutual aid calls. Ambulance #2 responds to third medical emergency calls. With the continued increase in calls for service, this is being done more often. Off duty personnel are called when needed by a coded alpha-numeric paging system. In 1998, VCFD equipped its first engine with a five inch supply line, allowing larger volumes of water over a greater distance. The department continues to house and man, along with three police personnel, the City's water rescue boat with certified underwater divers.

Fire Station #2 was built in 1972 and moved from Surrey and Calvert Avenues to Little Rock and Wellington Avenues.

The year 200 saw the department take delivery of it second thermal imaging camera. Ventnor was the first area department - and one of the first in the state - to acquire a camera in 1998. This allows one camera to be housed on both sides of the bridge.

The cameras aid in search and rescue along with determining hotspots after the main body of the fire has been extinguished. This camera was provided from the State at no cost to the citizens. This makes the entire department feel better after the State audit applied outdated data to recommend a cut in personnel when they performed an audit in the city, and then failed to appear for the public presentation.

Learn more about Thermal Imaging Cameras

The Department also switched to an 800 MGH radio system. This allows for better operation of department radios and increases the safety of both personnel and citizens.

The Ventnor City Fire Department has become a state certified training center. This allows new recruits to become certified in-house with a limited amount of time spent away from the city. For the first time in the history of the VCFD, there is a departmental training officer on staff.

In 2001, the Department received two Federal FEMA grants. Ventnor City was the only department in the state to receive two grants. The grants amounted to over $50,000 and the money was used to upgrade uniforms and equipment.

The VCFD along with CHANNEL 6 WPVI, continues to maintain its Smoke Detector Program for elderly and needy citizens. Smoke detectors are supplied and installed free of charge by the firefighters of the Department. To obtain a detector or for further information, you may call the Department at 823-7942

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