Firehouse Circa 1907

A number of leading citizens of Ventnor met on May 27, 1906 to discuss the need for fire protection and the general safety of its citizens. The outcome was the formation of the Ventnor City Fire Company. The city’s first fire protection consisted of 6 rented fire extinguishers; these units were placed in the homes of the initial department volunteers.

The first fire engine was purchased by the city and delivered in 1908, at the cost of $3000. It was positioned at the City Hall building located on the 6600 block of Ventnor Avenue. It was at this time that David G. Stuart, was hired as a paid driver becoming the 1st career firefighter in Ventnor. This engine, a Boyd chemical engine, responded to its first fire call on September 14, 1909. This is believed to be the first response of a motorized fire apparatus in the state of New Jersey. 

Formation and Initial Growth

On January 10, 1910 an ordinance was passed creating the Ventnor City Fire Department. This made the fire department an official city entity and it was placed under the direction of the City Commission. Many changes occurred to the department in the upcoming years. In 1912, a horse drawn ladder truck was placed in service and in January of 1915, police and fire call boxes were placed on strategic street corners. The horse drawn ladder was later converted to a gasoline engine and it continued to serve the city for many years.

 In the 1920s

A new fire station was constructed at New Haven and Winchester avenues and the previous location was demolished and a new school complex was constructed on the Ventnor Avenue site. 

A drawbridge was built connecting Ventnor and Ventnor Heights. This necessitated a 2nd fire Station in the heights. Station 2 was established in a converted Public Works garage located at Surrey & Calvert Aves by the ballfield complex. That station was replaced in the early 1970’s by a “temporary” wood framed building on Wellington Ave and a “new” state of the art station was completed on the Wellington Ave site in 2020.

A Buick ambulance was purchased and placed in service, giving the citizens of Ventnor 24-hour ambulance service for the first time. 

1930s - Today  

The department purchased mobile radios. These were the first mobile radios to be used in Atlantic County and Ventnor Fire later was issued the radio designation of 1FIRE1, which it continues to use to this day. 

On March 15, 1934 and ordinance was passed establishing a fully career fire department and David G. Stuart was named as Chief of Department. This is the same firefighter who was hired as a paid driver in 1908.

A fire prevention bureau was established by ordinance on May 16, 1963, under Fire Marshal William Rutley. The fire department continues to operate a fire investigation and an inspection bureau. 

 On December 15, 1972, the department suffered a line of duty death. Platoon 1 under the command of Captain Colt Collins, responded to 5000 Boardwalk for a reported fire. The fire had started on the 4th floor of the high-rise apartment building. Firefighter Wayland went to the fire floor with other members of his shift and while searching the fire apartment, he became separated from the other members of his team. The fire trapped him in a bedroom and he was forced to hang from a window sill to escape the fire. When the pain became unbearable, he fell, and suffered severe injuries. He was transported to the Atlantic City Hospital where he was placed on a respirator. He never regained consciousness and died on December 20, 1972 he succumbed his injuries. He was survived by his wife and son. To this day, the Ventnor Fire Department has the Kenny Wayland memorial run held on Memorial Day weekend. The new Fire Station 2 in Ventnor Heights is dedicated in his memory as have been the previous stations in Ventnor Heights.

Throughout the years the fire department has worked many schedules. The original shift was 6 days on and one day off. This was later changed to a 72-hour work week. Through the years this changed from a 56-hours work week to a 42 hour 4-days on / 4-days off schedule. The current schedule is 24 hours on-duty followed by 3-days off.

There are forty-five firefighters currently on staff. They are made up of 4 platoons led by a Captain and a Lieutenant.  The supervisory staff is the Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, a Training Officer and 2 Inspectors assigned to the Fire Prevention Division. All members of the department are certified State of New Jersey Emergency Medical Technicians.

A company called ISO (Insurance Services Office) creates ratings for fire departments and their surrounding communities. These ratings calculate how well-equipped fire departments are to put out fires in that community. The ISO scores fire departments on how they are doing against its organization’s standards to determine property insurance costs.

After analyzing the data that it collects, the ISO assigns a Public Protection Classification (PPC) on a scale from 1 to 10. The higher the ISO fire protection class (with Class 1 being the best), the “better” the department.

As of 2019, there are approximately 668 fire departments surveyed by ISO throughout New Jersey. Ventnor City is just one of 11 departments to earn a class 2 rating and there are but 2 departments in the state that are rated as PPC class 1 and 61 total in the United States.

A Class 2 ISO rating is something the City of Ventnor and the community as a whole should be very proud of. It would not be possible without the outstanding work by the men and women of the Ventnor City Fire Department and the support of our residents and elected officials.