As we approach the upcoming fire district elections and budget approval, sometimes confusing or misleading things are said in the heat of the election. Therefore, we want to assure the community that we are a first-rate fire company responding to the needs of the community we have proudly served for over 50 years. In 2020, your volunteers responded to over 220 calls, with an average response time under 5 minutes, expending close to 1400 person hours of service ranging from burnt toast, house fires, motor vehicle accidents with entrapment, technical rescue, hazardous materials, mutual aid throughout the state, just to mention a couple. A lot goes into preparing to respond to whatever type of call we receive and we spend even more time maintaining our equipment and facilities, training as well as providing other types of community service.
The budget that we need to operate, supports our efforts to provide fire and rescue suppression services for those that reside, work or visit the township of Marlboro.
We, like volunteer fire companies across the nation, are finding it increasingly more difficult to recruit new members. Over the past year, we added 3 new, fully qualified members which is not enough to sustain us over the longer term with members leaving the company for college, relocating, etc. We want you to know that the Company is taking steps to address this. Unfortunately in 2020 and into 2021, it is increasingly more difficult than in the past. We would organize and/or attend many public events, but due to COVID-19 most if not all of those events were cancelled in 2020 and postponed in 2021. We are hoping to have National night out in August, Open House in October, Marlboro Day in September, just to name a couple. We have been trying to recruit members and successfully re-introduced our junior program in the late Fall. This program provides an opportunity to learn about the fire service and is open to anyone between the ages of 16 and 18. Juniors are permitted to respond to certain calls and perform limited activities, but again due to virtual learning, our in school recruitment drives have been suspended. We have had many of our long term members join in that capacity and many years later, continue to volunteer their time. The Company has also established a committee to come up with ideas for recruiting new members. Don’t be surprised to see an upcoming campaign. If you or someone you know would like to find out more, message us on this page.
Lastly, please come out and support the Fire District Budget on Tuesday April 20th between 2:00 and 9:00 pm. At our station Robertsville Volunteer Fire Co, #1, 94 Route 520, or send in your mail in ballot and say YES!!
Here is a quick breakdown on where the proposed budget would go, as it stands your assessment by $1 per 100,000 of assessed value. In other words, a home assessed at $500,000 will see an increase of ONLY $5.00
The largest expenses are Water Rental fees (Hydrant Maintenance and Standby water), Insurance/Debt Service, Firefighting Safety Equipment & supporting the Volunteer Training and Development.
If you have any questions directly regarding the budget, please contact Board of Fire Commissioners District #2 Chair, Mike Rein, MRein@MTFD2.org
If you have any questions regarding volunteering, reach out to Robertsville Volunteer Fire Co. #1, Chief , Keith Badler , KBadler@RobertsvilleFire.org
Fire District #2 Coverage Area:
