Brigantine Fire Department

Brigantine Fire Department has spent nearly a century protecting all who live on and love this barrier island.

text by Kristen Dowd

Nearly 200 years after Benjamin Franklin founded the first volunteer fire company in nearby Philadelphia, the Brigantine Fire Department was established to protect the families, homes and businesses of this seaside resort.

Since that small start in 1926 as a company of four firefighters supported by a volunteer auxiliary, the department has worked to keep pace with the island's growing population and popularity with visitors.

"Brigantine has gone from a nice small town to now - the island is just constantly growing," Fire Chief Paul Fuller said. "Our department has been growing to try to match that over the years.”

Paul has been with the department since 2003 and sworn in as chief in October 2022, although he set his sights on joining the fire department years earlier. In fact, while growing up in Brigantine, a career assessment test in high school determined Paul should become a fireman.

"It was something I was interested in, probably like every kid," Paul reflected. It was when he moved home after graduating from college that Paul decided to become part of the Brigantine Fire Department, and he's been climbing the ranks ever since.

"With every promotion in our department, you get a little more responsibility. Finally being at the top, it's at a point where I can try to make it better than how I found it," Paul said. "The fire service is super rich in tradition, which we don't want to forget or lose, but at the same, we want to match how the world is evolving and changing."

YEARS OF GROWTH

Now just a few years shy of its 100th anniversary, Paul has dedicated a fair amount of time to piecing together a history of the fire department. This has amounted to many hours at City Hall, combing through historic documents and minutes from past council meetings.

"I'm trying to nail down good, solid detail," Paul said.

In 1926, there were about 500 residents on the island, and for a long while they were protected by that initial team of four firefighters and a volunteer auxiliary. It was after World War II ended that Brigantine - and the fire department - began to grow.

"The island was really seeing its first super growth," Paul explained, "and started increasing its number of firemen."

By the early 1970s, the department numbered four platoons, each with five men. The platoons grew to six men in 1977, and the department also had two engines and an ambulance. ("I found a picture of a station wagon Cadillac ‘ambulance' from before we had an ambulance," Paul recalled.) In the 1980s, all firefighters became certified as EMTs, too.

"The Brigantine Fire Department is currently manned by four platoons with eight men apiece," Paul said, adding that his position and a fire official with the fire prevention bureau round out the team. Each shift has one lieutenant and one captain, with the job of supervising the platoon.

As far as vehicles, the department is now home to two engines, a ladder and three ambulances. There is the fire prevention bureau, which is responsible for commercial and residential inspections, and the Brigantine Fire Department also mans a dive team to help during emergencies throughout Atlantic County.

While safety is its number one priority, community engagement is a close second. In fact, the two really go hand-in-hand, according to Paul.

"We wouldn't be able to do what we do without the help from the town, the residents and the businesses here." he said. "They help us complete our mission."

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

"One of the first parts of fire extinguishment is preventing fires from happening," Paul explained. "Teaching people how to prevent fires is the best way to do this, so that's crucial." With a population influx in the summer, the Brigantine Fire Department works with both local groups - schools and businesses among them - as well as visitors and summer residents from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Fire prevention week in the fall brings the firefighters into the schools, teaching children about smoke detectors and fire escape plans. There are community CPR events and blood pressure screenings every month at the community center, too, which is a big draw for senior citizens.

Building this rapport and having a presence in the community is important, according to Paul.

"We're here for the people. We're here for the citizens. Whatever we can do to help them and make their lives easier, that's what we're here for," Paul said.

The Brigantine Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 2657 complement this community engagement by bringing Santa Claus around town on a firetruck in December, running the annual Brigantine Surf Jam for kids in August, and hosting a golf tournament to benefit the Burn Foundation for more than three decades.

"All the guys have done different things with the union for the community and the town," Paul said, "on top of all the other daily routine stuff."

As a barrier island, water safety, naturally, is a huge component. The department promotes water safety on social media, including if the lifeguards are running lessons. It's important to take advantage and publicize services other groups are offering Brigantine, Paul said. Maintaining working relationships with these groups is crucial.

"With every call, all of the emergency departments will work together to accomplish whatever the mission is," he said. "We work well together."