About

The Essex Fells Fire Department is an all-volunteer department that has served the people of Essex Fells continuously since 1903, Our members are your neighbors, and we have a long tradition of service in the community,. both as first responders and through our leadership of the annual Memorial Day Picnic, open space clean-up days, fire safety education for our children, and a number of other services.

Our membership of over 40 trained, active firefighters responds whenever they are available to a wide variety of calls for assistance, including fires, smoke and CO alarm activation, motor vehicle accidents, downed power lines, flooded basements, rescues (including a cat in a tree in 2017), and other service calls. We also provide support to our neighboring towns' fire departments whenever we receive the call for aid.

We are devoted to providing the best possible protection and assistance to the people of Essex Fells. We dedicate thousands of hours each year to training and equipment maintenance so that we are ready to respond in the most professional manner possible, each and every time we are called into action.

Ask a firefighter

What type of Fire Department does Essex Fells have?

We are an all-volunteer Fire Department, which means that no one on the department receives a paycheck for the hours we put in to be trained, maintain the town's equipment and facilities, and respond to calls,

Is there always someone in the firehouse?

The firehouse (at 255 Roseland Avenue) is not continuously manned with personnel. When a call for the fire department goes out, we leave our houses, school, or places of business and head to the firehouse, where we don our gear and respond to the location of the call.

How do I contact the Fire Department?

In an emergency, call 911. To reach the fire officers (Chief/Captain/Lieutenants), call 973-228-8589.  If we happen to be at the firehouse when you call, we will gladly pick up the phone; in most cases, however, it may be a few days before we collect your voicemail and are able to get back to you.  You can also use the form below, or send an email to us at info@essexfellsfire.org. 

How often should I change the batteries in my smoke and/or carbon monoxide (CO) detector?

A good rule of thumb is that when it's time to change the clocks, it's time to change your alarm batteries - and to check their dates to make sure they aren't past their manufacturer's recommended replacement age.  A common reason for CO detector alarms is that the detector is past its manufacturer-recommended useful age, which is usually in the range of 5 years.

Are most of your calls false alarms?

No. We treat every call for the fire department as a true emergency until we have determined the source of the issue.  While some calls (fortunately) do turn out to be false alarms, many more are due to hazardous conditions that might have grown far more severe had the hazard not been detected and proactively managed by our experienced crew.

Have a question of your own? 

Submit it here - we'll do our best to get back to you directly, and if your question is good enough, we may even post it on this page as well.

donate

The Essex Fells Fire Volunteer Fire Company is the charitable organization that raises funds to support the charitable activities of the members of the Essex Fells Fire Department.  Your support is most welcome, and very much appreciated.

Please click the button below to donate via credit card on PayPal, or mail a check made out to the Essex Fells Fire Company, 255 Roseland Avenue, Essex Fells, NJ 07021.