N.J. FD receives $1.5M grant for firehouse renovations

The Press of Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Fire House No. 2 is more than a century old. To help firefighters in that station continue to do their jobs effectively, it will receive a much-needed interior facelift to complement an ongoing exterior restoration.

“Once again, the Small administration, through Jim Rutala (the city’s grants consultant), is spending other people’s money and doing great things with it,” Mayor Marty Small Sr said Wednesday during a news conference to announce $1.5 million in grant funding for the project.

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Of the $1.5 million, $750,000 is coming from the New Jersey Historic Trust, while the other half was provided by the National Park Service’s African American Civil Rights grant.

Small said the same sources provided the funds for the exterior work.

“Agencies at the state and federal level give people money when they know they have the capacity to complete the projects and do a great job,” Small said.

The brick building at Indiana and Baltic avenues opened in a time of horse-drawn fire wagons. The firehouse serves the city’s west side and downtown neighborhoods and is also home to the department’s special operations and training units.

The renovations will allow for new technology to be brought in, therefore improving the training classes along with the building’s efficiency, Fire Chief Scott Evans said.

“Whether it’s a driving simulator or a community control simulator, we’ll have the ability to install equipment to take this building into the next century,” Evans said. “We’re not only going to be able to protect the citizens, but we’ll be able to provide state-of-the-art working conditions for my employees. This is a big boost for public safety.”

Sonny Ireland, a retired Atlantic City firefighter who is a member of the Atlantic City Historic Preservation Commission, said he started out as a firefighter in the 1970s assigned to Fire House No. 2.

“It’s exciting for me to be involved with this,” Ireland said.

Rutala said the design work for the interior restoration will begin next month. Construction is slated to start next spring shortly after the completion of the exterior, which is scheduled to be ready by the end of the year.

“The kitchen facilities are small and antiquated, so they’re going to be expanded,” said Rutala. “The dormitory areas for firefighters will be improved. This building has a lot of space that can be renovated and put to good use.”

Since the exterior renovations started, the station’s rescue squad has been working out of Station No. 3 in the 700 block of Indiana, while the fire engine is operating out of a facility on California Avenue, Evans said.

Evans hopes to have his staff back in the building by September, but they’ll likely have to move again when interior work begins.

“We want to keep them in that building for as long as possible,” Evans said.

Additionally, Rutala said, the city has received funding to conduct assessments and have Fire House No. 4, located at 2700 Atlantic Ave., and Fire House No. 6, located at 4025 Atlantic, nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.

“Historical preservation is a priority,” Rutala said.

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