Teaneck Box 54 Clubs History Fireground Rehabilitation Fires

box54.org Fireground Rehabilitation Bergen County, NJ, Township of Teaneck Fire Department's Box 54 Club History since 1952

Teaneck Box 54 Clubs History Fireground Rehabilitation Fires

As pioneers in fireground rehabilitation, the Teaneck Fire Department Box 54 Club
has provided fireground rehab since 1952, a truely necessary requirement!

box54.org Fireground Rehabilitation Bergen County, NJ, Township of Teaneck Fire Department's Box 54 Club History since 1952

Fireground Rehabilitation Bergen County, NJ, Township of Teaneck Fire Department's Box 54 Club History since 1952

Box 54 Club - History
A pioneer in Fireground rehabilitation, Box 54 is the only service of its kind in the Bergen County area. The unit was established in 1952 by a group of Teaneck residents / auxilliary firefighters who saw firefighters needed to replenish their energy during a fire. These men would arrive at fire scenes in their own vehicles carring ice water, ice tea, donuts and hot coffee - all funded by the men themselves. This unique unit started to receive calls from other communities on a mutual aid basis to serve all the communities of Bergen County (70 municipalities, all but four are volunteer ) and is sometimes summoned to communities surrounding the Bergen County perimeter. The founders discussed a proposal of a canteen unit with Teaneck's Fire Chief and the Township of Teaneck, and received support of both. At that time, Box 54 came under the Deptment of Civil Defense. UPS donated an old truck which the members converted to a canteen unit, dubbed by the Teaneck Fire Dept. as "Field Unit One". Box 54 is named after the first fire box pulled in Teaneck which is still located at the corners of Teaneck Rd. and Golf Court. The Township agreed to provide Box 54 a $1,000 yearly stipend; gasoline, and mechanical repairs would be provided by the DPW garage. This agreement and the same stipend amount continues yet. The remainder of the budget is comprised of donations from fire companies. Unlike other volunteer departments, the members do not receive any Compensation of their efforts and purchace truck equipment, radios, turnout gear, and badges. It is 100% volunteer. In 1960, a new Ford step van that had a Bowertown body replaced the aging UPS van. The 1960 Ford van served us well up until 1985 when replaced by a 1985 16' GMC that has a Union City body. Today, this vehicle is known as Field Unit #1 and is the workhorse of the fleet. As the years went by we started to receive more and more requests for our rehab services. In the summer of 1997, Field Unit #2, which is on a 14' Chevrolet chassis with a Grumman body, purchased at $5,000.00 by the Club and completely renovated inside and out by the members to create a backup canteen truck. When finished, the total outlay reached $15,000.00 and we had a second rig fully equipped. Still we needed a smaller utility type vehicle. A vehicle that would provide us with the flexibility of transporting members to and from a fire scene, leaving the scene to acquire more supplies when needed, carrying additional equipment such as a generator, a misting system, a portable canopy and extra food and paper products. We approached the County of Bergen in NJ about a used vehicle that they were going to auction off. Through the assistance of the Bergen County Executive Pat Schuber, we walked away with a 1988 Dodge panel van for the cost of $1.00. After a new paint job and some lights, sirens and radios, Field Unit #3 was placed in service. A local service organization known as the Bergen County 200 Club approached our organization in 1998. Bergen County 200 Club President John Rinaldi knew of us and the work that we did over the years. The Bergen County 200 Club wanted to donate some money to us if we could come up with a project. Several months later, we had the opportunity to purchase a 31' Four Winds motor home due to a death in one of the members families. The price tag was $35,000.00. The vehicle only had 10,000.00 miles on it and only 4 years old. A super deal. A project was written and submitted to President Rinaldi based on the members of Box 54 converting this vehicle into a Major Incident Rehab Vehicle which would respond to emergency operations lasting for many, many hours. The Bergen County 200 Club accepted our proposal and President Rinaldi handed us a check to cover the entire purchase cost. After a few months of conversion work, Field Unit #4 was placed in service. Throughout the years of service it would not have been possible to operate unless we had the full support of the Township of Teaneck. Without the support of the Mayor and Council, the Township Manager, and the Fire Chief along with his officers and his firefighters, Box 54 would not have been able to survive. We are strong now because of these people and most appreciative. It makes our life a lot easier to serve the men and women in the public safety sector whenever called upon. If any of the guests who visit our web site have a Bergen County 200 Club in their area, approach them to see if any funds are available for a project you might have. Today, with all four vehicles in service, they responded cumulatively to over 200 runs last year.

Box 54 Club - History

         A pioneer in Fireground rehabilitation, Box 54 is the only service of its kind in the Bergen County area. The unit was established in 1952 by a group of Teaneck residents / auxilliary firefighters who saw firefighters needed to replenish their energy during a fire. These men would arrive at fire scenes in their own vehicles carring ice water, ice tea, donuts and hot coffee - all funded by the men themselves. This unique unit started to receive calls from other communities on a mutual aid basis to serve all the communities of Bergen County (70 municipalities, all but four are volunteer ) and is sometimes summoned to communities surrounding the Bergen County perimeter.
         The founders discussed a proposal of a canteen unit with Teaneck's Fire Chief and the Township of Teaneck, and received support of both. At that time, Box 54 came under the Deptment of Civil Defense. UPS donated an old truck which the members converted to a canteen unit, dubbed by the Teaneck Fire Dept. as "Field Unit One". Box 54 is named after the first fire box pulled in Teaneck which is still located at the corners of Teaneck Rd. and Golf Court.
         The Township agreed to provide Box 54 a $1,000 yearly stipend; gasoline, and mechanical repairs would be provided by the DPW garage. This agreement and the same stipend amount continues yet. The remainder of the budget is comprised of donations from fire companies. Unlike other volunteer departments, the members do not receive any Compensation of their efforts and purchace truck equipment, radios, turnout gear, and badges. It is 100% volunteer.
         In 1960, a new Ford step van that had a Bowertown body replaced the aging UPS van. The 1960 Ford van served us well up until 1985 when replaced by a 1985 16' GMC that has a Union City body. Today, this vehicle is known as Field Unit #1 and is the workhorse of the fleet.
         As the years went by we started to receive more and more requests for our rehab services. In the summer of 1997, Field Unit #2, which is on a 14' Chevrolet chassis with a Grumman body, purchased at $5,000.00 by the Club and completely renovated inside and out by the members to create a backup canteen truck. When finished, the total outlay reached $15,000.00 and we had a second rig fully equipped.
         Still we needed a smaller utility type vehicle. A vehicle that would provide us with the flexibility of transporting members to and from a fire scene, leaving the scene to acquire more supplies when needed, carrying additional equipment such as a generator, a misting system, a portable canopy and extra food and paper products. We approached the County of Bergen in NJ about a used vehicle that they were going to auction off. Through the assistance of the Bergen County Executive Pat Schuber, we walked away with a 1988 Dodge panel van for the cost of $1.00. After a new paint job and some lights, sirens and radios, Field Unit #3 was placed in service.
         A local service organization known as the Bergen County 200 Club approached our organization in 1998. Bergen County 200 Club President John Rinaldi knew of us and the work that we did over the years. The Bergen County 200 Club wanted to donate some money to us if we could come up with a project. Several months later, we had the opportunity to purchase a 31' Four Winds motor home due to a death in one of the members families. The price tag was $35,000.00. The vehicle only had 10,000.00 miles on it and only 4 years old. A super deal. A project was written and submitted to President Rinaldi based on the members of Box 54 converting this vehicle into a Major Incident Rehab Vehicle which would respond to emergency operations lasting for many, many hours. The Bergen County 200 Club accepted our proposal and President Rinaldi handed us a check to cover the entire purchase cost. After a few months of conversion work, Field Unit #4 was placed in service.
         Throughout the years of service it would not have been possible to operate unless we had the full support of the Township of Teaneck. Without the support of the Mayor and Council, the Township Manager, and the Fire Chief along with his officers and his firefighters, Box 54 would not have been able to survive. We are strong now because of these people and most appreciative. It makes our life a lot easier to serve the men and women in the public safety sector whenever called upon.
         If any of the guests who visit our web site have a Bergen County 200 Club in their area, approach them to see if any funds are available for a project you might have. Today, with all four vehicles in service, they responded cumulatively to over 200 runs last year.

Created 4:04 PM 3/4/01

Justin Mattes
Home

Eric A. Arnold
Home

Last Modified on: 9:31 PM 10/5/02