July - August - September

SEPTEMBER 29
The "This 'n' That" and "Chariots of Fire" features have been updated.

SEPTEMBER 28
The "The Newark Shops," "We Got A Job!" and "NFD Box Locations - 1955" features have been updated.

SEPTEMBER 20
The August 7 news item in the "NFD News" section has been updated with corrected information. News items for August 24 and 27 have also been added to the "NFD News" section.

SEPTEMBER 18
A new subject has been added to the "This 'n' That" feature, entitled "Newark Multiple-Alarm Fires By Box Location - 1896 to 1990." As the name implies, it lists the city's major fires by the box transmitted for the fire, giving the reader an idea of the city's hot spots through history. I hope you all find this new content to be as informative and as enlightening as I have.

SEPTEMBER 17
The "This 'n' That," "Chariots of Fire," "Met By Accident," and "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" features have been updated. Also, some additional comments have been added to the "The Newark Shops" feature.

SEPTEMBER 16
The "The Newark Shops," "We Got A Job!" and "NFD Box Locations - 1955" features have been updated.

SEPTEMBER 9
The "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" and "Dems Da Rules!" features have been updated. A new item has also been added to the "NFDHA Upcoming Events" page.

My apologies for updates to the website not being more forthcoming, but I have been working on a couple of major NFD history projects that have been taking up most of my time, with an occasional side trip to R&R land. Thanks for your patience and continued support.

SEPTEMBER 1
Engines 16, 17, and 18, and Truck 6 have been added to "The Boys Who Fight The Flames" series, which can be found in the "Companies" section.

AUGUST 31
The "NFD Box Locations - 1955," "This 'n' That," "Chariots of Fire," and "Met By Accident" features have been updated.

AUGUST 30
Additional information on one of the photos has been posted to the July 17 story in the "NFD News" section. Also, the NFDHA "Newsletter" and "Membership" features has been updated. A mail-in application for the Newark Fire Department Historical Association has now been provided.

AUGUST 29
The "The Newark Shops" and "We Got A Job!" features have been updated.

AUGUST 23
I am pleased to report that the "A Look Back: 1909 - May" feature has been updated with additional, and much more accurate and complete information, as the April report was. Again, thanks to the efforts of Captain Joe Sperli, who supplied me with copied pages of the 1909 NFD Annual Report, I was able to obtain more accurate info such as alarm times, box numbers, addresses, occupants, fire causes, fire losses, etc., as well as miscellaneous information taken from other areas of the report. As with the April report, I used indented paragraphs. This will be the format for all future features in this series. Even if you've already read the feature, you may wanna check it out again, as there is a lot more that has been added.

As it has taken me the last two days to research, update, program, and post this feature, I will be taking the next two or three days off to catch up on some errands, committee work, and some plain ol' R & R. I am striving to reach the rank of Second Lieutenant in Battlefield: 1943, and I am trying to find out what evil and sinister paranormal hijinks the Nazis have been up to in the newly released, Wolfenstein. (Any games where I get to kill Nazis is a good one!) They are the two latest games I've been playing.

Next month, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, Heroes Over Europe, Williams Pinball, and Heist will be added to my PlayStation 3 gaming collection. The first two are WWII aerial combat games, and Pinball is self-explanatory. Heist is a game of robbing banks, restaurants, bars, armored cars, etc. It's set in 1969 San Fran, and you play Johnny Sutton, a petty thief fresh "outta da joint," who teams up with his Uncle Sal, Cracker, Crumb, and The Kid. You have a crew and you must plan out daring robberies, pull them off, and make dramatic escapes, building up a rep to become the greatest bank robber of all time. Since I am not of a criminal mind, except in the extermination of perps, I can't do the real deal, so I'll make believe by playing this game! And in these types of games, I usually am one ruthless son-of-a-bitch!! Mwahhh-ha-ha-haaaa!! October will see another five games I want.

Once I get myself Rested & Recreated, I'll start to update, and finish, the research I've started on "A Look Back: 1909 - June." Then I'll keep moving forward from there. My initial plan was to get the months caught up and then go back and do January, February, and March. I don't know if that's still a feasible plan, but I think it will happen eventually, as long as I keep plugging away at it. I hope you all enjoy the updated features.

AUGUST 21
The  "A Look Back: 1909 - April" feature, which can be found in the "General" section, has been updated with additional, and much more accurate and complete information, thanks to the efforts of Captain Joe Sperli, who supplied me with copied pages of the 1909 NFD Annual Report. Using this report, I was able to obtain more accurate info such as alarm times, box numbers, addresses, occupants, fire causes, fire losses, etc., as well as miscellaneous information taken from other areas of the report. I also made some changes to the layout of the information, using indented paragraphs. I hope this makes the entries a bit easier to read. It takes a little more programming and time, but I think the end result is much better. Even if you've already read the feature, you may wanna check it out again, as there is a lot more that has been added. I will start working on the May feature tomorrow or Sunday. It's going on 02:00 here right now, and even with my glasses on, I'm seeing doubles! Time to call it a day... night... time to go to sleep!! I hope you enjoy the revamped feature. Comments and/or suggestions are always welcome.

AUGUST 19
While preparing to continue with my work on the "A Look Back..." series, and checking over the website, I discovered that somehow or other, the "General" category button was missing from the home page. The pages were all there, but the button and hyperlink to those pages was missing. I don't know if anyone noticed it, but it's been rebuilt and the hyperlink added, so it is once again available for visitor viewing. Sorry if this caused any inconvenience.

AUGUST 19
For a while now, I have been thinking of terminating the "This 'n' That" feature from NFH. The main reason is that it is the most labor-intensive of all the features, and secondly, it's not in keeping with the theme of this website. The feature was a carryover from other single features that had been terminated over the years and all lumped into "This 'n' That." I reached the decision yesterday that the feature would be terminated. However, this morning, I was struck with the idea of keeping the feature, but making it more relevant in keeping with the theme of NFH. Therefore, "This 'n' That" has been saved from deletion and will sport new information. It will be used to cover a variety of areas, mainly Newark's emergency services, but it will also be used to illustrate the city's past. The main thing is that it will feature Newark items of interest.

I know in the past I have promised a new roster of firehouse locations and apparatus. It has been put off due to the recent acquisitions of new apparatus, because I'd like the new roster to be completely up-to-date. I hope to have a new roster completed soon, since the new rescue rig will be placed in service in the near future.

The revamped "This 'n' That" feature, as well as the "Chariots of Fire," "Met By Accident," "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly," and "Dems Da Rules!" features, have been updated. Also, an addition has been made for July 17 and August 17, 2009, and a slight update has been made to the August 7, 2009 story, in the "NFD News" section. Be sure to check them all out!

AUGUST 17
The "Newark Shops," "We Got A Job!" and "NFD Box Locations - 1955" features have been updated. Also check out the latest additions for July 28 and 29, 2009, and August 7, 2009, in the "NFD News" section.

AUGUST 12
Engines 14 and 15, and Truck 5, have been added to "The Boys Who Fight The Flames" series, which can be found in the "Companies" section. Engine 13 has also been updated with a better picture.

AUGUST 8
Hi, folks. I figured I'd take a little time to let you all know what's goin' on. I haven't done any updates to the site recently as I have had a few research projects to take care of. I got about ten requests all at once from people looking for info about long-past family members who were members of the NFD. It takes about a day to fully research one of these, depending on how much info the person can supply me with, and how much info that I have on record. My NFD personnel records are far from complete, but every once in a while I hit a small mother lode. I have done about half of them, a couple of which were very detailed.

In addition, I continue to research the multiple alarm fires of 1908, which I will post here after the project is completed. Judging by the e-mails I've gotten, reading the "war stories" of days past seems to be a favorite of a lot of people. This research takes a great deal of time, and I enjoy reading the stories as much as a lot of you do. Like they say... good things come to those who wait.

I am compiling info and photos of the recent four-bagger on Sherman Avenue, where Battalion Chief Kevin Killeen fell through a skylight on the roof of the exposure. This story will not be placed in the "NFD News" section, but as a complete story in the "Fires" section. I hope to have this done soon.

I have also written up the next four companies in the "Boys Who Fight The Flames" series. I now need to scan the photos and fine-tune them for posting. That's another time-intensive project. The original news articles are over a century old, and the pages are starting to develop that "wave" that develops after time to glued-down news articles. Some are also not in good shape, and require a fair bit of work in order to bring you a decent quality photo to view. Not only is it a research project, it's also a conservation and restoration project.

So, those are just a few of the main projects I'm immersed in at present... not to mention the myriad of smaller details that pop up and need to be recorded. Anyone who has done this type of research knows that while you may be on a straight course, new facts will arise on that course that cause you to deviate down other paths. Thanks for your understanding and patience, and I hope you all will continue to visit NFH and enjoy what it has to offer.

AUGUST 4
The "Met By Accident," "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly," and "Dems Da Rules" features have been updated.

AUGUST 3
The "NFD Box Locations - 1955," "This 'n' That," and "Chariots of Fire" features have been updated.

AUGUST 2
The "Newark Shops" and "We Got A Job!" features have been updated, and Engine 13 has been added to "The Boys Who Fight The Flames" series, which can be found in the "Companies" section. Much information has been added to the NFDHA section. Be sure to check it out! That's enough for today. It was a solid eight hours of programming!

JULY 29
"The Rebirth of Searchlight 1" has been added to the "Apparatus" section. Check out this great story and photos, which was submitted by Ron Jeffers.

JULY 27
"Newark's Multiple Alarm Fires of 1898" has been added to the "Fires" section. I have improved this report over the 1896 and 1897 reports by adding days of the week and headlines, and atlas maps, where possible. I am now working on the 1908 multiple alarms, of which there were 15. I hope to have this report up in the very near future. I hope you all enjoy reading about Newark's blazes past.

JULY 26
Engines 10, 11, and 12, and Truck 4 have been added to "The Boys Who Fight The Flames" series, which can be found in the "Companies" section. I hope you all enjoy these four new additions. Also, the "Met By Accident," "Dems Da Rules!" and "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" features have been updated.

The idea of putting any type of photo albums, or galleries, on NFH has been shelved for now. This is not to say that it will never happen, but just not in the immediate future. The photo galleries button and test gallery will be removed from the site as soon as I get the time to make some programming changes. As Al Trojanowicz stated to me via e-mail, "Post pictures as you can in their proper context (Apparatus, NFD News, etc.)" Thanx, Al... well said!

JULY 24
Continuing with my efforts to try and get a photo gallery up and working for NFH, I sat up until the wee hours working on starting a SmugMug account, loading in a few pictures, and then trying to link it to NFH. Needless to say, I met the same success as I had earlier with Picasa and KodakGallery, which was none at all. I think it may have something to do with the limitations within FrontPage 2003, which is what was used to build the site and to maintain it. The one thing I have succeeded in is wasting a lot of time on the effort. It's time to get back to the main purpose of NFH... bringing the history of the Newark Fire Department to you.

JULY 23
I spent a good part of the day trying to learn how to build a photo album/gallery here on NFH. I tried several different layouts, but they are quite limited. At the suggestion of Tom "The Commissioner" Ernst, I also tried using a couple of the online photo album services and then linking them to NFH. I didn't fare too well with those, either. I think the idea of photo galleries here will have to wait until I can come up with a satisfactory way to show the pictures in the galleries. There is a test gallery up right now with a few photos in it, but these will probably be taken down over the next few days, unless I come up with a way to make the feature work fairly decently.

JULY 20
The "NFD Box Locations - 1955," "This 'n' That," and "Chariots of Fire" features have been updated. Also, three more photos of the new Rescue 1 lettering have been added to the July 15 story in the "NFD News" section.

JULY 17
The "Newark Shops" and "We Got A Job!" features have been updated.

JULY 15
Additional pages and information have been added to the "NFDHA" section, and an addition has been made for July 15, 2009, in the "NFD News" section.

JULY 14
Additions have been made for June 26 and July 2, 2009 in the "NFD News" section.

JULY 13
I am happy to report that Newark Fire History is now affiliated with the Newark Fire Department Historical Association. You will immediately start to see some changes to the site over the next week, or so, reflecting that affiliation. Not only will you still have access to the same great content at NFH as always, but even more as the NFDHA grows in its rebirth to a strong association dedicated to keeping the history of the NFD alive. You'll be kept abreast of muster and membership news, ongoing projects, new collection acquisitions, etc. So, make sure you check out the NFDHA features during your regular visits to see what's new.

JULY 12
The "Met By Accident," "Dems Da Rules," and "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" features have been updated.

JULY 8
The "This 'n' That" and "Chariots of Fire" features have been updated. Something a little "different" this time 'round.

JULY 7
Engine 9, Truck 3, and Water Tower 1 have been added to the "The Boys That Fight The Flames" series, which can be found by clicking on the "Companies" button on the home page. Enjoy!

JULY 6
New content has been added to the "NFD News" section. New stories and photos appear for May 23 and 27, and June 9, 22, and 25. Also, the "NFD Box Locations" feature has been updated. Check them out!

JULY 3
Hey, y'all! Another month goes by... and with it comes some changes to NFH. Due to a variety of issues, I'm finding it increasingly more difficult to keep up with the weekly feature schedule. Once I fall behind two or three days it's almost impossible to catch up. Therefore, I have decided to do away with the weekly schedule. The features will remain as they are and will be updated as time allows. As well as all other changes, updates, and additions to NFH, I will post updates to the regular features here in the NFH News section as well. A link to the "NFH Site News" page has been added to the home page. Once you go to that page, choose the latest month to see any and all site changes. This will also keep the fun in doing the website for me, rather than it becoming a chore, which it has of late.

Patience is a virtue... Good things come to those who wait... Perfection can't be rushed... These are just a few quotes that come to mind about placing new material on NFH. I have tons of research projects in the works that I'm sure everyone would find to be of interest once they're completed. Please bear in mind that everything you see and/or read here on NFH, is as factual and as historically accurate as research allowed at the time it was compiled. I will not rush to place items on NFH just to have a huge site full of half-truths or bogus information. I'm a firm believer in quality over quantity, and that belief shines through on this website.

Research takes time... I've been researching the history of the NFD for over 42 years now. That, coupled with the intricately detailed research of Ted Vrana and Captain Joe Sperli, have helped make a lot of the info on this site possible. Ted did decades of research, scouring old journals, news articles, reports, etc., as has Joe. Together, there is over a century been spent by the three of us researching the history of the finest fire department in the world... a department that other major departments, including the FDNY, looked to for progress and innovation. The next time you use your garden hose, and connect it and disconnect it using the snap coupling, remember that it was Newark Firefighter Matthew T. Quigley, of Engine Co. 3, who invented that back in 1902!

After all the research is done comes the chore of getting it on the site. Scanning, formatting, photo customizing, building pages, etc., etc. to bring the site visitor... you... as complete and accurate a report as possible. Nothing here is ever etched in granite, and if new facts become known about old postings, the old postings will be updated as such. It's like putting a piece of a jigsaw into a place where you think it goes, and then you find the one that really goes there. You take out the old piece and replace it with the new piece.

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to write. Thank you for all the compliments and well wishes. My sincerest apologies if I didn't get back to you. I get overwhelmed with e-mail at times and just can't keep up with it all... some fall through the cracks. I hope you all continue to enjoy the site. Remember, I'm always looking for content for the regular features, as well as Newark items of interest. God bless.