The Fire Museum has followed a long road from concept to reality.
1960’s
The Department of Environmental Protection began accepting donations of fire equipment and related material from Mr. Ernest N. Day of Dunellen, a fire equipment dealer and a personal collector of fire equipment and memorabilia. The material was to be exhibited and preserved in a ‘future fire museum’. The division continued to accept donations until 1986, by which time Mr. Day had transferred essentially his entire collection. (The 1986 assessed value of the collection was approximately $1 million).
1970’s
Governor William Cahill signed legislation authorizing the establishment of a State Fire Engine and Equipment Museum and provided for an Advisory Commission to select an appropriate site for the museum. A nine-member commission was appointed by Governor Brendan Byrne in March 1975 and after considerable study, a site in Allaire State Park, in southeastern Monmouth County, was chosen as the site for the museum.
1980’s
In 1983, the State appropriated $1 million for the design and construction of the museum. A condition of the use of these funds was that a not-for-profit corporation be created to operate and maintain the completed facility. The New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry (NJDPF) commissioned a design of the proposed facility, and a private not-for-profit corporation, the New Jersey Fire Engine and Equipment Museum at Allaire. Inc. was established to operate and maintain the proposed museum.
In 1984, the division hired an architectural firm to design the proposed facility. During the design effort, it was determined that a suitable facility could not be built with the available funds. The project would be delayed until additional funds could be obtained. The non-profit corporation lobbied for the necessary funds and in 1988 Governor Kean signed into law an additional appropriation of $2 million.
In 1989, the architectural firm of Kerht, Shatken Sharon of Princeton was hired to prepare plans and specifications for a larger facility with the additional appropriated funds.
1990’s
The design of the new larger facility, a minimum of 18,000 square feet, proved to be too large to fit the original site within Allaire State Park. Rather then encroach on the Allaire Village National Register Historic District, the state DEP identified a 14-acre site across County Route 524 from Allaire State Park as a new location. The planning for the new facility was completed in 1991 at an estimated construction cost of $2.5 million.
A contingency placed upon expenditure of the $2 million required the non-profit corporation to demonstrate financial ability by commitments and other means that it could generate sufficient non-public funds to operate the museum. Lacking evidence of such commitments, the DEP Commissioner declined to certify the financial ability of the corporation. The funds subsequently lapsed into the General Treasury.
At the request of the Fire Safety Bureau of the Department of Community Affairs, a monument dedicated to New Jersey firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty was added to the museum plan and endorsed by the NJ State Firemen's Relief Association.
The project lay dormant for a time. In 1999, the non-profit corporation was conveyed to a new Board of Directors. Executive and Volunteer committees were established. The project’s scope was expanded to include an interactive fire safety learning experience which could be incorporated to grade school curricula and serve to attract corporate sponsorships. A Development Study was prepared and the fund-raising plan was expanded to include an appeal for both public and private support.
2000’s
Efforts to provide public funds were made in several legislature sessions since 2000. In 2002, legislation for $7 million in capital construction came close to passage. In 2005 legislation for $2 million for Phase One construction (10,000 SF) was submitted but not passed. In 2006, the same legislation was re-introduced but again it was not passed. Also in 2006, legislation was introduced to create special fallen firefighter license plates. To date, none of the legislative efforts have been enacted to law.
Efforts to provide private funds have also been underway since 2000. The membership campaign generates “grass roots” support from firefighters. Hundreds of individuals and fire departments currently hold memberships ranging from $25 to $1,000. The memorial paver campaign generates funds for construction of the memorial with over 200 pavers sold to date at prices ranging from $100 to $500. A third campaign targets New Jersey fire equipment vendors. Together these efforts covered operating costs of the non-profit, primarily the quarterly newsletter, and provided a modest growing reserve for construction but they fall far short of the project's capital construction goals.
In 2003, an Honorary Board of Directors was established with Former Governor Thomas Kean as Chairman to cultivate interest and support for the project among the leaders of NJ organizations and corporations sharing an interest in family fire safety education and an appreciation for the sacrifices of fire-fighters. For several reasons this Honorary Board was not reappointed and over time became inactive. An updated valuation of the historic Ernest Day collection placed its value at $2M. The state coordinated the long-term loan of a historic hand operated engine to the Trenton Fire Dept Museum from the Ernie Day collection as that particular engine had once served Trenton.
In 2010 the quarterly newsletter was discontinued to reduce operating costs and in recent years the Fire Museum established a website and Facebook page to maintain and expand visibility of the project to the public.
In 2015 the Fire Museum by virtue of a three way agreement between the Fire Museum, Monmouth County and DEP State Park Service, the Fire Museum was granted use of former Princeton Nursery property in Upper Freehold Township near Allentown NJ. The site included a 20,000 sq.ft. warehouse formerly used to house agricultural equipment and a smaller building formerly used as the sales office The growing Fire Museum collection of apparatus and memorabilia donated from individuals and fire agencies was relocated to that location. Concurrently, the state released custody of the Ernest Day collection to the Fire Museum and it too was moved to the new storage facility.
In 2016 the NJ Fire Museum hosted its first public open house at the Polhemustown Road location. Personalized memorial pavers that will be part of the NJ Fallen Firefighter Memorial were also placed on temporary display. The event drew a large crowd of interested citizens. Another open house is scheduled for September 2020.
In early 2020 the Upper Freehold Township committee passed a resolution urging the Monmouth County Freeholders to adopt a resolution asking the DEP State Parks Service to expand the size of the area and recognize the Polhemustown Road property as the permanent location for the NJ Fire Museum & Fallen Firefighters Memorial.
The Fire Museum website and Facebook page have increased public visibility and volunteer participation. The “shop” portion of the storage building is hosting periodic volunteer-manned work sessions, performing a variety of repair and maintenance activities. Many additional apparatus and items of memorabilia have been donated to the museum. As a result of both public and local government support, the current outlook for a permanent fire museum and memorial is better than it has been in some time. The effort to gain formal acknowledgment of a permanent location at Allentown is a significant step forward. The need for capital funding remains another critical step on the road to establishing a first-class Fire Museum, Interactive Learning Center and Fallen Firefighter Memorial.