Carteret, NJ – Mayor Daniel J. Reiman announced this week that his administration has begun the process of consolidating municipal departments and services. Effective this year, the organizational structure of the Fire Department has been redefined, and both career and volunteer personnel will now function as a single entity.
The changes were made to streamline operations. According to Mayor Reiman, many departments and services have been disorganized, and in the case of the Fire Department, lacked unified procedures. Formerly, the career and volunteer fire departments had independent command structures, and conducted meetings and training separately.
“Our career and volunteer firemen might as well have comprised two entirely separate departments,” Reiman stated. “By redefining their command structure, we can ensure that the two function together, and that both day-to-day operations and emergency procedures are conducted more efficiently and professionally.”
Under the new Chain of Command, the officers are ranked within a single hierarchy, with career personnel presiding over volunteers.
Since the reorganization, the Fire Department’s monthly meetings have included both career and volunteer personnel, and have fostered a number of positive changes including the establishment of written Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG’s) for both the Career and Volunteer members. Accountability at fire scenes has been also been addressed, improving the ways in which firefights are tracked during emergency procedures.
Firefighters are now conducting training exercises together for the first time in many years, which has allowed for the review of previous fires to determine successes and areas for improvement.
“We are setting the tone for a united fire service,” Mayor Reiman added. “We are pushing this department to the next level of customer service and professionalism. You can be sure the left hand will know what the right hand is doing, and that both will be working together.”
“The Volunteer Fire Department has been in Business for over a 115 years and will continue to serve the citizens of Carteret as a well trained professional group of Dedicated men and woman”
Drew Packard- Assistant Chief
