Summit NJ Fire Department Unveils New Fire-house

Summit Fire Chief Eric Evers points to the historical significance of the opening of the new firehouse.

Leaders from the local government and various community members were hosted by the Summit Fire Department during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening of the new Fire House on Friday.

“This is an historical time for the Fire Department in the City of Summit,” said Fire Chief Eric Evers, “for the first real, brand-new fire house to be built. It’s an honor to be here today.”

Chief Evers thanked various residents, local organizations, Summit business owners, building contractors and the Common Council for their dedication in making the new firehouse a reality.

“Coming together is a beginning,” he said. “Keeping together is progress. Working together is success,” quoting legendary automobile pioneer Henry Ford.

The new firehouse includes a host of features, including upgraded living areas for the crews, a new space that will act as an operation center and a larger, enhanced bay area for fire trucks.

“This is a once in a generation project and one that will serve Summit residents and businesses for another hundred years,” said Former Mayor Nora Radest, a key government leader who helped steward the overall effort. “Gratitude to many people is uppermost in my mind.

“The journey to this point has been long and arduous and, at times, a bit contentious. But, mostly, it was a cooperative and productive journey. Hundreds of people have been involved in the project,” the former mayor said.

Among all the people who were important in building the firehouse, Radest said that Chief Evers and Deputy Chief Paul Imbimbo “had a vision for the fire house, and they took the careful and necessary steps to get the project started. After the original plans were presented, they led a committee to review and revise the plans many times, with the goal of building a fire house that would be right for our community.”

Common Council President Mike McTernan remembered that “when this project started, we asked a lot of tough questions, and we had some interesting and long discussions. And that was a good thing, because these discussions led to the best result for our community and for our firefighters. It took a lot of people to make it happen.

It’s a symbol of what we can do, when we all work together,” McTernan said. “We don’t have to agree on every single thing, but when we do work together, we can make great things happen.”

In closing the ceremony, Chief Evers asked the current Mayor, Elizabeth Fagan, MD, to the podium to report that his team had accomplished the four goals that were laid out from the beginning of the effort, 10 years ago.

Evers said the first goal was to build a structure that could support not only current needs, but future needs as well. The second goal was to build a fire department that keeps Summit firefighters safe and, the third goal, one where they could continually train as firefighting best practices further evolve.

The Fire Chief proudly smiled when he said the team had accomplished its final goal – to stay within the budget.

“So, I am happy to report to Mayor Fagan,” he said, “that we have achieved our goals.”

Mayor Fagan then led the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the firehouse as participants toured the facilities and were extremely impressed by the final results.

The community will also be invited to a special event to be held in November at the new firehouse, located at 281 Broad St.