About

Florence Township Fire Department, history in the making…

In 1912, a pharmacist by the name of Henry O Adams used his spare time getting signatures from town folks in Florence in order to start an organized volunteer fire company. Through the years, our Township Fire Department grew and marked such historic events as purchasing the first motor-driven chemical engine in Burlington County on April 14, 1913 for the cost of $909.00.

As our Township grew so did the expansion of the Fire Department. In February 1927 a new fire company was established at Florence Station and in 1947 a third Fire Company was established to cover the Roebling Village. This brought the total number of companies protecting Florence Township to three.

In 1948, services started to expand and the Florence Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 looked at forming a first aid squad. Although the first aid squad was originally a part of the fire company, the Fire Department and First Aid Squads did eventually split from each other until July 1, 2006 when emergency medical services once again became the responsibility of the Fire Department.

Although all three fire companies were working together to serve the citizens of Florence Township, it wasn’t until 1951 that a formal “Board of Fire Engineers” was established. This Board worked to establish common objectives between the three companies and establish a system where the Township Chief would be selected on a rotating basis from the companies. Therefore, in 1951 the Chief of the Florence Fire Company #1 was named Township Fire Chief, in 1952 the Chief of the Florence Township Fire Company #2 was named Township Fire Chief, and in 1953 the Chief of the Roebling Fire Company #3 was named Township Fire Chief. This system of the rotating Chief continued until 2000 when the Fire Department hired a full time Township Fire Chief.

In 1980, out of a need to meet the increasing costs to provide fire and emergency services to the Township, a Fire District was established to collect a “fire tax” in order to meet the financial needs of the department. The Florence Township Fire District #1 continues to oversee the operations of the Florence Township Fire Department.

Since the first company was established in 1912 the Fire Department experienced many success and some hardships, including having members who have died in the line-of-duty. We remember these fallen heroes through a memorial located at Clark T. Carey Volunteer Park in Florence.

We invite you now to remember out past through photographs, video, and displays as we continue to move forward with our Mission of providing the best fire and EMS services to the residents and neighbors of Florence Township…