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Photo by Fritz Rethage ·
Posted January 26, 2005
Future Fire Chief
Jason with his mom, Colleen, look on as Mayor Ronald R. Jones administers the Fire Chief
Oath of Office to Joseph Taylor, Jr.
Hasbrouck Heights & Teterboro
Get New Fire Chief
Hasbrouck
Heights Fire Department
During the 2005
Reorganization Meeting on January 1, 2005, Joseph Taylor, Jr. was sworn in as the new Fire
Chief of the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department for the first year of his two-year term.
The Fire Department also serves the Borough of Teterboro.
Chief Taylor will
oversee a volunteer department of 54 men and women who operate two engine companies,
ladder company, rescue company and ambulance squad.
In 2004, the
department responded to 500 fire and emergency calls and 1,090 ambulance calls.
During a fire
emergency, the Fire Department performs many activities simultaneously under the Fire
Chief’s command — equipment is deployed, rescue teams search the home/business,
hoses are connected, activated and brought in to attack the fire from the inside, ladder
companies vent as needed, "F.A.S.T. Teams" are on standby to assist trapped
firefighters, EMS is on standby, support personnel are ready (help change air tanks,
get tools, etc.), equipment and personnel from other communities are positioned at the
fire house to respond to other emergencies, etc.
The ability to
mobilize the equipment and personnel in short response time, and to activate these
resources in an efficient manner to serve our community during such an emergency,
represents hours of training in the department.
The Fire Chief's
non-emergency duties include: department daily administration (records, purchase
orders, budgets, etc.), personnel, equipment maintenance, on-going department
training, etc.
The Chief
presides over department meetings, organizes drills and conducts the annual inspection of
Department members and apparatus.
He is involved in
pre-planning for emergencies at target buildings such as the Hilton, trussed roof
structures and hazards such as the railroad, Teterboro manufacturing facilities and the
airport.
Along with
Captain James Halloran, the Chief works with Teterboro's regional postal facility's
management to prepare for a possible anthrax incident.
Chief Taylor
works with Fire Prevention officials during Fire Safety Week.
The Chief
coordinates Fire Department operations at special events such as the Easter Egg Hunt,
Memorial Day and Chamber Holiday Parades, Memorial weekend 24-hour bicycle marathon,
Rau-Fitzgerald Memorial 5k Run/one mile walk, Mason's 5k Walk for Dyslexic Children, Town
Day and the Department's annual Santa Ride Around Town.
The Chief
represents the Fire Department at the Mayor and Council meetings, and with other borough
officials.
He also
represents the Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department at mutual aid official functions in other
communities.
Chief Taylor's
plans for his term include: first and foremost to protect life and property and to make
sure no one gets hurt and that everyone is safe.
Second is to
square away the new fire house, and third is to consolidate the three fire companies into
one department so that there are one set of administrative rules.
He stated,
"As we settle into our new fire house, my goal this year is to make the Fire
Department more efficient, with accountability and better response time to serve the
communities of Hasbrouck Heights and Teterboro."
Taylor's career
began in 1986 when, as a senior in Hasbrouck Heights High School and walking home after
school along The Boulevard, he watched a Hamilton Avenue house fire. Two weeks later he
joined the Department.
He started as a
probationary fireman and over ten years trained in Firefighter One, Two and Three courses.
Firefighter One
and Two pertain to basic and intermediate fire fighting, and Three to Tactics.
He has formal
training as an EMT, HAZMAT technician and a heavy rescue technician.
In 1996 he
started as an EMT for the City of Hackensack (emergency services) and previously
was an EMT with Ambu-Aide in Hasbrouck Heights (non-emergency transport services).
Fire Chiefs work
their way up the chain of command. As a member of Engine Company #1, Taylor was elected by
the company for the position of 2nd Assistant Chief.
Two years later
the Department members elected him as 1st Assistant Chief and then as Fire Chief. Fire
Chiefs generally serve two-year terms.
Taylor was born
in Hackensack Hospital and spent his childhood in Hasbrouck Heights. Two of his
grandparents and dad also grew up in Hasbrouck Heights.
Taylor is married to the former
Colleen Kelley and has a three year old son, Jason. He and his family live in Hasbrouck
Heights on Hasbrouck Avenue.
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