Bradley Gardens Fire Department: 75 Years, and Still Serving The Community

A lot has changed since 1935, when the Bradley Gardens Volunteer Fire Company was formed. But what's stayed constant is the members' dedication to Bridgewater, and the family-friendly nature of the community that those members enjoy.

"We don't have a lot of crime," Mike LoMastro, a 45-year member, said Saturday at the company's 75th anniversary celebration. "We have a beautiful park, we all know each other. It's a community of families."

The company ideals haven't changed in 75 years either: the company is still all-volunteer. With between 40 and 50 members, firefighters are often the first on the scene for various calls.

"It makes a safer community," Michelle Weeks, who has been with the company for eight years, said. "With the size of Bridgewater, we're divided up between several companies, so we can respond to calls before Martinsville or North Branch."

"Everyone is a volunteer," she added. "It's all out of the goodness of their hearts."

Many of the older members have moved out of Bridgewater or died, but LoMastro and Joe Giranda, a 43-year veteran, never left. Though neither actively fights fires, they are still active with the firehouse, whether it's simply running fundraisers or assisting with event set ups.

"I started when I was about 16," LoMastro said. "I got pushed into it by friends. At that time, everyone knew everyone. I came, and wound up staying."

"When I started here in 1967, I joined to help the community, and that was the end of it," Giranda said.

Since its inception, the company has moved from its original location on Brahma Avenue to its current spot on Old York Road to accommodate its growth. Initially, the firehouse was a regular house, and the members built a barn to house the firetrucks, LoMastro said. And, despite wanting to build a new fire station—parts of the current building are between 80 and 100 years old—the company opted to keep its old building because of economic concerns, members said.

For many of the current firefighters, the appeal of helping the community and fighting fires first drew them to the company. The camaraderie and community—and the rush from going to a call—have kept many of them there.

"It's an adrenaline high that you have to experience to understand," member Ron Hazen said. "We're not pyromaniacs, but it's helping people in need."

"It goes down to how you were raised," he added. "Most of us were raised to help each other."

A firefighter must complete more than 100 hours of training in order to be active at the department, and duties range from actively fighting fires to driving the fire trucks to directing traffic away from a fire scene. Each duty requires a different type of training, and department members must have at least one person available at all times to go out on fire calls.

Members can undergo additional training if they choose to in more specific fields like hazardous materials training and vehicle extraction.

The community service aspect doesn't stop when the department is off-duty or if no calls are coming in, however. For Weeks, who joined the company after her sister joined, the community service aspect keeps her there.

The service mentality even had company members helping a woman who pulled into the station during a March rainstorm with a flat tire and two kids in the car, Weeks said. The company changed the tire, and took care of the woman and her kids until the work was finished.

"She was so thankful, she's been to everything we've done ever since," she said. "It was just a normal thing that you do, but she was just so taken aback."

And for most members of the fire company, it comes down to what's the normal thing to do.

"If you see somebody stranded, you help them," Weeks said.