In the aftermath of this weekend’s blizzard, Red Bank volunteer firefighters dug out a fire hydrant on Maple Avenue at Waverly Place Monday afternoon.
The fire department asks that residents help keep hydrants clear of snow to aid quick access in emergencies. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
The bird makes a break for freedom under the watch of a decoy owl. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank volunteer firefighters rescued a juvenile hawk trapped in an open-air tower Thursday morning just as the animal appeared near starvation, an amateur ornithologist said.
The bird, a Cooper’s Hawk, had apparently been up under the peaked roof of the tower at the Medieval-style Courts of Red Bank office complex for days, having somehow bypassed steel netting installed just last fall to keep out pigeons.
Two volunteer firefighters suffered minor injuries in an early morning fire that tore through a Middletown beauty spa early Monday morning, according to a report on the Asbury Park Press website.
Police said one firefighter fell through the second floor, and a second was injured in a fall outside the Orange Skye Wellness Spa on Route 35, opposite Pine Street, where the fire was reported at about 3 a.m. Both firefighters were treated and released from Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, the Press reported.
Local restaurateurs banded together on short notice Sunday to provide some gourmet chow to the firefighters, cops, first aiders, other volunteers and contractors who’ve been keeping Sea Bright safe and hustling to get it back in shape in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Contractors dig into considerable sirloin burgers at the borough firehouse, above. At right, Ama Ristorante owner Pat Trama enjoys a laugh with David Burke of David Burke Fromagerie. Below, Chis Wood of Woody’s Ocean Grille grills up some beef.
A relief tent has now been erected next to the firehouse to give the workers a place to eat in inclement weather, Wood reports. (Click to enlarge)
OK, we’re a day late and making it just under the wire, but here’s this week’s Where Have I Seen This.
We just couldn’t bear leaving our Wheregulars brokenhearted, especially after such a trying week. Plus, we had to keep our string intact: not a week missed in six and half years.
Do you know where our photo snapped on Monday before the storm hit was taken? Send us an email, please.
Red Bank volunteer firefighters and officials dedicated a new 9/11 monument outside borough hall Monday. Beginning and ending in prayer, the Memorial Day ceremony included speeches from those who had lost loved ones to war as well as recognition by Mayor Pasquale Menna of the Red Bank volunteer fire department‘s efforts as related to the 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives almost 11 years ago.
This monument is dedicated to every man, woman, and child who gave the ultimate sacrifice on that awful day, September 11,” Menna said. “We remember them, and we remember their heroism.” (Photos by Danielle Tepper. Click to enlarge.)
A twisted piece of steel from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, along with a sculpture reminiscent of the twin towers, was installed next to the firefighter memorial outside Red Bank’s borough hall this week. The new work is slated for dedication at a Memorial Day service at 10 a.m. Monday, when deceased volunteer firefighters will also be honored. The borough’s traditional Memorial Day commemoration will be held at 51 Monmouth Street at 11 a.m. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
All three Sea Bright firefighters involved in a firehouse scuffle 13 months ago could be suspended from the squad for two months under action initiated by the borough council Tuesday night.
They could also be barred from serving as officers of the small town’s volunteer company for a year.
The disciplinary process, set in motion without comment by council members after a 90-minute closed-door session, revived a controversy that appeared put to rest a month ago, when a municipal court judge declined to bar two of the firefighters brothers Steven and Peter Lang IV from serving as officers, and instead sentenced all three to 100 hours of community service. He also fined them $500 each.
“I see this as a tremendous waste of resources and time that will only result in more divisiveness in the town, the fire company and the first aid squad,” the Lang’s attorney, William Wilson, said of the council’s action.
Toms River resident and Jersey City firefighter Mark Lee visited the memorial stone of his lifelong friend Paul Nimbley at Middletown’s September 11 memorial garden Monday, fresh off the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed by U.S. armed forces. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Paul Nimbley and Mark Lee were like brothers. They grew up together, went to school together in Jersey City. Lee was Nimbley’s best man at his wedding.
Nearly 10 years ago, Nimbley was one of nearly 3,000 killed at the World Trade Center and two other locations in attacks orchestrated by Osama bin Laden, the elusive-yet-ubiquitous face of 21st century terror who finally met his demise at the hands of U.S. special forces Sunday.
On the heels of that bittersweet news, Lee, a Jersey City firefighter, made a reflective, heart-wrenching trip to pay respects at his friend’s memorial stone at Middletown’s September 11 memorial garden Monday morning.
While there is no true closure in knowing that bin Laden’s reign as a mastermind of terror is over, it lifts a weight of uncertainty that bin Laden would ever face retribution for his horrors against humanity, Lee said.
“It still hurts. I lost my best friend,” Lee, of Toms River, said. “The world’s been changed by this, and now I think it’s better off.”