1980-1990

In 1982 the fire school was changed to the Woodbridge Township Fire Academy, with Rich Anderson taking over the school. Rich was a fire officer in Colonia at the time. Rich was responsible for the changes which the state finally adopted. Our Fire Fighter 1 & 2 program was established and running when the state came out with theirs. We would train in different firehouses and then go to Burlington County Fire Academy for the live burns twice a year.

In 1984 the company purchased its first aerial. A 1972 Mack Aerialscope purchased from the Baker Company. It was a refurbished unit that saw its early years in New York City. It was ladder tower 146 of the Green Point section of Brooklyn. This was a 75' tower ladder, and the first one in Woodbridge Township. It has gone to all major fires in the area including Woodbridge Township, Plainfield, Elizabeth, and other parts of Middlesex and Union Counties. The cost of this truck was one seventy five thousand dollars. Shortly after getting truck in service it was called to Plainfield for a fire in a plastics factory, which burned for three days.

In 1986 the Woodbridge Township Haz-Mat Team was formed to assist the Middlesex County Haz-Mat team in covering Woodbridge Township. Middlesex Haz-Mat was the busiest Haz-Mat team in the country at the time. The initial idea was to have five men from each district and Carteret on the team to insure a haz-mat Technician on the scene of any incident right away to assist command. We ended up starting with thirty- five technicians.

In 1986 a Ford Crown Victoria wagon was leased to the company by Bell Ford, they even paid the lease until we purchased it outright. It was the first Chief's car for the company. The cost of the car was fourteen thousand dollars.

In December of 1989 the fire department responded to a major fire in an industrial area of Piscataway.