WASHINGTON TWP. FIRE DISTRICT BUDGET VOTE


The fire district tax continues to decline as a percentage of your total property taxes.  For over 7 years, the fire district tax has had the lowest percentage increase of all property taxes. The Fire District Tax for 2012 will be $0.206


Voting for the Washington Twp. Fire District Budget this year will be held on Saturday, February 18th from 2pm to 9pm at the Washington Twp. Fire District Headquarters located at 213 E. Holly Ave., Sewell NJ.  Voters will vote on the 2012 Fire Budget and elect 1 Fire Commissioner.


To view the 2012 Fire Budget:   "CLICK HERE"



For Directions to the Fire Headquarters:  "CLICK HERE"

WASHINGTON TWP. FIRE DEPT. VIDEO


The Firefighters of Washington Township are Proud To Serve Our Community.  Our hearts go out to those who have had loss of Life and Property...  Know that we will always be there if you need us!

Thursday, January 12, 2012 07:52 am

PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP FIRE DEPARTMENT


The Washington Township Fire Department was dispatched at 7:52 AM on the morning of January 12th to investigate diesel fumes in the area of 901 Route 168.  A few minutes earlier, fire department units in Gloucester Township, Camden County had been dispatched for a similar incident in the Lakeland area and Blackwood Lake.  Fire crews from both agencies discovered a strong odor similar to diesel fuel oil and noticed a sheen of oil on the various bodies of water including both sides of the Grenloch Lake, Blackwood Lake and the streams leading to and from both of these lakes.  The Grenloch lake empties into a stream and ultimately into Blackwood Lake.  At approximately 8:45 AM with both Gloucester Township and Washington Township affected by the spill of an unknown origin, a joint Unified Command Post was established at the Lakeland Complex with various agency representatives and jurisdictions present.  Firefighters from both Washington Township and Gloucester Township along with personnel from Camden County Health Department’s HAZMAT unit and Gloucester County’s HAZMAT unit began placing absorbent boom material in various locations along the water way to start absorbing the oil sheen.  Other fire fighters and technicians began the search up stream to find the source of the spill.  At approximately 10:00 AM, fire fighters from Washington Township FD and a technician from Camden County HAZMAT discovered the source to be located at the NJ Transit Bus Garage located in Washington Township on Route 42 near the entrance to the Atlantic City Expressway.  Concurrently, Bus Garage personnel were discovering that their in ground fuel tanks had lost their product and had leaked out.  It was determined that approximately 26,000 gallons of diesel fuel had leaked out of the tanks through a ruptured gasket.  The flow of fuel made its way to storm drains that ultimately lead into Grenloch Lake.  NJ Transit officials secured a private oil spill and recovery company, Clean Ventures, to assist local officials in mitigating the incident.  Fire personnel continued to work with Clean Ventures through the afternoon to establish various types of booming equipment and to coordinate priority mitigation actions.  While an odor of diesel fuel remains in the area, fire crews and health officials conducted air monitoring to determine if those levels pose any health risks.  All areas around the Grenloch Lake, Grenloch Lake Park and down stream into the Lakeland complex did not produce vapors significant enough to be readable on the air monitoring equipment.  Residents are advised to stay clear of the Grenloch Lake, the Blackwood Lake, and the connecting waterways while the clean-up is in progress.  It is especially important to keep pets out of the area as well.  Some wildlife, in particular water fowl, have been affected and have been stressed by the incident.  If stressed wild animals are discovered, please contact Gloucester County Animal Control who will coordinate efforts with specialists trained in dealing with this situation.  If there any questions regarding the on going efforts and clean up, residents can contact NJ Transit and Clean Ventures at 1-856-401-2307.  If there are any questions regarding this press release or the fire department activity during this incident, please contact Chief John Hoffman at 856-863-4011.

Preliminary Statistical Data for 2011
Washington Township Fire Department

"Chief's Report"  CLICK HERE