UPDATED: The Frelinghuysen Volunteer Fire Co. threatened an immediate withholding of emergency services Friday morning, then less than two hours later issued a statement walking back that warning, citing an upcoming stormy weekend.
About 11 a.m., the department issued a statement saying it has withdrawn coverage as a result of ongoing disputes with the Township Committee and what the department describes as its failure to recognize its chief.
“The membership has concluded that it cannot responsibly continue responding to emergency calls while the Township maintains that it does not recognize the department’s elected Chief and Deputy Chief,” the initial statement read. “As a result, Frelinghuysen Township is now without coverage from its primary responding fire department.”
In a scathing report issued earlier this week, the Frelinghuysen Township Committee cited numerous issues involving the department including assertions that it has failed to provide the township and the township attorney with documentation related to its membership, as required by law.
The report asserted that Angel Ortiz, who has been the elected chief since the establishment of the department in 2024, was not considered the recognized chief having not been confirmed by the committee because proper paperwork has not been submitted. The fire department responded that the committee had previously paid Ortiz his chief’s stipend and routinely referred to him as “Chief Ortiz.”
In the wake of the report, the committee voted unanimously to investigate alternatives to the township’s fire coverage, including contracting with departments in neighboring communities.
Committee member Brian James, one of the committee’s liaisons to the fire department, who presented the report, said he had not been notified of any membership meetings nor had he been made aware of the meetings.
David Togno, the committee’s other fire department liaison, said the department has not accepted him in that role.
“Mr. James and I were appointed as co-liaisons to the fire Department. Yet the department recognizes only one of us in that role. As of the past week, my name was removed from the chief’s reply list,” Togno said. “This is subordination.”
Among the documents sought by the committee have been membership lists, vehicle maintenance records, training records and other documentation necessary for insurance and legal requirements, Togno said, adding that the committee submitted a list of 14 areas of concern, which were outlined by township attorneys.
Echoing Togno, James said, “I’d like to just remind everybody, that that’s not a list that Dave and I made up. That’s part of the ordinance of the fire department, and it’s matched by their bylaws as well.”
The fire department ordinance was drawn up and passed in 2023 by a prior Township Committee, which fully supported the creation of the department. All those committee members have since stepped down or were not re-elected.
One of those former committee members, Robert Stock, who now serves as treasurer of the fire department, responded that those requests were filled by last January.
“All I want to do is set the record straight,” Stock said. “The laundry list that they presented to us was answered by a large packet that was sent back, and we never heard another thing back about it, nothing asking for clarification or not. Just for the record.”
The decision by the fire department to withdraw from active service would lead to Frelinghuysen being covered by neighboring departments from Fredon, Stillwater, Greene and other towns depending on severity of alarms. All fire calls are made by a central dispatcher for all of Warren County.
The arrangement would mirror the service Frelinghuysen had before the formation of its own fire department in 2024, when the township had contracted with nearby departments for coverage.
Increasing dissatisfaction with that arrangement prompted the committee at the time to sever those financial ties and form its own department. Ex-Committeeman Keith Ramos, who was mayor and a major force in the establishment of the department, cited increasing payments to the neighboring departments, which Frelinghuysen was powerless to negotiate.
The withdrawal of Frelinghuysen from the arrangement was a financial blow to the other departments.
Mutual aid arrangements between all the involved municipalities remains unaffected.
The formation of the department deeply divided the township, as many Frelinghuysen residents supported the prior arrangement with many of them long-time members of the neighboring departments.
The Ridge View Echo has reached out to Frelinghuysen Mayor Kirk Perez for comment about the withdrawal of the fire department.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates…
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
