Our History

In the fall of 1911, a group of men met in the railroad station and organized a fire company in Germany Valley. The first fire alarm system was a hand bell where a person would run up and down the street ringing the bell in case of fire. Because there were no fire trucks, in the event of an emergency the firemen would carry buckets of water to extinguish a fire which was known as the "Bucket Brigade". In the spring of 1915, the German Valley Woman’s Club donated to the fire company its first real piece of fire apparatus which was a chemical wagon. After World War 1, the town of German Valley changed its name to Long Valley. Four years later, the Long Valley Fire Company was officially established in 1921. 

In 1921, work commenced to build a permanent firehouse on East Mill Road. Farmers from all over the township drove into town with wagonloads of stone to be used in the foundation. In April 1923, money raised through clambakes, carnivals, and donations helped fund the purchase of first motor driven fire truck for the fire company known as "The Reo". In January of 1924, local help did the biggest part of the work in constructing and completing the new Long Valley Fire House. In 1924, Mrs. Lance and Mrs. James donated a fire siren and the Long Valley Woman’s Club gave a modern fire alarm system to the company. This advancement in technology for the fire company helped notify members more efficiently and reduced the response time exponentially.

During the 1950’s, the fire company moved to its present location on Fairview Avenue. In our current firehouse, you will still find the chemical wagon on display and the original concrete block LVFD sign from the previous firehouse. The previous firehouse still exists and is now Valley Center Automotive. The red siren on top of three telephone poles next to the firehouse alerts the firefighters and can be heard in a three-mile radius. 

In 1963, the Ladies Auxiliary donated a bronze plaque for the front of the building with the inscription “Long Valley Volunteer Fire Co. No 1, Organized in 1921, In Memory of Our Members”. When there is a loss of a current or former member, the person’s name is entered in memory of the individual. 

Today, the fire company has four trucks:

Chief 1

Engine 1-1

Engine 1-2

Cascade 1-3

(Visit our "Apparatus" page for pictures and information of each piece of equipment)

Today, the fire company responds to all sorts of different types of emergency incidents including fire alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, motor vehicle accidents, hazardous material situations, car fires, chimney fires, structure fires, etc. The fire company is funded through fundraisers and donations through events such as "Hot Dog Weekend" at Ort Farms during October.