Whether you are a volunteer or career firefighter, you belong to a family away from home. A big family. 

Knock on a firehouse door. “I'm on the job.” “Come in.” “Want coffee?” 

You attend weddings, wakes and funerals. Cook, eat, clean, train, study, sleep and rib each other-together. Attend various ceremonies, dinners, holiday parties, Christmas wrapping parties, hospital visits and parades for children. Put a smile on their faces. 

Laugh together in good times and cry together in bad times. Sacrifice holidays, birthdays, little league games, etc. Jump out of bed at 3 a.m. to answer a “hit” in 20-degree weather and 90-degree weather. 

Smells and bells alarms, MVAs, water leaks, explosions, plane crash. Mutual aid. Working with Brothers and Sisters from neighborhood departments and knowing them as well as you know members of your own department. 

Promotional ceremonies, retirement parties and “walk-outs.” Bagpipes. 

On a March 25th morning, Cliffside Park volunteer firefighters shared delivered plates of breakfast meals, at “the house,” after they returned from a 2-alarm commercial building fire. At the same time, there was a news report on the TV covering a commercial building fire in Paterson. 

Eat up Cliffside guys-the tones are going to go off again. They did!