117 Pershing Boulevard, summer home of the Serra family, was destroyed in the fire.

The Lavallette fire from a neighboring yard.  

Lavallette Fire Chief Mike Philips is seen outside the rubble of 117 Pershing, and the neighboring 119, which was saved.

CLICK THE ARROW BELOW TO BE CONNECTED TO A VIDEO FROM THE EXTRICATION CALL NEAR THE ORTLEY BEACH BORDER, THURSDAY JULY 6TH:

Fire at 37 Hancock.....

Station 44 responded to 37 Hancock Avenue on the evening of April 19th to a report of a house full of smoke.

According to the building's owner, Mr. Mike Heffernan, he had just evicted the tenants that day.

IMAGINE THIS IS THE CONDITION THEY LEFT THE PLACE.


AND AN APPARENT SMOKEBOMB was the cause of the smoke.


A BUSY DAY IN APRIL....

SHFD Firefighter Harold Boxill is seen putting out a garbage can fire on the Casino Pier on the evening of Tuesday April 11th. This can is in the same location as...

The garbage can fire of February 26, 2004, which threatened the Carousel in the days just prior to the installation of the new metal garage doors.

AND LESS THAN 12 HOURS LATER....

The Garbage truck caught fire on cardboard recycling day! The event is being coined, THE GREAT GARBAGE TRUCK FIRE OF APRIL 2006!

SEASIDE HEIGHTS NATIVE Brian Hoffnagle is seen extinguishing the fire.

STATION 44 MEMBER Marc Boucher and his crew WERE NOT injured in the GREAT GARBAGE TRUCK FIRE OF APRIL 2006!

229 Blaine Avenue had a smoky fire in the attic on the evening of March 10th, 2006.

Station 44 officers were there on the spot.

The ladder rose high in the sky.

and Chief Samarelli was not afraid....

and scaled the ladder to get to the high window..

Thanks to Station 44 who kept the fire from spreading.

Fire at the Hugh J. Boyd School...

On August 31st, SHFD fire pagers went off, with a report of a fire at the Hugh J. Boyd School, one day before the teachers were to return for the 05/06 school year. Some teachers were in the building at the time.

THE CULPRIT was the milk refrigerator, which sparked, caught fire, and released a lot of smoke through the building.

Seaside Heights emergency personnel were on the scene at once and put out the fire.

Fire at 16 Carteret...

Flames were visible at a blaze at 461 Hiering Avenue which was found to be an arson.



Station 44 soon put out the smoky fire.


Chief Billy Rumbolo was the first on the scene.

Fire at Fish 'R Jumping at Casino Pier....

Fish 'R Jumping on the Casino Pier was only opened one weekend before a fire in the ceiling caused significant damage on Sunday May 22, 2005, five days before Memorial Day Friday.

Of course Chief Rumbolo and Station 44 members were on the scene at once.


A rare sight is a Station 44 Pumper on the main promenade of the Boardwalk in Seaside Heights.


Vincent Storino was very involved in saving the building.


See the Fish 'R Jumpin' collateral damage.


It was said that the fire may have started in the garage door.

On the morning of May 7, 2005, Station 44 was dispatched to a"Motor Vehicle Accident with extrication" near the intersection of Hiering and Central Avenues.

Station 44 firefighters swarm the scene like worker bees.


The Jaws of Life had to be used.


The minivan's roof was peeled off like a can of tuna.

The other vehicle, a silver Honda, was being driven by prom-goers visiting Seaside Heights from elsewhere.

Station 44 saves 233 Webster Avenue...
Local youth J.J. LaStella honored....

Thanks again to Station 44, which saved yet another building from being destroyed by fire in Seaside Heights.


Gerald "J.J." LaStella Jr. was honored by Chief Tommy Boyd of the S.H.P.D. and Chief Billy Rumbolo of the S.H.F.D. for his quick thinking and actions on April 30, 2005, when he discovered and reported the fire at 233 Webster Avenue.  

Ocean County Sheriff's Department Officer Lora Parlapiano, a Seaside Heights native, was on the scene.

As was Station 44 President Rich Tompkins.

Station 44 saves landmark bar in Seaside Heights.....

Jack and Bill's Bar at Porter Avenue and Ocean Terrace was almost taken out the night of Sunday April 17, 2005 when a pile of trash nearly set the building ablaze.

Station 44 Chief Billy Rumbolo and Mayor Ken Hershey were on the scene straight away. This is the second time Station 44 has saved the building, saving it first in March 1980 when it was threatened by the big Boardwalk fire that burned from Dupont to Porter Avenue.

The burning pile of trash was quickly extinguished.

This station 44 firefighter puts water on a potential hot spot.

Fifty years ago, in June 1955, came the Great Boardwalk Fire of 1955 that destroyed the area where Jack and Bill's stands now.

January 1, 2005 brought a fire under the Tower of Fear, only a few hundred feet from Jack and Bill's, which was also put out by Station 44.

And in 2004, Station 44 put out a trash can fire that threatened the building that houses the historic 1910 Dr. Floyd Moreland hand-carved Carousel. 

Fire at 34 Fremont Avenue.....

The third floor of 34 Fremont Avenue in Seaside Heights was gutted on the evening of February 12th, 2005.


Here, Fire Chief Billy Rumbolo speaks to the home's residents and learns there are 5 dogs and a ferret inside.


4411 was working overtime.


Station 44 and 45(Seaside Park) firefighters contained the fire to only the third floor.


A Station 44 firefighter peers out the third floor window of 34 Fremont Avenue.



Seaside Heights Councilwoman Joann Duszczak was in the crowd, as the fire was right behind her house. This is the second fire near Joann's home in 2005. Nearby 51 Carteret burned in January 2005. Joann thanks Station 44 for all their hard work.


Station 44 Fire Chief Billy Rumbolo was sad to announce that although 4 dogs were rescued, a 13 year-old Rottweiler and a ferret perished on the third floor.

49 Carteret Fire....

At about 9:30 p.m. on January 19th, 2005, Station 44 was dispatched to 49 Carteret.  


Station 44 firefighters enter the smoky building. Smoke and flames could be seen all over Seaside Heights.


Seaside Heights' bravest.
  


Despite snow that had fallen hours earlier, spectators came out by the dozens.


The 49 Carteret fire reminds us all that Station 44 goes out in all types of weather and temperatures to protect the citizens of Seaside Heights.

On Friday December 17th, 2004 at about 11 p.m., the Babe's Corner Store located at Sumner and Central Avenues in Seaside Heights suffered a fire and explosion that destroyed the landmark convenience store.


A fire began outside the store. A Carbon Dioxide canister stored outside the building got so hot, that it exploded, shaking all of Seaside Heights, and spreading the fire to the interior of the store.


The plastic soda holders and milk cartons that formerly had been stored outside the store were blasted hundreds of feet away.


This is what Babe's looked like in June 2004.


The fire was soon through the ceiling and roof.


These aerial shots were taken from the roof of a hotel under construction across the street from Babe's.


These are the remains of the ice machine that used to be by the front door.


Station 44's aerial truck had to be called in.


Station 44 Fire Chief Billy Rumbolo brought in the front-end loader to help collapse the damaged structure.


The building toppled with one push.

See Babe's Rubble...

This is what it looked like from the air the next morning.


The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and Fire Marshall combed the rubble.


On June 19th, 2004, The VFW hall located between Blaine and Grant Avenues on the Boulevard in Seaside Heights was leveled by a fire...


A long shot from Sumner Avenue and the Boulevard looking north.

Station 44 was immediately on the scene.


The VFW wasn't the only building threatened.


Things looked dicey for "On Top of Spaghetti".


And Concetta's restaurant was in danger as well.


This is what it looked like from the back of the VFW.

Station 44 Firefighters had to climb onto the roof of "On Top of Spaghetti".


The flames were stubborn in the VFW.


The Seaside Heights Ladder had to be pressed into service.


And the steady stream of water eventually extinguished the blaze.

See VFW Rubble...

No roof anymore.


The once popular bar was now just a pile of burned bricks.


Nothing was recognizable of the VFW.


The VFW had not nearly enough insurance to rebuild. Donations are being accepted.