September 18, 2026
Recent reporting has raised questions about fire protection in our community, and as a result, the purpose of this correspondence is to begin a deeper conversation about how fire services are supplied to both Bordentown City and Township.
In Bordentown Township, Bordentown Fire District #1 and Bordentown Fire District #2 employ full time fire fighters (represented by the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 3091) in addition to, in the case of Fire District #1, some supplemental volunteer fire fighters. The budgets in both districts are governed by independent Boards of Fire Commissioners who are elected by the Township residents covered by the respective district.
Sign Up for FREE Bordentown Newsletter
Get local news you can trust in your inbox.
This is not the case in Bordentown City, where two volunteer Fire Companies operate independently to supply fire protection services, with financial support from the Bordentown City budget via the elected City officials.
The Township Fire Districts provide fire protection (including essential annual fire inspections) and emergency response for all of Bordentown Township, and carry the additional, ongoing burden of providing extensive mutual aid to Bordentown City on a daily basis — not as an occasional courtesy, but as a routine part of how the City answers fire calls.
In the unfortunate event of an active fire, it is likely, based on historical precedent, that the first crew on the scene would be from either Fire District #1 or #2, not one of the two volunteer fire departments in the City. I encourage you to speak to the respective Chiefs of the two Township Fire Districts to confirm this information.
Essentially, the residents and businesses in the Township have been and continue to pay for and subsidize fire protection services for Bordentown City.
We need to be direct about the current strain on this arrangement. Bordentown City's volunteer firehouses are currently not operating at full capacity, by their own admission, and Township-based Fire District companies are covering that gap on a daily basis. This is not a tenable longterm solution for the important task of fire safety.
It is understood that in Bordentown City, just as it is nationally, fully staffing and equipping volunteer emergency services is challenging. Many municipalities across the country are seeing the realities of moving to paid services.
The time is now to begin discussions about formalizing fire protections services into one consolidated Fire District, governed independently, employing paid fire fighters, with the costs shared by the residents and businesses in both our communities.
Again, the purpose here is to collect information (call volume, response times, equipment inventory, etc.) and have an open, transparent dialogue on this issue.
On behalf of Bordentown Township, we welcome the opportunity to meet and stand prepared to discuss at your convenience.
Sincerely,
Michael Theokas, Bordentown Township Administrator
Sent to the Bordentown City Commissioners and City Administrator Michael Lapolla on Sept. 18
CC: Bordentown Township Mayor Aneka Miller
Bordentown Township Committee
Justin Fisher, President, Fire District #1
James Cann, Chairman, Fire District #2
Mark Mezger, Chief, Fire District #1
Robert MacFarland, Chief, Fire District #2