Erma Fire Company Turned Down For Grant for Diamond Beach Firehouse

DIAMOND BEACH — This beach community is no closer to getting a fire substation than it was five years ago when Eustace Mita, developer of The Grand of Diamond Beach condominiums, promised to build a station on township property.
The nearest Lower Township fire company to Diamond Beach is the Erma Volunteer Fire Company, located at the County Airport.
To further complicate matters, the deteriorating Middle Thorofare Bridge off Ocean Drive, the direct route from the airport to Diamond Beach, cannot tolerate the weight of a fire truck causing Erma Volunteer Fire Company to drive through Rio Grande, Wildwood and Wildwood Crest to reach this beach town creating a travel time of 18 minutes under ideal traffic conditions.
In September 2007, Erma Volunteer Fire Company Chief Warner Muller informed Lower Township Police Chief Edward Donohue and the mayors of Lower Township, Wildwood and Wildwood Crest that the Middle Thorofare Bridge was rated for a maximum load of 15 tons but a fire truck fully loaded with water could weigh 25 tons. At that time, Donohue stated in a letter that fire trucks should be diverted to the George Redding Bridge.
The letter stated in the event of confirmed report of smoke or fire, Wildwood Crest Volunteer Fire Department would respond as per a countywide mutual aid agreement.
At that time, Donohue requested an emergency services substation be constructed in Diamond Beach to have a fire truck available on a 24-hour-per-day ready status.
In June 2009, Jeff VanMourik, Erma Fire Company Vice Chairman of Fire District 3 asked to lease a parcel of township-owned land to build a fire station. At that time, he said the public has concerns about the lack of a firehouse in Diamond Beach.
The township owns property on Seaview Avenue in Diamond Beach, which is partially occupied by a playground. At that time, Township Solicitor Tony Monzo said he believed the township may have written a lease of the property to the fire company a few years ago.
VanMourik said he had heard that Mita had promised to finance a fire station in 2005 when he received approvals from Lower Township Planning Board to build the condominiums.
VanMourik said he heard a figure of $250,000 from Mita.
“If we go with this building, we are going to need to put a fire truck in it,” VanMourik said in 2009. “So we are hoping they (Grand Resort) will contribute the $250,000 for the fire truck.”
Muller told the Herald last week the fire company was turned down for a federal grant to build a fire substation. He said the company was also turned down for a grant to buy a fire truck for Diamond Beach.
Muller said Mita promised to build a fire substation using his contractors and fund up to $500,000. He said fire commissioners are considering ordering a lightweight fire truck that can use the Middle Thorofare Bridge, weighing 13 tons, to stay under the 15-ton limit.
If commissioners approve purchase of the truck, the fire company could take possession by mid or late summer, said Muller.
“We looking at $250,000 for a truck versus probably a million and a half for a building,” he said.
On June 29, 2005, Mita told the Herald, following a hearing for a CAFRA permit with the state Department of Environmental Protection, that his offer stood to build a fire department substation.
Mita told the Herald via a voicemail message to this reporter last week, that township told him they could not accept a building because “they didn’t want it to seem like undue influence.”
Mita said he was not seeking approval for any future projects with the current economic conditions. He said the township refused his gift but he was willing to donate two lots in Diamond Beach which would save the township $700,000 to $1 million.
Lower Township Manager Kathy McPherson said she was not aware that the township ever refused Mita’s offer to build a firehouse in Diamond Beach. She said the township could accept donations and the fire department needed a building, not a parcel of land.
“That’s how we got the Millman Center,” said McPherson.
She said the township owned parcel in Diamond Beach is available for a firehouse. While the township has a playground on the corner of its property and leases a small portion to Verizon for a switching station, “the land is big enough to accommodate a building,” said McPherson.