Shared Service Agreement Provides Relief for Diamond Beach Residents

WILDWOOD CREST – Lower Township Council, the Board of Commissioners of Lower Township Fire District No. 3 along with the Erma Volunteer Fire Company have entered into an inter-local service agreement that would make Wildwood Crest the first responder in case of fires in Diamond Beach for two years.
The new agreement would save Diamond Beach residents significant money on fire insurance and provide better safety to the area.
Township Manager Jim Ridgway explained that the deal would designate the Wildwood Crest Fire Department as first responders to alarms that are in the Diamond Beach section of Lower Township. That will include the area of Diamond Beach from Richmond Avenue to the base of the Middle Thorofare Bridge, also known as the Ocean Drive Bridge, and the area of the township along Bayview Drive. The Wildwood Crest Fire Department will respond immediately to all calls, until Lower Township fire equipment and personnel arrive to take over responsibility.
Additionally, Wildwood Crest will also bring police and rescue squads to fires but they would be relieved as units arrived from Lower Township.
Prior to the agreement, the Diamond Beach section of the township suffered longer response times for fire services because the Erma Fire Hall was more than five miles away and the most direct route would be to travel over the aging Middle Thorofare Bridge, which had just reduced its weight limits. That meant a fully loaded fire truck was over the weight limit and had to travel through Rio Grande over the George Redding Bridge into Wildwood and south to Diamond Beach. Because of the longer response time, Diamond Beach has the worst fire insurance rating, a 10 on scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, because of the geographical issues.
The total cost of the agreement is $75,000 although the fire district will absorb $65,000 of that amount, leaving township residents with a $10,000 cost for the shared service agreement.
The new fire agreement is the result of over a year of negotiation, and Lower Township Council congratulated Fire District 3, which is the fire district where the agreement would take place, and Ridgway for all their hard work.
The shared service was inked by Lower Township Council March 16 and by Wildwood Crest Commissioners March 25.