Two-Year-Old Feud Festers Between Cape Fire Companies

WEST CAPE MAY — A dispute looms between Cape May City Fire Department and West Cape May Fire Department.
In 2008, the West Cape May Fire Department elected to withdraw from an “all call” agreement which would automatically initiate a multi-department response for structure fires.
The greatest advantage to residents here with the all-call agreement would bring quick response from Cape May City Fire Department which is staffed around the clock. Cape May City Fire Department units could be on scene within minutes whereas West Cape May volunteers, many of whom do not reside in the borough, would need to first respond from home then to the firehouse to get fire trucks and then respond to the fire scene; a process that can take 10 minutes or longer by some estimates of area volunteers.
West Cape May Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chuck McPherson told the Herald in 2008 that the all call system was “too chaotic” and “needs some tweaking.”
Sixteen months later no “tweaking” has resolved the issue.
Herald readers were outraged and frequently commented in Spout Off and in the online comment section questioning why the governing body was not allowing the fastest help available to rescue them if they were in need.
West Cape May Mayor Pam Kaithern, said in a phone interview on Tuesday, April 13, she did not support the decision to stop Cape May City Fire Department from responding to West Cape May in the all call agreement. “When I was in school I was taught in fire safety class every minute counts.” Kaithern said she wanted the agreement back in place and it was her understanding after the borough gave the West Cape May Fire Department official status in late 2009 the all call status reinstatement was the next priority.
The New Dispute
The new dispute between the two fire departments stems from allegations by the Cape May City Fire Department that West Cape May’s firefighter training is not up to community standards. However, Cape May City has not specifically identified what training West Cape May firefighters are lacking.
In an April 6 letter to the West Cape May Public Safety Commissioner, Cape May City Fire Chief Jerome Inderwies said they offered training and assistance to West Cape May which that company had not accepted.
Both chiefs were unavailable for comment.
In the response to Inderwies’ April 6 letter, West Cape May Chief Charles McPherson Jr. defended his company’s training and ironically criticized Inderwies’ decision not to allow West Cape May firefighters from responding to Cape May City calls, citing West Cape May is faster choice over Town Bank Volunteer Fire Company, which is over five miles away, when West Cape May is less then a half mile from Cape May City.
McPherson wrote in his response, “In the future you may be sorry for your decision if fire victims are hanging out of a window and your ladder tower is out of service or being used at a different location.”
This same hypothetical scenario was voiced by Herald readers who did not understand why, if they were hanging out of a window, the “fastest fire truck” could not rescue them.
Mayor Kaithern said she will be reviewing what the progress of the reinstatement of the all call system is so they can “take the next step.”
In March 2010, a similar situation arose in Atlantic County when the Northfield and Somers Point Fire Departments stopped the Linwood Fire Department from responding because of training standards.
The latest dispute will be discussed at Wednesday’s West Cape May Borough Commission meeting at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall, 732 Broadway.