Green Creek’s Fire Chief Zeiss Marks 30 Years

GREEN CREEK – David Zeiss has seen it all as a volunteer firefighter for over three decades, house fires, car and airplane crashes, search and rescues, changing smoke detector batteries and  rescuing cats from trees and other animals from precarious places.
According to Zeiss, some things stand out in his memory.
“I can still picture in my head every fatality. It’s something you never forget and there have been too many,” Zeiss said, pointing to Route 47, a hotspot in Cape May County for severe car crashes.
Despite the tough situations all firefighters deal with, Zeiss points out that he wouldn’t want to be anything but a volunteer fireman.
“I love being a fireman. All the volunteers love doing it. We love doing what we do,” Zeiss said.
Deputy Chief Paul Fritsch agreed.
“Being a volunteer fireman is a lifestyle. You have to be ready at anytime to go out on a call. We are a family,” said Fritsch, a retired 20-year veteran of the Middle Township Police Department.
Although firefighters spend a lot of time doing superhero stuff, Zeiss said most of his day is spent doing paperwork.
“Being a volunteer fireman is a lifestyle. You have to be ready at any time to go out on a call. We are a family,” Fritsch explained.
Although firefighters spend a lot of time doing superhero activities, Zeiss said most of his day is spent doing paperwork.
“I spend a lot of time filling out paperwork, applying for grants and purchasing equipment. Over the last six years we’ve saved the taxpayers over $1 million due to successful grants,” Zeiss explained.
Having friends in high places helps, too as U.S. Rep. Jeffrey Van Drew (R-2nd) writes the company a letter of support for every grant application, Zeiss pointed out.
Fritsch said there are 50 active members on the fire company roster, a huge number considering some volunteer fire companies are finding it harder and harder to staff their trucks.
“We have amenities the guys can take advantage of including a nice workout area, a lounge area with a pool table and state-of-the-art coffee machine, but they want to be a member here because we are family. We help each other, look out for each other,” Fritsch said.
Becoming a firefighter is no easy task. Every volunteer must pass through the county fire academy. That schooling starts in February two nights a week and every other weekend until June. Then, there is fire school Part 2 that is also available to members.
The only compensation volunteers earn is a $1,400 per year 401K after five years of service that requires attending a certain amount of company meetings, drills, work details, and fire calls.
Sean McDevitt is the Cape May County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) coordinator, EMS chief for Middle Township and captain in the Green Creek Volunteer Fire Company. He said one of the things that sets Green Creek apart from other companies is its Rapid Intervention Team (RIT).
The six-man RIT stands by at structure fires in the event of an emergency such as firefighters getting lost in a structure, running out of air or floor collapse.
“We are there for the firefighters. We stand by if rescue is needed,” McDevitt said, adding that 20 Green Creek volunteers are certified RIT members.
Zeiss said his 30-year stint as chief was interrupted for 15 months when his unit, the New Jersey National Guard 253rd Transportation Co., was called up to Iraq in 2003. His Guard unit was also deployed to Ground Zero, New York after the terrorist attack Sept. 11, 2001, and then to Fresh Kills landfill to sift through debris from the World Trade Center to recover human remains for identification and burial. He retired from the National Guard in 2005.
Zeiss also served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam from 1969-71.
A fifth-generation firefighter, Zeiss said there is nothing he’d rather do than head up the Green Creek Volunteer Fire Company.
“I’m here every day and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m proud of what we built here.”
To contact Carl Price, email cprice@cmcherald.com.