Fireman’s Convention Means Much to Island, Companies

Thousands of visitors flocked to Wildwood last weekend for the 137th annual New Jersey State Fireman’s Convention, drawing dozens of fire apparatus, hundreds of vendors, and thousands of dollars in revenue for the City of Wildwood.
Formally, the weekend’s key focus was the annual business meeting of the N.J. State Fireman’s Association, where delegates gathered to conduct official business, and are usually addressed by the governor. But the weekend involves much more than that, as thousands of firefighters converge on the spot each September for two days of training, formal meetings, and camaraderie.
There’s more to the weekend than you’d expect, however, said Dave Thompson, president of the Five Mile Beach Volunteer Fireman’s Association, the organization comprised of the six fully-volunteer departments on the island (Anglesea, North Wildwood- 15th Street, Wildwood- Pine Ave., Wildwood- Holly Beach, West Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest Volunteer Fire Companies) that host the convention each year.
In fact, the would-be founding members of the FMBVFA were influential in convincing the State Fireman’s Association in moving the convention from Atlantic City to Wildwood in 1975. One of the founding members, W. Robert Hentges, is credited as the individual almost single-handedly involved in getting the cities on board to make a formal bid to host the event.
Hentges arranged a meeting between mayors of the Wildwoods, the Wildwood Hotel-Motel Association, convention hall, and every island fire company to formulate a spectacular proposal involving plans for the meeting, discounted accommodations and amusement rides, and a massive parade, something Atlantic City had always opposed.
The State Association in 1970 voted 3,296-4 in favor of moving the convention to Wildwood in 1975, with the only four opposing votes coming from those delegates from Atlantic City. The city has hosted the event every year since.
While the event is only two days, planning takes place throughout the year. “We actually meet during the convention to begin discussing what we’d like to see for next year,” Thompson said in an interview in 2012. “The week following convention, we’ll hold our first formal meeting for the next year’s event, and meet throughout the year.”
The FMBVFA is responsible for numerous different areas of the Convention, from organizing and hosting the judges for the annual parades, providing security for the vendor and exhibit areas after they close for the day, assisting in set-up and take-down of the tents, tables, and various other aspects that are required to host the official convention and the events that come with it.
A number of volunteers from the island departments have been involved with the event for over many years. Ed Beck, a life member of Anglesea Fire Company, has been involved with the event since 1978.
“I’ve been involved with selling the mugs each year since I began in 1978, and I’m usually the youngest one at the table,” Beck said. “Many of the volunteers have been here since the start in 1975. It’s become so routine now, the events almost run without thinking.”
The association also runs the popular “beer garden,” and sells the convention’s official coffee mugs and T-shirts. Proceeds annually are in the tens of thousands, and evenly split between the FMBVFA’s six departments. This money is vital to the operation of each department, Thompson said.
“For most of these departments, fireman’s weekend is their main source of fundraising. The money raised each year is a large portion of each department’s operating budget, so the proceeds of the convention actually help to keep taxes lower for the residents of Wildwood.”
The convention isn’t just about raising money for the departments, however. Each year, the association collects donations for The Burn Foundation, a Philadelphia-based organization that works to prevent and help treat burn-related injuries. Donations collected from the convention normally exceed $20,000 and are consistently the largest donations to the foundation each year, Thompson said.
In addition, the association has hosted an American Red Cross blood drive since 2001.
“After the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York just a week before the 2001 convention, I called the Red Cross the next day,” Thompson said. “I told them ‘We want to host a blood drive. We’ll have 20,000 firefighters in one spot; we’ll get you all the blood you need.’ And we’ve been hosting one each year since.”
With all the positives the events produces, it’s hard to believe there could be any negative side for those involved. There is one downfall to volunteering though, Beck said.
“We’re normally so busy making sure the weekend goes smoothly, we often don’t have time to take in the sights and events. At some point in time, it might be nice to see the convention someplace else,” Beck said jokingly. “We’ve never really had the opportunity to experience how great the event is, so it’d be nice to see it from the other side one year.”