The Washington Valley Fire company will officially merge with & become part of the Warren Township Fire Department, at tonights reorganization meeting. The move, some say, is 40 years in the making.

The Washington Valley Fire Company is, for the rest of the day, anyway, the last independant fire company in Warren. The other three fire companies in Warren all merged in the 1960s. Washington Valley enjoyed it's independance, however, and declined merging until now. Washington Valley Fire Company president Thomas Seccamanie Jr. is quoted in yesterdays Star Ledger as saying "We definitely came to the realization that we should have more unity." Washington Valleys roughly 20 volunteers will join approximately 60 in the Warren F.D. There probably will not be any major changes to the operations, according to fire department members & officials quoted in the same Star Ledger piece. Washington Valley has long cooperated with Warren, agreeing on many guidelines, especially including who responds to fires in which locations. One change for the positive will be, according to Warren Fire Department Chief Tim McGowan, increased support such as firefighting equipment from the township. Additionally, Washington Valley members will now be eligible to become, as well as allowed to vote for, Fire Department Chief.

Good luck to the new, larger Warren Fire department, and thanks to all it's members, who volunteer their time to do what they do for the benefit of the rest of us.