On the March: Lanoka Harbor Firefighters Rack Up Awards at Parade

The Lanoka Harbor firefighters' dedication to their equipment impressed their colleagues at a recent parade, where they were showered with awards.

The fire company took the trip north to Passaic County June 11 to take part in the Pompton Lakes Volunteer Fire Department's 110th anniversary parade, where they marched in mutual celebration.

"We weren't expecting anything like [what] we got," said Mark Amrozewicz, a volunteer firefighter and assistant engineer at Lanoka. 

The Lanoka company, established in 1941, has been going to the Pompton Lakes parade every year, according to Amrozewicz, but had never brought any of their fire vehicles along with them.

"This year I had a crazy idea to take our aerial — our ladder truck — up [to Pompton Lakes]," Amrozewicz said. "Everyone looked at me like I was nuts, it's the most complicated vehicle with the most tools and everything."

Amrozewicz spent two to three weeks prior to the parade cleaning the aerial truck. His father, Chief Jack Amrozewicz, decided to follow suit and clean up his vehicle along with an antique Ford in preparation for the parade.

After weeks of preparation, the Lanoka crew racked up seven awards including:

• First Place for Best-Appearing Command Vehicle.
• First Place for Best-Appearing Aerial Vehicle.
• First Place for Best-Appearing Antique Vehicle.
• Second Place for Best-Appearing Marching.
• Farthest-Traveled Fire Department.
• Best-Appearing Overall Fire Apparatus for Aerial.
• Best Overall-Appearing Fire Company.

Amrozewicz and the company were honored by the unexpected awards, which he believes acknowledges the company's dedication to safety and handwork.

"As a fire department, keeping our equipment in the best condition that it can be is important," Amrozewicz said. "When we get a call, we know everything works and nothing will fall apart. There are not going to be hiccups when we are at a call."

Maintaining these aerial vehicles takes a lot of work because of the size and complexity of the trucks, Amrozewicz said. Jack Amrozewicz, Dan Inglis, Justin Homme, Tom Bruce, Jeff Fedak, John Smedlie, Eddie Peak and many more members helped the company accomplish the goal.

Also, the company was recently from the World Trade Center with which they plan to design and build a memorial in front of the company to honor those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

The company hopes to finish the memorial by Sept. 11, 2011, and will be holding a car wash on June 26 to raise money to build the memorial. The fundraiser will be held at the fire house on Route 9 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.