HISTORY
In the year of 1931, a group of men met in Klauser’s Hall on Water Street to form a new Volunteer Fire Company. A committee of 3 men was appointed to solicit the help of the first Fire Chief, George Allgair of Engine Company No. 1 and his son William Allgair, one of the popular Mayors of the Boro of: South River. The group had arranged a meeting with the Honorable Mayor John Fitzpatrick a
nd Fire Commissioner Joseph Regielski to sell the governing body the need of a new Volunteer Fire Company. In the month of May 1931, the Mayor and Council approved the formation of the Reliable Fire Company. They assigned the Mack Hook and Ladder Pumper Fire truck, the location in the Boro they would be responsible for, as well as sharing the George Street Fire House and its equipment. The training of the Reliable Fire Company was undertaken by members of Engine Company No. 1-John Wenzel, Charles Gardner, Sr., and William Reichenbach, Sr. Three months of training was sufficient to let the Reliable Fire Company assume the responsibility of the calls in their area. On October 20, 1931, Reliable Fire Company incorporated Charter Members listed below:
William Andres Harold Farley
Frank Chadwick Russell Farley
Daniel Curley Milton Gush
Victor Lunski Frank Murock
John Schultz Matthew Zaleski
Walter Casper Andrew Soboleski
Steve Szabo, Sr. George Wojcik
John Wolak John York, Jr. In establishing its place in the South River Fire Dept., the Reliable Fire Company has aroused keen competition in firematics, civic and social activities. In the year of 1933, Reliable Fire Company members formed a South River First Aid Squad. In the year of 1936, Victor (Scratchy) Lunski had been elected Fire Chief. Scratchy, after receiving congratulations from members of both Fire Companies at an enthusiastic celebration at the firehouse, left for his home in his new Dodge coupe. He parked his car in the usual place in the parking lot on the corner of Jackson and Water Streets. When he approached his car the following morning, he was in the state of shock for about an hour on finding that someone had painted his new black coupe a fire red. Until this day it's still a mystery who painted the first Reliable Fire Chief's car. In the year of 1937, The Reliable Fire Company had been accepted as a member of the New Jersey State Firemen's Relief Association. The rules and regulations of the State Firemen's Relief Association disqualified the senior members of the Reliable Fire Company on the maximum age limit statute. The morale of the Fire Company reached its lowest point. The men elected to represent the Reliable Fire Company in the New Jersey State Firemen's Relief Association were Milton Gush, Frank Chadwick and Frank Blaikaitis. The year 1938 brought a strange member to the Fire Company. Every fire alarm call that the Reliable Fire Co. would cover, an Airedale dog would follow the truck to its destination. In the process of fighting the fire, he would visit the firemen at their posts as if to offer his help in a likeable friendly way. The firemen in general thought that the dog belonged to one of its members, but upon investigation his ownership was not known. The members of the Reliable Fire Company named the dog "Ring" and made him the mascot of the Reliable Fire Company. Ring not only performed his duty answering all alarms with the Fire Co. but also made it his duty to escort members of the house committee to their homes when their chores were finished in the Fire House. Ring served well for about three years when the end came answering an alarm. A truck or a car failed to give him the right of way. Ring will be remembered by the men who knew him. In the years of 1940 to 1946 members of the Reliable Fire Company assumed extra civic duties. They were represented in all the fighting forces of the United States. The Reliable Firemen in the Armed forces were:
Harold Farley John Wolak
Steve Hotkiewicz Willard Walling
Daniel Curley Louis Bogdon
Walter Bogdon Michael J. Toht
Walter Swinski
All other members assumed civic duties in the Boro that were needed in the national crisis. In the years of 1947 to 1954, the Reliable Fire Company was in the stage of reorganizing the fire equipment, methods of fighting fires and replacing and training personnel of the department. As a memorial monument of honor for the living and deceased Exempt Firemen of the South River Fire Department, the old bell that had faithfully served in our alarm system was erected. The members of the committee that represented the Reliable Fire Company in planning the Monument and the drive were:
Edward Sheridan John (Lefty) Chrzan
Stephen Peters Milton Gush
Edward Wolak
The years of 1955 to 1961, The Reliable Fire Company had acquired a new look-repainting and redecorating of the Fire House, a new Fire Truck replacing the -old Mack Hook and Ladder, electing and training new members to replace Reliable veterans, and the transferring of 10 of its active members to the new Summit Engine Company. In 1971 the Boro Council approved a resolution to purchase a new truck for Reliable Fire Company. This truck would provide a new identity for Reliable Fire Company. Most people and Firefighters associated a fire truck with the color red. Studies have shown that the red color is difficult to see at different times of the day. The company decided to go with a new color scheme which would be highly visible during both day and night. The color selected was yellow and the new truck was named the Yellowbird in 1972. The yellow color would become the trademark of Reliable Fire Company in Middlesex County. The Yellowbird was a 1972 American LaFrance Custom 1000 series Dominion 1500 GPM pumper. It was powered by a 265 horsepower Detroit Diesel. It was the first 1500 GPM pumper in Middlesex County and one of the first to sport the new yellow color. It was christened shortly after its arrival at the Trzaska's fire on March 15, 1971, where it pumped continuously for 12 hours and proved its value. The pumper served the Boro until 1999 when it donated to a rural fire company in New York State where it is still in active service. In 1987 the Fire Chiefs petitioned the Mayor and Council for a new fire truck for Reliable Fire Company. In 1988 the council approved the request and in 1990 the new truck “Yellowbird 2” arrived. The truck was a 1990 custom War Eagle pumper manufactured by American Eagle. The Pumper Contains a 1750 GPM. Hale pump and a 750-gallon water tank. Powered by a Detroit Diesel, 350 hp. Engine with an Allison Automatic Transmission, this Pemfab Imperial, 10-man tilt cab is ready for action in town. The truck carries 2000 feet of 5 " hose as well as 3" supply line, 1 3/4" hand line and a 250' booster reel, A complete line of structural firefighting equipment, a 20 gallon on board foam tank, and a 4000-watt generator. Reliable's next truck, the Yellowbird 3 is a 1999 KME 8-man enclosed tilt cab 1500 GPM side mount pumper. It has a 1000 gallon on board water tank, front suction/discharge, various power saws, large diameter 5" hose as well as 3" and 1 3/4" hose, plus 400' of booster hose and a full line of brush firefighting equipment, salvage and overhaul tools, and state of the art SCBA's. Its newest truck is a, the 2023 KME Top Mounted Panther Cab pumper containing state-of-the-art Multiplex electrical and Axis Smart Truck vehicle monitoring systems make this an amazing piece of firefighting apparatus. The New Yellowbird is a Challenger Series pumper with a 2,000 gallon per minute Waterous CSU-C20-2000 single stage pump and a 1,000-gallon water tank. The 8-man enclosed cab with 5 seat-mounted SCBA brackets sits over the Cummins Model L9 diesel engine which is capable of delivering 450 HP at 2100 RPM. The transmission is an Allison Model 3000 EVS automatic 5 speed with electronic touch pad shifter in the cab. The 150 cubic foot hose body has the capacity to hold varying amounts of 5”, 3”, 2 ½” and 1 ¾ hose. The truck is also equipped with an electric-powered booster hose reel, which when packed can accommodate 200’ of Mercedes 1” hose. The Waterous C20 pump includes a Fire Research InControl series TGA400 pressure governor monitoring system and is certified by the NFPA to deliver 1,509 G.P.M. at 150 PSI. The New Yellowbird has two 6” suction inlets and two 2 ½” side suction inlets (one each side), one 5” front suction inlet, two 2 ½” discharges on drivers side, one 2 ½” inch discharge on officers side, one 2 ½” discharge on officers side of hose bed, one 4” discharge on officers side, one 4” rear discharge, one 1 ½” discharge on front bumper, two 1 ½” discharges for speed-lays and 3” standpipe for deck gun. Reliable Fire Company
2025 Administrative Officers
Louis Bongiovi - President
Robert A. Bodak, Jr. - Vice President
Thomas Swenticky - Recording Secretary
Lou Bongiovi, Jr. - Financial Secretary
Robert A. Bodak - Treasurer
Line Officers
Scott Wolf - Chief
Rob Jolly - Captain
Tom Alfrey -Lieutenant
Active Members
H. Alfrey
J. Alfrey
T. Alfrey
B. Baber
J. Baker
C. Barnes
R. Bodak *
R. Jr. Bomba *
L. Bongiovi *
L. Bongiovi, Jr. *
R. Drozd *
B. Ferreira
K. Herzig
R. Jolly
M. Leitao
M. Lipman
M. Linchinsky
M. Magaw *
K. McLaughlin
J. Marin
J. Morales
J. Shackley
P. Swecanski *
T. Swenticky
J. Tresch
P. Tresch *
S. Wolf *
Honorary/Auxiliary Members
G. Corbett
D. Haydukiewicz
J. Kosa *
N. Moroz
G. Kurkowski
W. McIlvane
A. Piscatelli
* – Denotes Ex-Chief
