An NFD New Year's Eve from a different point of view.

I thought of posting this yesterday, but didn't want to be accused of jinxing the night.

Bob Griffith was a Chief Operator who was appointed in 1953. This is his memory of one New Year's Eve shortly after he was appointed.

R. Griffith: As far as work, I’d go back to a New Year’s Eve. It’s quite a while back. I’m just sorry I can’t give you the date or the time, but I got in here about eleven o’clock because we wanted to give the off going people a chance to get to where they were going. I brought in a nice spread. The others fellows did. We put it out on a little table right in the middle here. We were all set to have a little party & watch Guy Lombardo at midnight & it started just about maybe a quarter of twelve. As I said after a while you can get a feel here & you can feel it building to the climax. Well, the way we left everything out was the way it was at eight o’clock when we left here.

They had two three baggers back to back around Sixth Street. There was a time when Nineteen Engine was first due up on Verona Avenue & Broadway. As fate would have it, we got a fire on just about on Verona & Broadway. Nineteen sure enough had to go there & that turned out to be a pretty good job. There was a time when we had no units left. We had no mutual aid. Shortly after that they started to release companies earlier. Something that they didn't do up to that point. When they were there, they were there.

The Deputy or whoever held on to them. Then when they got done, they just went back. After this happened that particular New Year's Eve, they started to change the procedures. Releasing companies quicker. That was one of the things that brought it about. It was long before they had mutual aid. I guess we could have called for help. I don't think we did. I think we held on that night, but we held on with maybe special service & a couple of hoses or something. That's about what it was. I remember that because that was the first time. After that it seemed that every New Year's Eve or in the holidays there was always something major happening. Losing kids which is always so sad or just big fires. It always seemed to be Good Friday or New Year's Eve.

It was the first time that anyone ever heard of Newark not having any engines left. Was something really memorable. At that time, it was a first. It was a first. Something they never did before. They never had where they ran out of them. I’m sure it was two three-alarm fires & one or two two-alarm fires. Absolutely stripped the city. We had nothing left. And to me, I was a new fellow here. I wasn’t here all that long. I forget how many years, but years. That to me was the most memorable night.