People can see fire equipment from area companies and tour Raritan Township Fire Station No. 1 on June 18, 2016.
RARITAN TWP. -- The Raritan Township Fire Company will be holding a truck muster and open house at its main station, at 303 S. Main St., on Saturday, June 18.
Tower 21 has been at work in Raritan Township since December. (courtesy photo)This will be to celebrate the arrival of the company's new 2015 Pierce 100-foot tower ladder, called Tower 21.
Fire departments from around the state will bring in their trucks to be inspected and judged. Throughout the day many will be on site for public viewing. Categories for judging include antique, aerial, tender and tanker, engines six months to 10 years of age, engines 11 to 20 years of age, farthest traveled and Chief's Award.
"Our station and apparatus will be open to the public to come in and see who we are and what we do," said Raritan Township Fire Chief Steven Wetter.
There will be many opportunities for kids to explore what it's like to be a firefighter. Food and drink will be available, as will souvenir T-shirts and mugs. A small dedication ceremony will be held at 1 p.m.; the open house will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More than 500 firefighters battle blaze
The tower truck being dedicated has already seen service. It arrived in December, and was among the trucks from around the region that responded to a huge warehouse fire in Hillsborough in February.
More recently, the truck helped firefighters put out a fire a Caffe Cicchetti's in Flemington on May 2, and a fire at Angelo's pizzeria on Route 31 on March 16. It also responded to a fire at a home on Four Seasons Road on Jan. 24.
"I don't know exactly how many calls it has responded to, but it's certainly over 100," Wetter said, adding that the fire company has already responded to more than 300 calls so far this year.
The 100-foot aerial platform truck replaced a machine more than 20 years old whose manufacturer went out of business. The old truck was out of service for repairs for most of 2014.
Sallie Graziano may be reached at sgraziano@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SallieGraziano. Find NJ.com on Facebook.