Schooley's Mountain Fire Co.3

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Schooley's Mountain Fire Co.3

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100% Volunteer Fire Company Serving Washington Township, Morris County, NJ Since 1951
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10/29/2026

On , we wanted to confirm that yes, we do indeed rescue cats from time to time. Firefighter Joey Leshko holds the Schooley's Mountain Fire record for most cats rescued at 3.

10/26/2026

🚒 A LONG DAY ON ROUTE 46 — 2008 🚒

On Monday, September 15, 2008, at approximately 2:45 p.m., Washington Township dispatch began receiving calls for an overturned tanker truck on Route 46. The situation was immediately more than a routine motor vehicle accident: the tanker was leaking gasoline onto the roadway.

Schooley’s Mountain members joined the response to what became a long-duration operation. An overturned commercial tanker brings a very different set of problems — protecting responders and motorists, controlling ignition sources, managing leaking fuel, securing a major roadway, and coordinating the specialized resources needed to safely stabilize and ultimately remove the vehicle.

Route 46 adds its own challenges. Along Washington Township’s northern edge, the highway crosses the mountain between Hackettstown and Mount Olive, making an incident involving a large commercial vehicle capable of affecting far more than just the immediate crash scene.

The photographs preserved by Fire-46 Photography capture the scale of the response and offer a great snapshot of what emergency operations looked like in 2008.

For our members, calls like this were a reminder that the job has never been limited to structure fires. Vehicle crashes, hazardous materials, brush fires, storms, rescues — when something goes wrong in the community, the fire service is often asked to help figure out what comes next.

Nearly two decades later, the equipment and procedures have continued to evolve, but that part hasn’t changed.

When the call comes in, we go to work.

Photos used with permission from Fire 46 Photography: https://fire-46-photography.smugmug.com/Motor-Vehicle-Accidents/2008-Motor-Vehicle-Accidents/Tanker-Overturns-on-Rt-4

10/19/2026

🚒MEMBER MONDAY🚒

Emily Elsasser joined the Schooley’s Mountain Fire Company in 2006 and currently serves as Vice President — a position she has held long enough that she simply calls herself the “Forever VP.”

Emily originally came into the company through the firematic side. She completed fire school, became a fully qualified firefighter, and still considers earning her black helmet one of her proudest accomplishments. One call that has stayed with her was the Flocktown Road explosion, where the blast was strong enough to be felt at the firehouse before crews responded to what became a significant brush fire.

Over time, Emily’s role changed, but her commitment to the company never did. She moved from active firefighting into the Association side, where she has become one of the driving forces behind many of our events and activities. Her story is a great example that there are many ways to serve a volunteer fire company. You may start on the firematic side, move into Association leadership, or find another role entirely — what matters is continuing to contribute.

For Emily, the firehouse has always been about family. She first started helping at pancake breakfasts for volunteer-service hours, and those breakfasts have remained a big part of her life ever since. Her family has supported them for more than 25 years, and today Emily helps keep many of the events that bring our community together moving forward.

The firehouse also introduced her to Assistant Chief Ryan Welch. The two joined around the same time, began dating in 2008, and have been building their lives together ever since. Their Silver Lab, Chucky, has also become a familiar face around the station.

Outside the firehouse, Emily works at and still finds time to dance whenever the opportunity presents itself — usually somewhere in the back room during one of our events.

For Emily, Schooley’s Mountain has provided lifelong friendships, a partner, countless connections, and the chance to be part of something much bigger than herself.

10/16/2026

We're so close to 1,000 Instagram followers. Please help us get there by entering our contest! Go to our Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/smfc35/), follow us, like this post on IG, tag friends in the comments and share to your story for a bonus entry! Winner selected when we hit 1k followers. Winner will recieve a $20 gift card to a Long Valley Business of your choice!

10/15/2026

It was great to celebrate Junior Firefighter Derek Inskeep during Senior Night this past Friday. Derek's been doing great on the gridion and continuing to help his community at the firehouse. Juggling those things while finishing your senior year of high school isn't easy, and we appreciate him for it.

10/12/2026

🚒 FROM PANCAKES TO A FIRE- NAUGHRIGHT RD, 2006 🚒

One of the things about being a volunteer firefighter is that the alarm rarely waits for a convenient time.

On March 5, 2006, members of the Schooley’s Mountain Fire Company were in the middle of our pancake breakfast when a report of explosions and fire came in from 26 Naughright Road. Within minutes, members went from serving breakfast to responding to a fully involved structure fire.

Crews arrived to a challenging scene. The building sat more than 1,700 feet down a narrow driveway, making access and water supply difficult. Propane and acetylene cylinders inside were responsible for several explosions, while fire spread to a truck parked nearby and then into the surrounding grass and brush. A tractor and boat were also destroyed.

All three Washington Township fire companies and the Long Valley First Aid Squad responded. Chester provided a water tender and pumper to establish a fill site near Bartley Road. That water source was another quarter-mile beyond the driveway entrance, adding another layer to an already complicated operation.

As the fire spread into the grass, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service responded as well. Tri-County and Califon fire companies provided station coverage while Township crews remained committed to the incident.

For our members, this fire was a reminder of what rural firefighting on Schooley’s Mountain can demand: long driveways, limited water, difficult apparatus access, multiple hazards, and conditions that can change quickly.

It also captures something about volunteer service that hasn’t changed. One minute our members were cooking pancakes for their neighbors. The next, they were climbing onto the trucks to protect them.

As we celebrate 75 years, incidents like Naughright Road remind us that our history isn’t only found in old apparatus and photographs. It’s also found in generations of volunteers who stopped whatever they were doing when the alarm sounded—and went to work.

10/08/2026

Nationwide, nearly 65% of first responders are volunteers. IAFC’s Hustle Worth Having national volunteer firefighter recruitment campaign works to showcase the fire service to the next generation.

This Fire Prevention Week, more than 20 departments across 13 states are opening their doors to the public as a part of this national effort.

From live demos to pork dinners to firehouse tours, fire departments are using the FREE marketing materials and support provided by IAFC to engage their community and prospective volunteers.

Learn how your department can get involved in this campaign by visiting HustleWorthHaving.org

Address

231 Schooleys Mountain Road
Long Valley, NJ
07853

Telephone

+19088520857

Website

http://www.35fire.org/

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