By Donald Wittkowski
Who knows how many lives and homes were saved over the years in Sea Isle City by the firefighters who occupied the old firehouse on West Jersey Avenue?
The modest, two-story building that dates to the early 1900s was once an indispensable part of the city’s public safety.
But now it remains empty, its fate sealed. The firehouse became badly deteriorated over the years, so city officials have decided it is beyond saving. City Council is scheduled to award a $37,000 demolition contract at its meeting on Tuesday.
City spokeswoman Katherine Custer said a date has not yet been set for tearing it down. Asbestos has been removed from the building to prepare it for demolition.
“In the most technical sense, demolition of the old firehouse has already begun because asbestos removal has been completed,” Custer said.
In 1978, the old firehouse was replaced by a new public safety building on John F. Kennedy Boulevard that housed the police and fire departments. Then in 2015, Sea Isle’s new City Hall became the headquarters for the fire department.
Sea isle’s Tourism Office moved into the old firehouse in 1993 and made the building its home until it shifted operations into the city’s new Welcome Center in 2012. Afterward, the old building was used for storage by the city’s Public Works Department and the Beach Patrol, Custer said.
Although the firehouse will be demolished, the property could be redeveloped for another public purpose. Sea Isle’s updated master plan recommends converting the site into some type of public recreation.
The firehouse’s West Jersey Avenue location is adjacent to a playground and basketball courts on JFK Boulevard. The city plans to retain ownership of the site after the building is gone.
“Once the lot is cleared, it will still remain a city parcel. It will not be sold,” Custer said. “No announcement has yet been made regarding what the parcel will become.”
