A special subcommittee of the Lawrence Township Public Safety Coordinating Committee that was formed to help study fire and emergency services is expected to make a report at a Township Council meeting on April 15.
“We will be giving a report on the fire survey at the next meeting,” Township Councilwoman Olympia Perry said at the Township Council’s April 1 meeting. “The subcommittee will be reporting.”
Lawrence Township officials advertised a request for proposals for the study in December 2024. Proposals from seven consultants were submitted to Lawrence Township officials in January and sent to the special subcommittee for review. It is not known when a contract will be awarded to the winning consultant.
The request for proposals asked for consultants to study whether Lawrence Township’s three volunteer fire companies and its emergency medical services unit should be moved into one building – and if so, where a new fire and EMS headquarters should be located.
The subcommittee was formed and recommended a study of the issues, following an earlier consultant’s suggestion to build a new fire station on township-owned land on the corner of Route 206 and West Long Drive.
The proposal for a new fire station at that location drew fierce opposition from some residents in the Long Acres neighborhood. The entrance to Long Acres is on West Long Drive.
Residents said they were concerned about a fire station’s impact on their property values and quality of life. Some residents questioned consultant Cotter Strategies LLC and the process by which it was chosen. They called for more transparency.
In response, the Public Safety Coordinating Committee formed a subcommittee that recommended hiring another consultant. It would be the third consultant to study the firefighting program in Lawrence Township since 2017.
The selected consulting firm will be asked to study two issues – whether the volunteer fire companies should be consolidated and if so, where should they be housed.
The consultant’s report should “determine the best model for the township to consider with regard to the possible consolidation and/or construction of the new fire and EMS services within the township.”
The report should also “recommend the location or locations of any such fire and EMS services within the township, and the reasons for the recommended location.”
Recommendations for future staffing requirements for fire and EMS services over the next three-year, five-year and seven-year time frames will be made by the consultant.
An evaluation of response times, based on existing staff and equipment, is part of the study. It may offer recommendations for improvements to response times, which is how many minutes it takes for a fire engine or ambulance to respond to a call for help.
Finally, the consultant will conduct an inventory of fire and EMS equipment, and make recommendations for replacement or repair of the gear.
Lawrence Township officials had commissioned two studies – one in 2017 and one in 2023 – that focused on assessments of the township’s fire-fighting program.
The township employs career firefighters who work daytime during the week. After hours and on weekends, volunteer firefighters from the Slackwood, Lawrence Road and Lawrenceville fire companies respond to calls.
The Slackwood Fire Co. is located at 21 Slack Ave. and the Lawrence Road Fire Co. is located at 1252 Lawrence Road. The Lawrenceville Fire Co. is located at 64 Phillips Ave. in the historic village of Lawrenceville.
The Lawrence Emergency Medical Services is located at 165 Pilla Ave., adjacent to the Lawrence Road Fire Co.
The Rodgers Group LLC and the Cotter Strategies LLC reports recommended building a new fire station. The Rodgers Group LLC study was released in 2017, and the Cotter Strategies LLC report was issued in 2023.
The earlier Rodgers Group LLC study called for conducting an in-depth study to determine the feasibility of building a new fire station in a central location. It would accommodate the fire department, EMS and emergency management functions.
The Rodgers Group study did not recommend a specific location, but illustrations in the report appeared to locate a new fire station near Rider University. West Long Drive, which is the entrance to the Long Acres neighborhood, borders Rider University.
The subsequent Cotter Strategies LLC report specifically called for building a new fire station on township-owned land on the corner of Route 206 and West Long Drive.
The new fire station would become part of the Lawrence Township Municipal Complex, which includes the municipal building, the Lawrence Township Police Department and the Lawrence Township Municipal Court.
The new building also would house the Lawrence EMS and possibly the Office of Emergency Management, the Emergency Operations Center, the 9-1-1 communications center and the Department of Public Works administrative offices.
