The Southard Fire Dept is located at 4611 Highway 9 North, in Howell Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, just across the street from the Howell Shop-Rite store. Howell Township is situated in the southernmost portion of Monmouth County on the border of Ocean County. It is surrounded by Freehold Township to the north, Wall Township to the east, Jackson Township to the west, and Lakewood Township to the south. We proudly protect 20,000+ people living in an area of about 18 square miles. We operate out of two stations that protect a primarily residential area, from Aldrich Road South to the border of Lakewood Township and from Jackson Township to County Route 547.
Calls for assistance consist of fire alarm soundings, motor vehicle accidents, brush fires, structure fires, EMS (Emergency Medical Service) calls and mutual aid calls. Along with fire protection, the Southard Fire Dept. also has a Hazardous Materials (Haz-Mat) Response Team. Many of our members are first responder-first aid, as well as EMT's (Emergency Medical Technician). The department also supports the Howell Township First Aid when requested, surprising residents when a fire engine shows up, sometimes before the ambulance. We have established mutual-aid agreements for large-scale incidents with other local departments, which include:
- Squankum Fire Company, Station 19-1
- Adelphia Fire Company, Station 19-2
- Ramtown Fire Company, Station 19-4
- Freewood Acres Fire Company, Station 19-5
- Farmingdale Fire Company, Station 14-1
- Jackson Station 55
- Jackson Station 54
- Lakewood Fire Department.
The department consists of 48 volunteer firefighters, 4 paid firefighters as well as our Ladies Auxiliary. Our uniformed (Career) division firefighters are available Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., excluding holidays. The career staff is hired and managed by the Board of Fire Commissioners of District #3. There are 12 pieces of firefighting apparatus to support the firefighters who are available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, including holidays; all one has to do is dial 9-1-1.
We are dispatched from either Howell Township Police or Monmouth County Fire Radio and operate on the following fire ground channels.
Monmouth Fire 1 - 154.430 MHz - Dispatch
Howell Fire 2 - 154.385 MHz - Response
Howell Fire 3 - 154.130 MHz - Fire Ground
Howell Fire 4 - 154.250 MHz - Fire Ground
Howell Fire 5 - 154.220 MHz - Fire Ground
Howell Local EMS - 153.980 MHz - EMS Channel
Monmouth Fire 3 - 154.280 MHz - Fire Ground Back Up
Monmouth Fire 5 - 153.830 MHz - Fire Ground Back Up
Borders of Fire District No.3
- Icons Above Detailed:
- Blue Icon - Southard Fire Dept. Main Station
- Black Icon - Southard Fire Dept. Sub Station
- Yellow Icon - Board of Fire Commissioners District No.3
- District Borders from Jackson Township
- Start at the brook on West Aldrich Road and the Jackson Twp. border
- Go East on Aldrich Road to Windler Road
- Turn Right on Windler Road to Oak Glen Road
- Turn Right on Oak Glen Road to the Railroad Tracks
- Turn Right on the Railroad Tracks to the Lakewood Twp. Line
- Take the Lakewood Twp. Line to the Jackson Twp. Line
- Take the Jackson Twp. Line to the Aldrich Road Starting Point
