HIGHLANDS –
Perhaps it’s sheer dedication. Perhaps it’s a family tradition. But it probably is a combination of the two.
The result is there is no doubt Fire Chief William Kane is an outstanding chief for the Highlands Fire Department for the coming year.
After all, this is his fourth time heading up the borough’s volunteer fire department.
His first was back in 2007 when he was just 26 years old and holds the record for being the youngest fire chief the borough has had.
He was Chief again six years later in 2013. Then another eight years later in 2021.
Oh yes, and he is also the third member of his family to serve in that capacity. His dad and his sister also both served as fire chiefs.
It was Bill’s dad, Matthew Kane, who was the first in the family to serve, taking the helm for two years, in 1985 and 1993. He first became a member of the department in 1976. And he is still an active member today!
Bill’s sister Rebecca, who also served on the borough Council, came on the department in 1999, and ten years later, she was fire chief. Today, she is also still an active member and in line to become chief again in another four years.
The Kanes are an impressive family who have devoted nearly a century in two generations to the fire department alone, in addition to volunteering in so many other areas and causes. In fact, Bill’s mom, Cathy, is the only family member who has not served on the department but is always active helping them whenever and where she can. Now, she can stay at home and worry when both her son and daughter respond to emergency calls.
Call it the Kane family tradition.
A native of the borough, Bill went through the Highlands elementary school and Henry Hudson Regional before becoming a mechanic with the Atlantic Highlands Public Works Department, a position he has held for 21 years. But it is obvious his first love is the fire department and what he can do to keep it as outstanding as it is.
He doesn’t think maintaining the vehicles, fighting the fires, answering calls day and night are the hardest part of his job as Chief. Rather, Bill explains, “it’s trying to keep the faith of the people.” Residents have the right to expect security from their department and have faith they will be there in need, and Bill wants to be certain the department always lives up to that faith.
And while he prides himself on a 50-member department that is always there and always responds to every call with the best maintained equipment, changes through the years have made it all much more difficult, bot h in keeping up with new state mandates as well as securing new members.
When the department was first formed at the same time Highlands became a borough in 1900, there were few regulations to follow and volunteers who had the time to sign on for the volunteer positions. Then, it was more a case of “we’re all neighbors, of course you’d be ready to go out and fight a fire or lend a hand where needed.”
But today, with men and women having more need to hold down full time jobs away from home, with more classes and more training required, it is more difficult to sign on new members. The average age of members in the department today is 56, he said, “so looking towards the future, we certainly need to get younger men and women to join, get the experience, and be ready to take over leadership in the coming decades.”
As Chief, Bill also admits that the added paperwork and liabilities of the 21st century add a burden to simply fighting fires and assisting on other calls with the volunteer First Aid Squad.
It isn’t the fire calls that Bill remembers most about his years on the department so far, it’s the appreciation he feels from the residents who recognize and are grateful for the department.
If any specific calls stand out, it would be when the Fountains burned in Sea Bright one freezing cold winter night many years ago. Sea Bright called in Highlands for an assist at the blaze, and photos of the firefighters on the job were seen all over the country, with ice was forming on their jackets, faces. hands and fire hoses due to the heavy ice and bitter cold.
He’s been fortunate through the years now, he’s quick to say. There was only one time an injury he suffered forced a visit to the hospital emergency room. That was at a car accident when acid got in his eyes and had to be examined and flushed. “Other than that, it’s just the usual bumps and cruises,” he grins.
Within town, probably the most memorable fire was at a house on Route 36. Not that the fire was extraordinary or too difficult for the volunteers. It was just that it happened on July 4 on a warm summer day and Route 36 had to be shut down to traffic while the team worked in putting out the blaze. “We took more heat from motorists who couldn’t get to Sandy Hook beaches than we did from the fire,” he laughs.
Declining to take any praise for himself and all he does as chief and as a member of the fire police, Bill credits all his men and women for making his job as chief so much easier, because he can depend on them. The department has two fire companies, a truck and a ladder company, Deputy Chief William Caizza, a training officer Paul Murphy and a team that also includes two lieutenants, two captains, and a deputy chief . Last year, the department made roughly 200 calls, from false alarms and fires, to water rescues and automobile accidents. Strangely, this is not so much different from decades ago.
There are all barbecues, fund raising events and numerous activities for local residents sponsored by the department “because we are all neighbors,” as well as meetings, training sessions, clean-ups after fires and routine maintenance of all the fire equipment. Bill also serves as OEM coordinator and is always looking for more men and women to join the department or help in any number of ways. Active fire department members must be between 18 and 47years of age, but there are numerous other possibilities in joining the department.
Yes, sometimes there is a lot of work, and yes, sometimes it’s inconvenient to leave a family dinner or a great football game on tv to respond to a call. Sometimes it’s a nuisance to take all those course necessary to continue as an active firefighter. “But when you know you’re doing it to help someone else, and you’re doing it to keep Highlands as great as it is, then, it doesn’t seem bad at all,” the Chief said, adding, “Hey this is Highlands. It’s home.”
For further information contact Highlandsfiredepartment.com. Contact the Chief and see the variety of ways you could aid not only the volunteer fire department but the local First Aid Squad as well, made up of so many other Highlands residents who take particular pride in their community and want to continue its excellence with their help.
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