$500K In Funds Will Aid Firefighters In Belleville, Nutley, Bloomfield

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A half-million-dollar funding boost from the state will help protect Belleville, Nutley and Bloomfield firefighters on the job, a trio of New Jersey lawmakers recently announced.

A $500,000 allocation in the latest state budget will support the building of a training tower in Belleville, which will impact fire departments in the three towns. It will also cover additional expenses for National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and NJ Division of Fire Safety compliance training.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed the signed the fiscal year 2025 Appropriations Act into law earlier this year. See Related: Murphy Greenlights $56B New Jersey Budget (See The Breakdown)

New Jersey Sen. Britnee Timberlake joined Assemblywoman Carmen Morales and Assemblyman Michael Venezia – all from Essex County (District 34) – at a press conference to announce the funding last week (watch the video below).

Timberlake – who is married to a firefighter in Newark – said the money will help her spouse’s peers in Belleville, Nutley and Bloomfield to carry out their duties effectively and with confidence.

“We owe it to the firefighters, their families and the greater community to ensure their safety on the job,” she said.

Morales said firefighters aren’t the only ones who will benefit – local residents also stand to gain from firefighters’ ability to “respond to real-life emergencies more efficiently and safely.”

Venezia said the funding is a “significant investment” in the safety and readiness of fire departments in the three towns.

“By building a new training tower and funding NFPA and NJ Division of Fire Safety compliant training programs, we are providing our firefighters with the tools and training they need to serve our communities better,” Venezia said.

Last week’s announcement also saw support from:

Nutley Mayor John Kelly III – “This funding will allow our fire departments to better support our communities and serve the people of Essex County.”

Belleville Mayor Michael Melham – “The $500,000 in funding will make a big difference in our neighborhoods, including the building of a fire department training tower right here in Belleville that these three departments will utilize.”

Bloomfield Councilwoman Jenny Mundell – “Bloomfield and its surrounding communities will be better and safer because of the tools and training services for brave firefighters secured by our hard-working representatives.”

Belleville Fire Chief John Olivieri – “Supporting our fire departments with this state funding will have a direct impact on our ability to safely protect residents here in Essex County. In addition, joint training will enhance the effectiveness of our mutual aid responses and will keep our fire personnel ready to respond to emergencies more efficiently and safely.”

Bloomfield Fire Chief Lou Venezia – “Training is an investment in our community’s safety and well-being. With this new funding, we can enhance our training programs and ensure they are prepared to handle any emergency effectively.”

Nutley Fire Chief Paul Cafone – “This funding will go hand-in-hand with our automatic aid agreement. Working together and now having the ability to train together will better serve all of our residents, while keeping our fire department personnel safe.”

New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association President Eddie Donnelly – “Legislation like this is vitally important to our municipalities. When we can bring some money back to our towns and use it in a way that makes our firefighters, smarter, better equipped, better trained, it's a benefit to every resident.”

Send local news tips and correction requests to [email protected]. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.