Students learn about Elberon

By Neil Schulman
Long Branch — While the George L. Catrambone School is located in Elberon, many of the students are unfamiliar with the neighborhood. On Friday, teachers took time to correct that with a day around the neighborhood.

Students started by visiting Mayor Adam Schneider’s law office, then went to the Elberon Fire Department. This was followed by visits to the Elberon Library, talks on safety by the Long Branch Police, and more.

The Link caught up with the students while they were visiting the Long Branch Fire Deparment at the Elberon Engine Company Firehouse.
Firefighters told the students that the reasons there are so many firehouses in Long Branch is that when most were built more than 100 years ago, fire wagons were pulled by horses, who couldn’t pull heavy wagons across the city. So when there was an alarm, the firefighters who lived in the building or nearby would hitch up the horses and ride to it.

As times changed, fire trucks started running on gas, and people working far away from home so they couldn’t always respond to a fire call, the system changed. That’s why today in Long Branch there’s a mix of professional and volunteer firefighters, and a few of the buildings have been retired.
The firefighters then spoke to the students about fire safety, and the equipment that firefighters use.

Some advice they mentioned was that if you’re stuck in a fire, do not try to hide. When the firefighters come in to a smoke filled, they’ll be using thermal imaging devices to look for the heat that people give off. If you’re in a closet, the devices can’t detect your heat through the door.