On Sunday October 4, 2009 the Picatinny Arsenal Fire Department hosted a multi-agency tanker shuttle drill on the grounds of the U.S. Army Research and Development base located in northwest Morris County. The drill was designed to simulate a water system failure during firefighting operations in one of the bases high tech test facilities and to test the response of the 32 member career department and its mutual aid responders. After a briefing by Picatinny Arsenal Fire Chief Ron Guidetti, tenders from a dozen mutual aid fire companies set out to shuttle water from a draft site located on Lake Picatinny to a dump site located 2 miles away in the Arsenals test area where portable pools served as the water supply for 2 elevated master streams. The participating departments trained in establishing a viable fill location for the tankers as well as methods and techniques for positioning and setting up a dump site. After the exercise, the participating agencies were invited to tour Picatinny Arsenal’s new state of the art fire station, due to be occupied later this fall. Fire Departments from the following communities helped make this a successful training evolution: Wharton, Jefferson Township, Rockaway Township, Green Pond, Wharton, Budd Lake, Dover, Rockaway Borough, Mt. Arlington, and Mine Hill.


Picatinny Arsenal Fire and Emergency Services proudly protects the workforce, transient population, assigned families, and facilities of the United States Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center. The Center consists of 6800 acres and over 800 structures.
The Department consists of 32 career members, including firefighters, lead firefighters (Captains), Assistant Chiefs, Chief of Department, Inspectors and a Fire Protection Specialist. Non Supervisory members work a 72 hour shift weekly (usually a 24 hour shift followed by a day off), and are represented by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) and the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey (PFANJ).
Members are trained to exacting standards regulated by the Department of Defense Firefighter Training Program. All training is accredited by both the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) and the National Board on Fire Service Professional Certifications (NPQ).
Services provided to Picatinny Arsenal and the surrounding community include fire prevention and public education, fire suppression, hazardous materials emergency response, emergency medical care (non-transport first responder engine company) and specialized rescue (extrication, confined space, etc.).