PAFD Fire House, Perth Amboy 9/30/20

*Photos by Paul W. Wang

PERTH AMBOY – James Dean “JD” Garrison is the first Black firefighter to achieve the rank of captain in the Perth Amboy Fire Department. James Garrison’s father was Carl Dean Garrison, known as “Pee Wee” Garrison. Carl Dean Garrison was the first Black firefighter in the Perth Amboy Fire Department. He was a firefighter from 1987 until 2006 (a total of 19 years) and a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. He died in 2010 at the age of 60.

Carl’s father-in-law, Eugene Francis Foley was a Volunteer Firefighter in the McClellan Fire Company, Engine 3 in Perth Amboy from 1957 until his death in 1990. It was Eugene Foley and Anton J. Massopust (PAFD Fire Chief 1984-1987) who encouraged Carl to take the Firefighter exam and he passed the test.

This makes James Garrison (age 33 with 7 years of service) a third-generation firefighter in the Perth Amboy Fire Department. As a child, James would visit his father at the firehouse after school. They would hang out with fellow firefighters. When James would watch a fire on television, he would run around the house with his father’s fire boots and helmet on. It was difficult for James because his father never got to see him being sworn in as a firefighter.

As a captain, Garrison will be assigned to Battalion 4, out on Rescue 1 and will be involved with heavy rescue service that does special operations.

The swearing-in ceremony took place on September 30, 2020 at Perth Amboy Fire Headquarters on New Brunswick Avenue. Garrison was one of four new captains sworn in during the ceremony. The others are: Captains Brian Bonilla, Derek Kraese and David Ramos. Bonilla’s father was a volunteer firefighter and Kraese’s father, the late John Siberry, was a city firefighter for 28 years. Also sworn in were city Firefighters Jermaine Clark, Michael Delfosse and Piotr Matusewicz.

Also during the Ceremony, Civilian Isaias Rodriguez received a Mayoral and Department Citation. “On Saturday night (9/19/20), a basement fire broke out at 410 Smith St. A quick-thinking Good Samaritan, Isaias Rodriguez, was passing by and saw the building engulfed in smoke, with lights on in the apartment on the second floor. Seeing that no one was outside, he banged on the first-floor door to no avail. He then proceeded up the stairway, through the smoke, to yell and bang on the second-floor apartment door. Here he was able to alert the family that their building was on fire as smoke now began to fill the apartment. Isaias was able safely evacuate all the occupants, who were having a small gathering, through the smokey stairwell to safety.” (Source: PAFD Facebook)

There also was a blessing of a statue of Saint Florian, Patron Saint of Firefighters which was donated on behalf of the Gall family to the Perth Amboy Fire Department during the promotion ceremony in memory of The Most Reverend Father Florian Gall who died June 28, 2003. Fr. Martin Vavrak (Police & Fire Chaplains Corps.) gave the blessing.