The Oak Tree Terrace Volunteer Fire Company was founded between 1925 and 1926 to protect the Oak Tree Terrace at which time was the area of Oak Tree Road and around the Lehigh Valley Railroad crossing. There were 20 members. The original equipment consisted of six buckets and six grass beaters. A grass beater was a length of pipe with a hunk of leather at one end for beating out grass fires. The first fire alarm system was whoever saw a fire went to where the railroad rail was set up and banged on it.
Shortly after Oak Tree was started another company was being formed farther North, known as the North Raritan Volunteer Fire Company, but because Oak Tree Terrace had the charter from the state for this area , the state would not grant a charter to North Raritan. So, North Raritan and Oak Tree Terrace merged in 1927 to form the Oak Tree Volunteer Fire Company with about 75 members during the first year.
Due to the creation of the Fire Company the Township required that a five man body of Fire Commissioners be elected at a special election by the residents of the Fire District to control the money of the Fire Company by the town.
A public election held February, 1927 elected William Reed, John Griffith, Eugene Hess, Joseph Pengell and George Watson to the Board of Fire Commissioners.
The first order of business was the ordering of a fire truck and 500 feet of hose. The truck, a Model T Ford, arrived in June of 1927.
The first fire was in the home of Jack Deering, Fire Commissioner. They fought with garden hose and bucket brigade until a company from neighboring South Plainfield arrived but the house burned down.
The first fire chief was Edward Deering, Assistant Chief Leonard Sandford, Directors were: L. Kraus, J. Deering, P. Triolo, and P. Vroom was foreman. President M. Cambell, Vice President H. DeLisle, Recording Secretary K.L. Roberts, Financial Secretary J.V. Cassidy, Treasurer S. Urghart. These men were elected on June 10, 1927.
In June of 1927 the Board of Fire Commissioners purchased property for $350.00 for a fire house which would be a one story building at the railroad crossing on Oak Tree Road.
For the first year the Fire Company meetings were held in the New Oak Tree School, from April 20, 1927 to May 17, 1928. Up until that time the truck had been kept in the Kirkpatrick's family barn.
In 1932 the Fire commission decided to that a new truck was needed so they purchased a Heavy Duty Studebaker. The new truck also carried 1000 feet of hose. The truck met a sad fate in 1941; en route to a barn fire when it collided with a car. The truck reached the fire, but got there lopsided. It was traded in for a 1941 Mack.
From 1928 to 1955 Oak Tree was a one truck company. In 1956 the Fire Commision purchased a 750 Pumper and a Dodge Power Wagon for a brush truck. Another addition at that time was needed at the fire house to house the three trucks. In 1959 a 1959 Ford cab over 750 pumper fire truck replaced the 1941 Mack. And in 1968 the Dodge brush truck was replaced by a 1968 Ford Four wheel drive brush truck. In April, 1972 the company purchased a 1972 Seagrave 1,250 gallon diesel pumper to replace the 1956 pumper.
On October 29, 1972 a new fire house was dedicated on Beverly Street. The construction had started in October, 1970 and was completed in August, 1971. The new building also included quarters for paid personnel who would be on duty 24 hours a day.
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