St. Patricks' Parade: Firefighters

Four Fire Departments participated in the United Irish St. Patrick’s Parade 2022.  The Fire Department portion of the parade, see video above, started with the East Newark Volunteer Fire Department with firefighters walking ahead of its classic 1941 Fire Engine, followed by several of its fire engines.  There was no moment of silence from the fire horns.  After a two-year hiatus due to Covid 19, the firefighters wanted to celebrate with as much noise as possible and nobody in the audience was complaining.  The sirens were a celebration that the St. Patrick’s parade was a reality.

The Harrison Fire Department followed showcasing two of its new fire trucks including its state-of-the-art fire ladder truck.  The Kearny Fire Department was next with its Fire trucks and then bringing up the rear was the North Arlington Volunteer Fire Department who along with Mayor Daniel H. Pronti and a contingency from North Arlington came to pay respect to the United Irish tradition. 

The Harrison Police brought up the rear of the Parade.  It was a sight to see, Firefighters celebrating a West Hudson tradition.  After two years of stressful calls assisting the community through Covid 19, it was a nice moment to blast the horns and forget about all the hardship of the past two years.  Unbeknownst to anyone, the Harrison Firefighters were to face the tragic loss of one of their firefighters, Vincent J. Doffont, Jr,  after a training exercise a week later.