Protecting the Cardiff community, residents and businesses in Egg Harbor Township since 1927

Who we are

The Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company #1 responds to fires, vehicle accidents, and a wide range of other emergencies in the Cardiff section of Egg Harbor Township. Every member is a volunteer who trains regularly and leaves home at any hour when the tones drop — your neighbors, coworkers, and friends.

As a volunteer company, we rely on a mix of township support, fundraising, and direct donations from residents to keep our apparatus running, our gear certified, and our members trained to current standards. Community support is not a supplement to our budget — it's a core part of how this department stays capable.

Whether you're a longtime resident or new to the area, we want you to know who's answering the call when you dial 911 — and how you can help us keep answering it.

Our history

The Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company #1 was organized in April 1927, when residents of the Cardiff section met at Fred Wetzell's home on Washington Avenue to form a volunteer fire company. Max Schultz was elected the company's first president, and within weeks the members had elected a fire chief, secured a donated truck to serve as a temporary engine, and started raising funds for real equipment.

The growth since has been steady: a permanent station on Black Horse Pike, a second station added in the early 1990s, and additions and rebuilds as the department's needs have changed. Almost a century later, the same volunteer model still holds — neighbors serving neighbors.

• 1927Founded by Cardiff residents; first officers elected and a donated truck served as the company's first engine.
• 1927First real engine purchased: a 1914 Brockway, bought from Haddon Heights Fire Department for $600.
• 1931Station 1 completed on Black Horse Pike, the company's home ever since.
• 1976A larger Station 1 opens, replacing the original 1931 building.
• 1992Station 2 placed into service.
• 1992The "Cardiff Dragon" adopted as the company's official logo.
• 2001An addition to Station 1 is completed.

Where the dragon comes from

The dragon on our badge has a real story behind it. For a few years before 1992, members kept talking about the company needing its own logo — the kind of conversation that always seemed to come up after the State Firemen's Convention, seeing other departments' emblems on their trucks. That year, Assistant Chief Tom Sweeny and his wife Bari took a trip through England, Scotland, and Wales, and their first stop in Wales was, fittingly, the city of Cardiff. Touring the local fire station there, Tom was given a decal featuring a fierce-looking Welsh dragon and lion. He brought the idea home, the membership took to it, and a friendlier version of that dragon has been painted on our apparatus ever since.