Today at Liberty State Park, Mayor Steven Fulop and Public Safety Director James Shea unveiled six new fire department vehicles. As some of you may know, I have a soft spot for the Jersey City Fire Department, especially after my Engine 9  and O’Leary’s Publik house posts…so when I got the press release from the Mayor’s press secretary, Jennifer Morrill I was beyond excited to attend.

I arrived there a little early so I could take tons of pictures as well as have time to interview some of these local heroes about their new apparatus and of course what their favorite Jersey City hangout spots are (for all you ladies, I got you). The Chief even let me climb into one of the trucks to take some pictures! So fun.

What’s your name? Sean Verdi.

What do you do? I’m a Captain.

How long have you been a captain of Engine 15? Nine years.

Can you tell me what we’re doing today? Taking photos of the new apparatus that the city received. [Photos] of Engine 7, Engine 15, Engine 9, Ladder 12, and Tower Ladder 6.

How are these apparatuses better? They’re newer apps. They don’t breakdown, maintenance-wise, they’re much better. All new apparatuses. Nice and shiny.

It’s like a new toy! Not a toy, but it’s new. Engine 7, Engine 15, at the center, 9 Engine is a high volume.

Where are the Engines located? Sip and Garrison, 7 is on Summit Avenue, and 9 is on Duncan and Bergen.

What’s your name? Henry Reyes.

What do you do? I’m a Firefighter.

How long have you been a Firefighter? Going on four years at the end of this month.

Where do you work out of? Ladder 12.

You mentioned you were born and raised here—how do you feel Jersey City has changed in the past couple of years? It’s changed a lot. It’s a lot different, especially downtown. Downtown used to be a bad area when I was growing up and now it looks like little Manhattan. I think it’s great. I think it’s great for Jersey City.

Do you have a favorite hangout spot? Usually Healy’s or Publik’s.

Can you tell me a little bit more about these apparatuses? They’re great. We definitely needed them ‘cause our rigs, as you can see, some of the old ones were all banged up.

What’s your name? Joseph Giancaspro.

What do you do? I’m a Deputy Chief of the Jersey City Fire Department.

How long have you been a Deputy Chief? Three years.

How long have you been working with the Jersey City Fire Department? Thirty-three years.

What we’re doing today? This is a whole new apparatus that we’ve gotten in the last year and we’re just getting them all together to get a photo shot.

Are you excited about the new trucks? What happens to the old ones? Absolutely, these replace the apparatus that had well over 100,000 miles. They take a lot of abuse, they get heavy-duty use and the time has come for new ones. And the good thing is the old ones that we took out of service, we were able to get some decent spares out of, so it’s a plus.

How do you feel Jersey City has changed in the past couple of years? Oh my god. The only thing I can say is look out for the future because it’s changed dramatically. Every day you turn around, it seems like there’s another skyscraper coming out of the ground. It’s spread to other areas of the city because you see construction, you see all the houses being rehabbed, it’s tremendous but the future is boundless for the city. It’s great.

Do you have a favorite Jersey City hangout spot? Healy’s, that’s a good spot. They make great cheese steak sandwiches.