The New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association

The New Jersey State Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association was first organized and established on December 11, 1897, at the first annual convention held in Jersey City, NJ. At that seemingly uneventful gathering, whereupon only six original member locals: Jersey City, Paterson, Hoboken, Newark, Trenton and Camden, united to incorporate under the banner of the New Jersey State FMBA, birth was given to a new era in the history of the career fire service in New Jersey. In retrospect, it is, at best difficult, to estimate if our founding fathers possessed full awareness of the time enduring significance and the tremendous positive impact this organization was destined to have upon its members, their families and the general public throughout the decades to follow. Given that particularly industrious point of our society’s growth and development, the time was prefect to organize such an association. And organize they did. By 1907, less than a decade from its inception, local membership doubled from six to twelve locals, with total membership increasing to 1,157. Today with 107 Fire, EMS, and Dispatcher locals on its roster, the New Jersey State Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association proudly maintains an active membership of over 5,000 career personnel.