Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today issued the following statement on the wildfire in Manchester Township and Lakehurst Borough and the heroic response by firefighters:

            “I want to express my deepest and most sincere thanks to the brave men and women who have been working under extraordinary conditions for the past 24 hours to knock down and fight back the Manchester Township and Lakehurst Borough wildfire in my district. 

            Thanks to these hundreds of volunteer firefighters from more than 30 units, as well as the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, no homes have been damaged and no injuries have been reported—that’s tremendous work when you consider that roughly 4,000 acres of forest have burned in what has been described as a wall of fire.

            As a member of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, I have long said that it takes a very special kind of person to get up in the middle of the night and face imminent danger to come to the aid of a complete stranger.

            Having spoken today with Manchester Mayor Arace, Lakehurst Mayor Robbins, Ocean County Sheriff Mastronardy and so many other community leaders, I know they join me in expressing our profound gratitude to all of the firefighters and first responders for their selfless service and devotion to the community. 

            Your heroism is a model to which we should all strive to achieve.”

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