West Milford He’s been a firefighter with West Milford Volunteer Fire Company #6 since 1991 and is currently serving his second year as fire chief. He is a West Milford special police officer and he owns his own business. Wayne Morrisey is a busy guy and it suits him just fine. Morrisey, 51, has lived in West Milford for the last 25 years. He was born in Teaneck, raised in Bergenfield and graduated from Bergenfield High School in 1977. Through a mutual friend he met Diane Barone and the couple married in 1981. They have three daughters, Jessica, Amanda, and Kristen. Kristen is expecting her first child in March, an event Diane and Wayne are eagerly anticipating. Morrisey was employed as a computer technician for 10 years at Meadowlands Race Track. It was tough, he said, since he worked the late shift, six nights a week. He worked for a while with his father-in-law in the garage door business and in 1988 Wayne and Diane opened Morrisey Garage Doors in West Milford. They have worked together in their home-based business ever since. “Diane does all the books, the set ups, pays the bills, all the tough stuff,” he said. The company sells and services garage doors and electric door openers. While you can’t get a doctor to do it, Morrisey Garage Doors makes house calls. They arrive in a van with catalogs and samples and provide free estimates. Morrisey said that he installs mostly steel doors these days. They can be stylish, like the carriage house model, but are still roll ups. “People stay away from wood. The steel doors are pre-painted, insulated and maintenance free,” he said. While he may be busy at work, or relaxing at home, when the tones go off indicating a call out for Company #6 Morrisey shifts gears and reports in. As chief he in responsible for everything that happens at the fire house, at the scene and for the 30 volunteers from the Ridge Road facility. Each fire fighter carries a pager and now a higher tech device, E-dispatch, alerts the members with an instantaneous cell phone message. Depending on the call it takes approximately five to 10 minutes for a truck to roll, six members manning each vehicle. They have three trucks, two engines and a tower ladder at their disposal. Because West Milford is a town with few fire hydrants, water must be transported to the scene. Each engine from Company #6 carries 1000 gallons of water, while other township trucks can carry 2500 gallons. What happens if they run out of water? “We fill up from the lakes. If there’s ice we cut a hole and use strainers,” he said. The volunteers attend meetings each Monday night where they drill from the firehouse or different parts of town, sometimes in coordination with other companies. They are called out to fires, automobile accidents, spills and floods and sometimes they are on stand-by in bad weather. When the tones go off, the adrenaline starts pumping and the volunteer is in the middle of the action. It’s a big commitment, Morrisey said, but worth it. “I basically do it to bring something back to the community, to help the people. It’s easier now since the kids are grown. I’ve missed a lot of holidays, but when the alert goes off you have to go,” he said. Volunteers are always needed. Junior fire fighters can start at age 16. At 18 they become probationary fire fighters and are sent to school to become members. All expenses are covered for training, gear and clothing. When Morrisey is not installing a door or responding to an alarm you may see him around town in his capacity as a special police officer. He works at traffic and crowd control and special events. He enjoys being out there and meeting people, he said. In his spare time he and the family enjoy boating on Greenwood Lake and watching football is a passion. Morrisey said he does a little barbecuing but his wife is the chief in the kitchen. “She’s an excellent cook,” he said. That quote should get him a special meal, don’t you think?
Diane’s Chicken Parmesan
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1/4 tsp. each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and basil
1/2 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp. water
1/2 cup dry
bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
6 boneless chicken breast, no skin
1 pkg. mozzarella cheese
4 tbsp. oil
Mix egg and water in bowl
Mix four and spices in dish
Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in another dish
Pull chicken through flour on both sides
Dip in the egg then bread crumbs
Cook chicken in oil to brown, 4-5 minutes each side
Place in oven proof pan and cover with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Cover chicken with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until cheese melts.