This hose tender is part of the Urban Area Security Initiative, and is used jointly with 6 other northern New Jersey counties to be prepared to deal with major regional events. It's part of a regional effort to deal with major catastrophes or terrorist attacks in a six-county region, comprising Morris, Union, Essex, Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties. It is one component of a task force that can pump out 5,000 to 8,000 gallons of water a minute or provide 3,500 gallons of foam in an instant.

Delivered by the federal Department of Homeland Security, the equipment arrived in May 2005, and Schooley's Mountain firefighters are proud to be an integral part of regional security efforts. It carries 2000 feet of 12" flexible pipeline.

A mutual aid agreement enables fire departments to maximize the use of this equipment and effectively plan for its availability to the entire region, especially in those areas that contain critical infrastructure sites that are vulnerable to attack, while the local departments also can benefit by housing and utilizing such cutting edge, extensive equipment.