The 100th annual Sussex County Fireman’s Association Inspection Day and Parade, a local tradition steeped in camaraderie and competition, has become the latest event to be derailed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The cancellation is the first to occur since World War II, when the parade took a back seat due to the war between 1943 and 1945.
Known as the biggest day of the year for all 26 local volunteer fire departments in the county — with some even likening it to Christmas — the event alternates locations each year. This year’s celebration was to be hosted by the Hamburg Borough Fire Department, which hosted the parade in 1920 when the borough was incorporated from portions of Hardyston Township, according to a New Jersey Geological Study.
The gathering also would have served as the 100th anniversary of the Sussex County Firemen’s Association.