First Warren County, NJ, Fire Marshal Receives Final Salute

If Charles Wright wasn’t fighting fires, he was teaching other volunteers how to do it.

That’s how Washington firefighter Steve Alpaugh will remember him.

The former Washington fire chief who served as the first-ever Warren County fire marshal died on Monday, Nov. 11. He was 89, according to his obituary.

His funeral was held Saturday.

Wright was a longtime firefighter, working his way through the ranks to become chief in 1980. He was an instructor at the Warren County Fire Academy and the chief instructor of the Hunterdon County Fire School for 30 years. He taught firefighters statewide, twice a year, at the state fire college.

“He was an excellent chief and an excellent instructor,” said Alpaugh, who is the chief historian for the Washington Fire Department.

Faith Discovery Church in Washington had expected between 500 and 800 attendees at Wright’s service at noon Saturday. They invited dignitaries from about 50 fire companies from across Warren and Hunterdon counties, with all bringing pieces of fire apparatus for the funeral procession.

Wright took pride in teaching the “water shuttle” to firefighters. The method of bringing water in tankers to a hydrant-free area was employed as part of his funeral.

Wright, combined with two uncles, two brothers, his father and his son, Jeff, have a total of 221 years of fire service.

“One might say the Wright family has pumper water running through their veins,” Wright’s obituary says.

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