The Navesink Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1 of the Middletown Township Fire Department celebrated its 125th anniversary on Saturday. The ceremony was solemn, proud and celebratory, commemorating distinguished service since 1886 and honoring the department's fallen firefighters.

Among the speakers were Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Middletown Township Mayor Anthony P. Fiore, and Freeholder Amy Mallett, all who thanked the department on behalf of the community and New Jersey for protecting Middletown's families and property for 125 years.

The fire department, which was chartered in 1886 as a small wooden firehouse with a single apparatus pulled by men or a horse, now boasts a two story brick structure and three fire trucks, and serves all of Middletown Township.

See more in the PHOTO GALLERY above.