ROLAND KANDLE, 52
Retired fire prevention specialist for Vineland Fire Department
Born in Elmer, he was a graduate of Bridgeton High School, class of 1968. He was an Army veteran of Vietnam from 1969 to 1970. After the war, Roland moved to Vineland in 1971 and worked for Bozarth Trucking Company for two years while he attended Cumberland County College. He also attended Continuing Education Credits Division of Fire Safety State of New Jersey, Fire Courses in the University of Cincinnati and had a degree in fire science. He started his fireman's career as a volunteer fireman for the City of Vineland and in 1974 he joined the Vineland Fire Department full time and was stationed on Fourth and Wood streets. He was promoted to fire prevention specialist in February 1987 and after 26 years of service, he retired March 1, 2000. He also was a volunteer fireman for the Elmer Fire Department. Roland was a certified fire marshall and worked for the following communities: Elmer Fairfield Township, Hopewell, Greenwich, Stow Creek, Alloway, Upper Pittsgrove and Newfield. He also worked County and State of New Jersey Disaster Response Team. For 25 years, he was the region's most active fundraise for the Burn Foundation, which supports five burn treatment centers serving Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware. During his career as a Vineland Firefighter, he introduced several fire and burn prevention programs into the local schools and centers for the elderly. Roland received many awards and recognition, Firefighter of the Year in 1980, Fire Rescue Award eight times, Citizen of the Year, City of Vineland in 1983, National Association of Police Chiefs in 1984, KYW TV for Fire Safety in 1987 and the Burn Foundation in 1990. Roland was a loving son and father and enjoyed helping people whenever he could, like when he volunteered his time for the Sept. 11 disaster coordinating critical incident stress management team from across the country going to Ground Zero and helping fellow fireman and police officers and their families.
Roland was also very active with various organizations (such as TOAC) offering CISM services to emergency workers who needed assistance. He will be missed by many.
