Introduction
Engine Company 2 was organized on September 2, 1869 as one of the original units of the paid fire department, and entered service on December 7, 1869 at the old fire headquarters, 29 North 5th Street at Arch Street, in the heart of Camden’s center city district. A new building was erected in 1899 which served as Fire Headquarters and the home of Engine Company 2 until 1961. In that year, Engine Company 2 relocated to a factory building that had previously been occupied by the Camden Courier-Post newspaper, at 3 North 3rd Street.
On November 7, 1978 Engine Company 2 moved once again, to the current Fire Headquarters at 2 North 3rd Street, at Federal Street. After 131 years of service, Engine Company 2 was disbanded on April 13, 1981.
Engine Company 2 — Original Members, 1869
When first organized, Engine Company 2 consisted of an Engineer, a Driver, a Stoker, and ten extra men (call members). Annual salaries for the members of the paid force in 1869 were $600 for the Engineer, $450 for the Driver and the Stoker and $50 for the extra men. All but the extra men were paid monthly. The Chief Marshall received $800, and the Assistant Marshall $200 per year as well.
Engine Company 2 Roster
Camden Fire Department Engine Company 2, 1869
Officers
| Name ↕ | Position ↕ | Badge ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| William J. Ross | Engineer | |
| George Liebecke | Driver | |
| William T.G. Young Sr. | Stoker |
Extra Men
| Name ↕ | Position ↕ | Badge ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| Isaac Middleton | Extra Man | 11 |
| Samuel Patton | Extra Man | 12 |
| Elwood Cline | Extra Man | 13 |
| George W. Bates | Extra Man | 14 |
| Robert Pine | Extra Man | 15 |
| Theodore Zimmerman | Extra Man | 16 |
| Benjamin H. Connelly | Extra Man | 17 |
| Richard Houghtaling | Extra Man | 18 |
| Abraham Bradshaw | Extra Man | 19 |
| Richard Githens | Extra Man | |
| John Graham | Extra Man | 20 |
History
On May 16, 1870 Camden City Council authorized a contract with builder Abram Lower to build a brick stable adjacent to the Engine Company 1 headquarters at 409 Pine Street. The building cost $1,650.
The first major fire that the new paid Camden Fire Department confronted was on December 20, 1869 at the R.M. English & Company oilcloth factory at Cooper’s Point. Almost a year later, on Christmas Morning, December 25, 1870 fire destroyed St. John’s Episcopal Church at Broadway and Royden Street. This had formerly been a floating chapel anchored on the Philadelphia side of the Delaware River. The wooden church burned to the ground in an hour. A second St. John’s was built, only to be lost to fire in 1892, and was replaced by the current building.
Leadership in the Fire Department at this time was not subject to Civil Service regulations. When the Democrats gained control of City Council in 1876, future mayor Claudius Bradshaw was elected Chief Engineer for the City of Camden. William H. Bassett was named as foreman of Engine Company 2. James M. Lane succeeded him the following year.
With Republicans regaining control of the city in 1879, Samuel Buzine of Engine 1 was named foreman of Engine Company 2. He remained in this position until March 27, 1882.
William H. Bassett was named foreman once again in 1883, and James Lane again in kind in 1884. Henry Grosscup was named Assistant Engineer at that time. When the fire department was reorganized on July 7, 1885, Henry Grosscup was promoted to foreman.
Less than a month later, on August 4, 1885, a tornado struck Camden. The twister knocked over the firehouse bell tower at Engine Company 2’s headquarters. There were also three fires and six deaths as a result of the twister.
An 1886 account revealed that Engine Company 2 was quartered on the northeast corner of Fifth and Arch Street, a location that would house Camden Fire Department units into the early 1960s. The two-story brick building at 19 North 5th Street was shared with the Camden Hook and Ladder Company, now known as Ladder Company 1. This building also was the headquarters of the Camden Fire Department.
Engine Company 2’s apparatus in 1886 consisted of an Amoskeag second class steamer (maker’s plate #319), a hose wagon and a supply wagon.
Engine Company 2 Personnel — 1886
Engine Company 2 Roster, 1886
Camden Fire Department Engine Company 2 personnel, 1886
Personnel
| Name ↕ | Position ↕ |
|---|---|
| Henry C. Grosscup | Foreman |
| William Morris | Engineer |
| C.B. Harvey | Driver |
| Frank Turner | Stoker |
| Charles Robinson | Hoseman |
| Isaac Shreeve | Hoseman |
| Logan Bates | Call Man |
| James Carey | Call Man |
| William Lyons | Call Man |
| Howard H. Currie | Call Man |
Camden and Vicinity
Philadelphia Inquirer —
HOUSE OF CORRECTION.
The necessity for a House of Correction for Camden county has for many years past been so great that the grand jury for the October term of the courts, through their foreman, John S. Read, deemed it advisable to make the subjoined special presentment:—
Whereas, It has been made manifest to the grand inquest of Camden county that there is a defect in our present system of imprisoning persons convicted of petty offenses by causing their maintenance to fall upon the tax-payers without any adequate good being gained in the reformation of such persons; therefore, it is the recommendation of this grand inquest, in view of such reformation, and to lessen the present extraordinary expenses of the county, that a House of Correction be established, into which all persons convicted of such petty offenses shall be detained, under proper heads or departments, and compelled to labor during their term of imprisonment, the proceeds of such labor to be paid into the treasury of the county. We believe that, under proper management, such an institution would be conducive to the future benefit of such persons, as well as to the entire community.
THE COURTS.
In the Camden Quarter Sessions yesterday quite an important civil case came up, which will probably occupy two or three days. It is an action brought by the city of Camden against the bondmen of C. Sloan, who, some five years ago, was collector of taxes for North Ward. The defendants in this suit, Henry Fredericks, Caleb Roberts, and others, became sureties on Mr. Sloan’s bond, and, while the said Sloan was collector, there occurred a deficit in his accounts, making him debtor to the city in a sum reaching nearly $1000. The city holds that these gentlemen are bound to pay the deficit; but the defendants aver that at the time the defalcation was discovered they took the necessary steps to relieve them from any responsibility in the matter. The case elicits considerable interest, and is thought to be a test for others that may be commenced.
TOKEN OF ESTEEM.
Yesterday afternoon Robert S. Bender, the retiring chief marshal of the Camden Paid Fire Department, and William Shearman, assistant marshal, were made the recipients of handsome presents from E. J. Dodamead, J. Kellum, H. Grosscup, William Davis, A. Doughty and George Horner, the regular members. Mr. Bender received a large and elaborately arranged cake, and Mr. Shearman a fine frame, containing photographs of the above gentlemen, as expressions of esteem the men held for them while under their direction.
ROBBERY ON A VESSEL.
Some time during Monday night two colored men on board a vessel lying at Starr’s wharf, near Kaighn’s Point, were robbed, while asleep, of all their clothing, their watches and other articles. Two other men employed on the vessel, and who are now missing, are suspected.
RESIGNED.
Yesterday all the regular members of Engine No. 2, belonging to the Paid Fire Department, of Camden, resigned. Their places will be supplied by appointments from the Board of Fire Commissioners.
SLUNG SHOTS.
The police officers have been instructed to arrest all boys found shooting stones in the streets of Camden with slung shots, in consequence of the numerous windows broken by them. Several persons have also been quite severely hurt by them.
Fire in a Clothing Store
Philadelphia Inquirer —
About half past one o’clock yesterday morning a show window in the clothing house of Mr. J. Schumacher, on Federal Street, east of Fourth, Camden, was discovered to be on fire. The members of Engine Company No. 2 were promptly on the spot and suppressed the flames before they communicated with the main building. About $400 worth of clothing was destroyed, and the bulk window, with side portions of the building, sustained damage amounting to $200, making a total of $500 [sic]. The loss is said to be covered by insurance. The fire was caused by the explosion of a gasoline lamp which had been placed in the window to light it.
Camden Fire Commissioners Fill Two Vacancies
Philadelphia Inquirer —
The Camden Fire Commissioners last evening elected John Gray an extra fireman from the Second ward, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Amidee Middleton, and Francis S. Turner, of the Third ward, stoker of Engine No. 2, in place of William McKinley, removed. They decided to ask City Council to allow them to advertise for proposals for the erection of the fire tower on Engine House No 2 which was destroyed by the recent tornado
Headquarters Building
A postcard mailed in 1918, showing the now-motorized Camden Fire Department headquarters. Printed caption: “Headquarters, Camden Fire Department, Arch & Fifth Streets, Camden N.J.”
Old-Time Fire Laddies.
Philadelphia Inquirer —
They Ran With a New Machine and Revived Memories of Former Service.
The old-time volunteer firemen of Camden renewed their youth last night, when they donned their uniforms, and amidst the clanging of bells and cheers and fireworks, dragged proudly through the streets a handsome new hose carriage.
Although the volunteers have been out of active service since 1869 they keep up their organization, and have headquarters at Broadway and Mount Vernon streets, where they meet to swap stories of the halcyon days when they were young and ran with the machine.
The new carriage was built in Reading and brought to Philadelphia last evening. A committee from the Philadelphia Volunteer Firemen’s Association escorted it to the Market Street Ferry. On the Camden side a parade was formed.
First came Marshal Charles M. Baldwin, with Abraham E. Jackson and Alfred Matlack as his aids. Then the line was made up of Woodbury and Friendship Companies, from Woodbury; Haddon Fire Company, of Haddonfield, with a handsome hose carriage; William Penn Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1, of Stockton, bearing a handsome banner, and finally, the escort of Philadelphia volunteers and the Camden firemen dragging their new carriage, which bore the date “1815” and was decorated with flowers.
The police authorities had suspended the order against fireworks, and the volunteers were greeted with pyrotechnics all along the line of march. The decorations and display at No. 2 Engine House, the headquarters of the Camden Fire Department, were especially lavish.
After the carriage was paraded and housed the visiting firemen were entertained at the headquarters of the Camden Volunteers.
Tossed From an Engine
Philadelphia Inquirer —
One of Camden’s Brave Firemen Hurt While on Duty.
George Wade, an extra driver of Engine Company No. 2, of Camden Fire Department, had his left leg broken and was otherwise seriously injured yesterday while responding to an alarm. Wade was driving the engine, and while going at rapid speed up Second street above Cooper, one of the horses shied at a trolley car. A front wheel of the engine struck the curb, and Wade was thrown from his seat.
As he fell one of the wheels ran over his left leg, crushing it just below the thigh. He was removed to the Cooper Hospital. Engineer Jacob Kellum took Driver Wade’s place on the engine.
The fire was at the Temple College Academy, at 534 Penn street. It was caused by a gasoline stove, and was extinguished with a loss of $100, covered by insurance.
“Ned,” the horse that caused the accident, will be disposed of.
Apparatus and Photos
June 15, 1952 — 1951 GMC Combination at Camden Fire Department Headquarters, 5th & Arch Streets.
Engine Company 2 operating near North 5th and Elm Street — May 31, 1967.
Roy Moffa — paint factory fire, fall 1967.
About 1975 — In the kitchen at the old fire headquarters, North 5th Street & Arch Street. Left to right: Bill Wickward, Jim Cusick, Capt. R. “Randy” Brooks, Howard “Skip” Murphy, Hank Keubler, Bill Colucci, Ed Decker. (Photo courtesy of Robert “Sonny” Frett)
Late 1970s — Robert “Sonny” Frett and Bill Colucci in the new headquarters bunk room during construction.
Ralph Roberts with the Muscular Dystrophy Association Poster Child with Engine Company 2’s 1967 American LaFrance pumper, early 1980s; and the late 70s–early 80s American LaFrance Pumper.
4 Firemen Hurt Fighting Blaze in Apartments
Camden Courier —
Four Families Forced to Flee Down Fire Escape in Cooper St. Blaze
INVALID WOMAN CARRIED TO SAFETY BY RESCUERS
Flames Scorch Rubber-Coated ‘Smoke-Eaters’ on Narrow Stairs
RUSH-HOUR CROWD GAZES
Four firemen were burned, an aged invalid woman was carried to safety and four families were driven down a fire escape to the street when fire swept an apartment house at 620 Cooper street late yesterday.
The blaze started at 5.30 o’clock from unknown origin in a wardrobe in the hall on the third floor, burst through the roof, ate its way into the second floor, and spread to several apartments on the third floor. Hundreds of spectators gathered in the street to watch, and rush-hour traffic on Cooper street was blocked.
The firemen were scorched on the faces and hands by a blast of flame from the burning wardrobe, as they fought their way up the narrow, enclosed staircase to the third floor with chemical lines and hand-extinguishers, while a water line was being run up a ladder to third floor windows in the front of the building.
Driven Down Stairs
Despite the protection afforded by rubber coats and helmets, the men were driven down the well-like stairs time and again, their faces, hair and eyebrows scorched from the intense heat.
While they were fighting to get at the source of the blaze, five women, six children and two men, living in second and third floor apartments, made their way to a fire escape in the rear of the building and escaped safely to the ground.
In the meantime, smoke was pouring into open windows of the adjoining house at 622 Cooper street, used as a residence by Dr. Thomas B. Lee and as offices by four other physicians. Dr. Lee, a former member of the State Board of Health, sailed from New York this morning for a two months clinical course in Europe. He and Mrs. Lee had left their home before the fire.
Dr. Lee’s aged aunt, Mrs. Thomas Wescott, convalescing from illness, was in a third-floor room as smoke filled the building. She had to be assisted to the street by other members of the household.
Deputy Fire Chief Hurt
The injured firemen are Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Nicholas, his chauffeur, David Ellis, and Hoseman William Chambers and Leonard Magee, of Engine 2, which company, with Truck No. 1, responded to the one alarm sent in by occupants of one of the third floor apartments. All were treated for burns by Dr. David F. Bentley, Jr., at the physician’s offices next door at 622 Cooper street.
The occupants who fled down the fire escape are Mrs. Benjamin Kennedy and her two children, Mrs. Jenny Cramer and four children, Mr. and Mrs. A. Sutton, Miss Elva Lloyd, Miss Agnes Anderson and James Andrews. Many others had not returned from business, and firemen had to chop down the doors to their rooms to make certain the flames were all extinguished. That required three-quarters of an hour. Firemen estimated the damage at well over $1,000.
“If the fire had occurred in the middle of the night,” said Chief Nicholas, “there would surely have been loss of life. The narrow stairways make that type of house a very difficult one in which to fight a fire.”
Firemen Back
Camden Post-Telegram —
Vacations are now over for Chris Moll and Joseph Daly, of No. 2 Engine Company, and George Hollins and Howard Harrington, of No. 1 Truck Company.
Moll, who has been up in Maine, where he spent his time hunting, has brought back a fine collection of deer skins.
Captain William Cassion, Howard Lorange, John Strauss and Harry Burrough leave today for their long looked for vacation, which they will spend at various points of interest.
$225,000 Fire Ruins 5 Uptown Plants
Camden Courier-Post —
How Flames Gutted Big Industrial Building
Residents Flee as Flames Rage in Big Building
Factory of Evans Leather Co. Saved by Valiant Work of Firemen
Apparatus Is Disabled; Debris Buried Fire Plug
Metal Stamping Firm, Textile Concern Heavy Losers; Pattern Shop Saved
Taken shortly after daylight today, this photograph shows firemen still pouring water on the ruins of the Varoma building on Erie street from the roof of the Evans Leather Company building adjoining. Five industries were wiped out in the blaze which caused damage estimated at $225,000.
Sweeping through the Varoma Building on Erie street and driving 80 persons from their homes, a spectacular fire early today wrecked the quarters of five industrial concerns and caused damage estimated at $225,000.
Responding to three alarms, every piece of fire apparatus in the city, with the exception of the “cover-up” companies, fought the blaze for hours.
Handicapped by the location of fire-plugs and the breakdown of several pieces of apparatus, the firemen prevented the flames from spreading to the huge building of the Evans Leather Company, which forms an “L” on two sides of the burned structure.
Twenty dwellings on the east side of Segal street, separated from the Varoma building only by a narrow alley, were also saved after their occupants had fled to the street.
Fire Chief Thomas Nicholas announced later today, after the flames had been brought under control, that he would begin a rigid investigation into the blocking of Segal street by a high board fence and the piling of refuse around a fireplug at the head of the street.
The wrecked building is owned by the Varoma Corporation of which Thomas Van Osten, of Palmyra, is president; William MacIntosh, 3[?]7 Vine street, vice president; Alfred Van Osten, of Palmyra, secretary, and David B. Robinson, of West Collingswood.
Building Loss $50,000
MacIntosh today estimated the damage to the building alone at $50,000. He is also president of the MacIntosh Printing and Lithographing Company, of which James J. Stinson, of Merchantville is secretary. Damage estimated at $10,000 resulted from the fire in the quarters of that concern.
The other industries, all located in the big brick building, which suffered in the blaze, with official estimate of the damage to each, are as follows:
Blue and Gray Textile Company, of which T. A. Carr, of 302 Porter road, Fairview, is president, $30,000.
Allied Metal Stamping Company, of which Joseph A. Skublicki, of 115 State street, is president, and William Daugherty, vice president, $75,000.
James A. MacMillan & Co., manufacturing chemists, headed by James MacMillan, of 809 North Third street, $10,000.
Philadelphia Metal Stamping Company, of which firm Clement A. and Mrs. Florence Perrin, of Collingswood, and Edwin L. Seabrook, of 566 Benson street, are members, $50,000.
Other Concerns Escape
The fire was discovered at 5.35 o’clock by a watchman who sounded the first alarm. The flames had started, from causes as yet undetermined, in that portion of the building occupied by the Blue & Gray Textile Company. The building, which housed nine separate industries, covered an area 100 by 300 feet. Part of it was one story in height and another part two stories. Four of the industries in the two-story section of the building escaped serious damage. They are Kruse & Slattery, tool-makers; the Camden Hardware Manufacturing Company, the Wolf Company, manufacturers of advertising novelties; the Thomas C. Van Osten pattern-makers, headed b[illegible]dent of the concern w[illegible] building.
The structure, at 105-107 Erie street, extends back almost to Segal street and has a frontage covering most of the block on Erie street between Second and Burns streets.
Arrivnig [sic] in response to the watchman’s alarm, Chief Nicholas visioned the danger of repetition of the fire nine years ago when buildings at the same location were wiped out by flames. He immediately sounded the second and third alarms, bringing almost every piece of apparatus in the city to the scene.
Carr, president of the textile company, estimated the loss there at $30,000, stating that a large shipment of intricate machinery from Germany had arrived only a few days ago. The concern was anticipating removal, in a short time, to larger quarters at Ninth and State streets, Carr added.
From the two large rooms occupied by the Blue & Gray textile firm, the flames swung over to the quarters of the Allied Metal Stamping Company. Daugherty, the vice-president of this concern, said his company was filling a large order for electric switch-boxes and had been working at capacity for several weeks. Switch-boxes valued at $40,000 were destroyed by the fire, with machinery and other equipment valued by Daugherty at an additional $35,000.
Blasts Add to Perils
Moving northward, the flames next struck the MacMillan plant, where chemicals are manufactured for paints and drug companies. Here the flames reached a number of containers of chemicals and, for a time, the blaze was punctuated by a series of explosions. Here, firemen risked imminent peril to their lives by carrying other containers of chemicals out of reach of the flames.
Still continuing northward; the fire next reached the MacIntosh lithographing plant and spread through the cutting and shipping rooms, causing damage estimated at $10,000 before firemen succeeded in dragging two lines of hose into this section of the building and driving back the flames.
The Philadelphia Metal Supply Company went next as the fire swept eastward. In this plant, metal cornices and valuable hand-made dies were destroyed at a loss estimated by Perrin, a member of the firm, at $50,000. Arriving at the scene, apparatus from Engine Companies No. 1 and No. 7 developed boiler trouble and were unable to work. Firemen were further handicapped by the fact that the Evans Leather Company has blocked off Segal street at the north end by a high board fence. A fireplug at this point was also blocked by a pile of chemical containers, declared to have been placed there by the leather company.
Declaring that he could have attached at least four more hose lines had this plug not been blocked, Chief Nicholas announced that he would conduct an investigation. He said also that the leather company had failed to place gates in the Segal street fence, as city officials required them to do when permission was given for erection of the barrier.
Hose lines were taken to the flat roof of the Evans company, high above the burning building, and water poured onto the flames from this altitude. Hundreds of persons were attracted to the scene by the spectacular nature of the fire, which was visible from the Camden bridge and for miles around. A police detail led by Chief James E. Tatem and Inspector Lewis Etehr [sic] kept the crowds in check.
Firemen escaped injury while fighting the flames at their height, but while they were still pouring streams of water onto the ruins shortly before noon today, the first casualty occurred. Emanuel Kane, of 703 North Third street, a fireman attached to Engine Company No. 6, was struck on the head and knocked down by a 12-foot length of steel bar, six inches thick, which pinned him under it as he fell. Companions ran to his aid, lifted the bar from him and revived him. Hospital treatment was not necessary.
Eight other firemen narrowly escaped serious injury a few minutes later when a section of the east wall fell. The eight men were standing under the wall when one of them saw it totter. They dashed from the spot just in time to avoid being buried by the falling debris. Three of these firemen were from Engine Company No. 1 at Fifth and Arch streets; three from No. 4, Fourth and Vine streets, and two from No. 2 Company, Front and Linden streets.
Jack Sperry, an Evening Courier photographer, was walking along the roof of a part of the burned building when he fell through a portion of it which had been burned from beneath. Pinned at his arm-pits, he was dragged out. He got his picture.
While carrying a hose line into the [illegible] structure, Firemen Harry Lee [illegible] David Ellis were knocked down when a [illegible]pling blew off the hose but [illegible] hurt.
[illegible] wild confusion was [illegible] street when members [illegible] whose homes were threatened by the flames, rushed to the street, many of them clad only in night clothing. Carrying screaming children with them, occupants of the dwellings also dashed out with furniture and personal belongings which they piled in the street. Cellars of the score of houses on Segal street were flooded by water from the firehoses, which was knee-deep amid the ruins.
Families whose homes were menaced and who were driven from the dwellings were those of Paul Warner, 1002 Segal street; Frank Bosco, 1004; Giles Beebe, 1006; Howard Pratt, 1008; Mrs. Mary Sweeten, 1010; Charles Randall, 1012; Harry Burr, 1014; John Sweeten, 1016; Leona Moore, 1018; Dora Annastasio, 1020; John Hamilton, 1024; Abe Granis, 1026; George Stewart, 1028; Arthur Wilkins, 1032; Charles Stutzenburg, 1034; George Wilson, 1036; George Bowers, 1040, and A. W. Dickinson, 1042 Segal street.
The fire today was the fourth big blaze that has occurred on the site. The first was in 1867, when a roller mill and nail factory were destroyed.
In the second, in 1908, flames destroyed the morocco plant of R. H. Evans Company.
In 1919, with the temperature at the zero point, firemen were again called out to fight another disastrous blaze in the Evans plant that had been rebuilt.
Firemen Here Get Advanced First Aid Course
Camden Courier-Post —
More than 40 members of the Camden Fire Department completed the Red Cross course in advanced first aid. Instruction sessions were under the direction of Fire Chief William V. Pfefferle, Drillmaster Anthony Dzinski, assisted by Nicholas E. George. All members of the graduating class were personnel of several units housed at fire department headquarters, including the Headquarters Company, Engine Company 2, Rescue Squad 1 and Truck Company 1.
Rescue Squad: Captains Arthur Batten, Philip A. Stinger and Albert Weller; Edward Brendlinger, Harrison MacNier, Robert Olesiewicz and James W. Smith.
Headquarters Company: Raymond Banford, John K. Voll and John W. Yates.
Truck Company 1: Captains Daniel Jiannetto, Robert E. Dukes and Otto V. Kaiser; William Watkin, Chester Gedrich, George Baxter, John Mogck, George C. Hennessy, Charles Devlin, Ambrose W. Faust, Joseph McTaggart, Howard R. Taggart, William G. Winstanley and Elmer Johnson Jr.
Engine Company 2: Captains James R. Asher, Thomas Winstanley; Carl Wirtz, James McGrory, Edwin V. Decker, James Stewart, Francis X. McTaggart, Anthony T. Orme, Mario D. Fattore, James O. Jones, Francis P. Stibi, William Hopkins, Robert E. Briggs, John Guiliano, Casper Martelli, Harold H. Pike, John J. Vane, William Stibi, John DiMaggio and Harry Kleinfelder.
Two Camden Toddlers Die As Fire Razes Row House
Camden Courier-Post —
Babysitter Seriously Burned
—Courier-Post Photo by Bob Bartosz
BODY of child, one of two young victims of Camden blaze, is carried from Fern Street row house by Capt. Al Collum of Engine Company 1.
By BOB REICHENBACH, Courier-Post Staff
A Camden man was in critical condition at Cooper Hospital today and two children were dead after a fire swept through a North Camden row house yesterday.
Stanley Brown, 25, was burned over 50 per cent of his body in the blaze at 825 Fern St. that took the lives of James Lyles, 3, and his brother John M., 2.
The two boys, sons of Mrs. Inez Brown, 22, died of burns over their entire bodies, according to an autopsy report released today by Blair M. Murphy, investigator for the Camden County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Flames Spread Rapidly
The first alarm was called at 1:40 p.m. Six minutes later a second alarm was issued as heavy winds whipped flames and the blaze spread throughout the small two-bedroom row home.
The fire apparently started in the kitchen in the rear of the home, a preliminary investigation has turned up.
“The gas stove was lit,” Deputy Chief Theodore Primas explained, “just to help take the chill away.”
According to Brown’s hospital bedside testimony, the children were playing in the house.
“The kids were running around,” Primas said, “and there most probably is a link between the stove and the children.”
Brown, he continued, was asleep in one of the second-story bedrooms when the fire started.
A member of the family said Brown had been babysitting for the boys while their mother went shopping. A sister, Dorothy, 4, was visiting a grandmother. The children’s father is stationed in Kansas City, Mo., with the Army.
Leaps To Safety
According to reports, Brown jumped from the second floor window and told firemen that the two boys were trapped inside.
Firemen were unable to get into the house until about half an hour later when the flames subsided.
A fireman, Robert Troutman, 40, of Engine Company 6, was injured when he was blown from the front door he was trying to enter, according to other firemen.
He was treated at Cooper Hospital for smoke inhalation.
Troutman had been called to a one-alarm fire a block away, at 531 N. 9th St. Shortly after that fire was under control, firemen were ordered to the Fern Street address.
Firemen said Troutman and Capt. James McGrory, 44, of Engine two, tried to enter the home when they arrived. An explosion of undetermined origin apparently sent them flying to the sidewalk.
High winds threatened two adjoining homes as flames and smoke spread along the roof eves. Firemen cut through the ceilings of all three homes to combat fire spreading through the roof crawlspace.
Firemen found the two children in the bathroom at about 2:15.
“There was a big one and a smaller one,” said Primas, “but I don’t know which was which, they were both burned beyond recognition.”
The two-alarm fire followed within almost 15 minutes of a one alarm fire that Battalion Chief John Mogck said was “deliberately set in the kitchen.”
Spring winds again fanned the flames and the vacant rowhouse on N. 9th Street was “completely engulfed” when firemen arrived.
Mogck said an investigation of the 9th Street blaze will definitely be made.
Family Mourns 2 Boys
Children’s Grandmother Inconsolable
Mrs. Doris Brown sat weeping on the sofa in a home across the street following the two-alarm fire that took the lives of her two young grandchildren.
The family there was trying to keep people away from the distraught grandmother but they failed.
Neighbors and friends were crowding around. They wanted to find out what had happened. “I really don’t know,” she said, rubbing her surviving granddaughter’s head.
Looking at Girl
“She . . .” Mrs. Brown said, looking at the little girl, “was over here when it started.”
Dorothy, 4, looked up at her grandmother. She was confused.
But she seemed to know she should be quiet.
“My daughter was uptown shopping,” Mrs. Brown said between sobs, “and her friend (Stanley Brown) was watching the kids.”
The mother of the two small boys, Mrs. Inez Brown, 22, was shopping at Broadway and Kaighns Avenue, according to Blair M. Murphy, Camden County Medical Investigator.
Mrs. Brown cried more, probably thinking about how she would break the news to her daughter.
‘Where’s Father?’
“Where’s the father?” someone asked.
Mrs. Brown looked up from her crumpled handkerchief and said, “He’s in Kansas City (Mo.) with the Army.”
She looked at Dorothy again. “She was visiting me (at 531 Elm St.) and then said she was going home,” the grandmother said.
She sighed. “She must have come here instead,” she continued.
Mrs. Brown began crying harder. A neighbor tried to comfort her. Those crowding around began to leave. On their way out, they saw two small bodies wrapped in white sheets being lowered from the bedroom window across the street. Attendants carried the covered bodies to waiting ambulances.
Crowd Falls Short In McIntire March
By LARRY WILLIAMS, Courier-Post Staff
WASHINGTON — Fewer than 15,000 pro-Vietnam war demonstrators were on hand as Dr. Carl McIntire’s “march for victory” started down Pennsylvania Avenue today.
McIntire said during the prayer meeting that he was “heartened” by the number of persons who attended the hour-long session, despite earlier
16 Coal Miners Killed in Blast
VIENNA (UPI)—At least 16 coal miners died early today when an explosion rocked a mine in northeastern Czechoslovakia, the government announced.
The government announcement said two other miners have been saved and 10 “are being rescued.”
The announcement by the official news agency CTK said 28 men were in the Paskov mine, near the city of Ostrava, when the explosion occurred. The blast occurred just before the changeover from the night to day shifts.
7 Area Policemen Finish Drug Course
Seven South Jersey police officers were recent graduates of the twelfth class in a special drug law enforcement training program for municipal officers, conducted at the State Police Academy, Sea Girt.
They were Ptl. William Sheffield, Collingswood; Capt. Joseph Foster, Pitman; Ptl. Anthony Francesco, Edgewater Park; Det. James Dooley, Atlantic City; Sgt. Charles Rankin, Margate; Ptl. Walter Oliver, Middle Township, and Sgt. Dominic Romeo, Wildwood.
Credits
Many of the Fire Department photographs on this website are from the limited edition book Fire Department Camden NJ 125 Anniversary 1869–1994. Many were shot by Department photographer Bob Bartosz. Thanks to Joel Bain of the Camden Fire Department for making many of the images on the website available.
Camden Honors Heroic Fireman
Camden Courier-Post —
Rescuer of Trapped Man Gets Medal; Others Cited
A 42-year-old fireman has received the City of Camden’s second highest award and citations were presented to a battalion chief, his aide, and firemen from three companies today for the rescue of a 50-year-old man from a State Street home Nov. 26.
Robert Troutman of 435 N. 41st St. received Distinguished Service Award from Mayor Joseph M. Nardi Jr. A fireman since 1960, Troutman is assigned to Engine Company 6.
The fourth platoon of Engine Company 6, along with the fourth platoons of Engine Company 2, Ladder Company 1, Rescue Company 1, received unit citations for the rescue. In addition, a citation was presented to Battalion Chief James McGrory and his aide, Joseph Randik.
TROUTMAN was one of the first firemen at the scene of the Nov. 26 fire at 633 State St., according to Fire Chief Edward V. Michalak.
Donning an air pack, Troutman crawled through flames and smoke to find the man, Thomas Hall, and lead [sic] him out of the building, said Michalak.
As he led the man to safety, his fellow firemen sprayed him with water to protect him from the flames and heat, he continued.
AFTER the fire was extinguished, firemen found the body of Minnie Hall, 72, in the kitchen of the dwelling, according to the fire chief.
Today’s awards ceremony is part of the city’s observance of National Fire Service Recognition Day.
ROBERT TROUTMAN
Fire Truck-Auto Collision Breaks Store Windows
Camden Courier-Post —
Car Mounts Sidewalk After Crash at Broadway, Stevens
An automobile was driven onto the sidewalk and broke two windows of a store at Broadway and Stevens st. today after colliding with a fire engine returning from a false alarm.
Leonard Chasey, 19, of 1437 S. 9th st., was proceeding west on Stevens st., when his car was in collision with the truck of Engine Co. No. 2 proceeding north on Broadway. The engine was operated by Hoseman Carl Wirtz, 29, of 1421 Norris st.
The impact of the crash sent Chasey’s car onto the sidewalk on the southwest corner and broke the windows of Rolans Clothing Store.
Treated at Hospital
Chasey suffered minor bruises and was treated at Cooper Hospital. Riding with Wirtz on the engine at the time was Capt. George Boone. They were uninjured.
Joseph J. Shapiro, manager of the clothing store, estimated damage at $200. He said windows on the Stevens st. and Broadway sides of the store were broken.
Boone said the engine was returning to its station at 5th and Arch sts. at the time of the crash. He said a telephone operator had called the police and fire board in the electrical bureau, and reported a fire at 516 Pine st. He said that when they arrived at the scene there was no fire.
Fire in Gloucester
Boone said that while the firemen were en route to Pine st., another call was received at the electrical bureau stating that there had been a mistake and the fire was at 516 Powell st., Gloucester.
The Gloucester fire was in the home of Robert Lewis and had been caused by a defective oil burner. The fire was quickly extinguished by Gloucester firemen.
—Courier-Post Photo
ACCIDENT SCENE at Broadway and Stevens st., is shown shortly after the car above, operated by Leonard Chasey, 19, of 1437 S. 9th st., collided with a fire engine returning from a false alarm.