Introduction
Albert E. Collum Jr. was born in Camden, New Jersey on September 18, 1936 to Albert E. and Florence Mack Collum. The 1947 Camden City Directory shows the family at 348 Atlantic Avenue, with the elder Collum working as a driver.
After graduating from high school Albert E. Collum Jr. served in the United States Navy, then worked for 10 years at the Brooklawn Shopping Center, prior to gaining an appointment to the Camden Fire Department on November 23, 1964. He entered the New Jersey Police and Fireman’s Pension Fund on March 1, 1965.
Albert E. Collum Jr. lived at 2409 Howell Street at the time of his appointment. When residency restrictions were lifted in the 1970s, he moved to Edgewater Park in Burlington County, and later lived in Delran and Riverside.
Albert E. Collum Jr. was promoted to Captain on December 30, 1969. He served with honor and distinction for over 26 years, retiring on March 1, 1991. He and his wife Peggy moved to Florida after his retirement. He passed away in Hudson, Florida on August 15, 2016.
6 City Firemen Take Oaths
Camden Courier-Post —
J. W. CONVERY
A. E. CULLUM [sic] JR.
D. J. SHEPPARD
D. W. SANDERS
J. R. HERTZ
A. JONES
Department Rolls Now Total 176
Six new members of the Camden Fire Department yesterday were sworn into office by City Clerk Odorisio at ceremonies in the office of Director of Public Safety Kauffman.
The men and one other, to be sworn in Dec. 7, complete the present list of eligibles for the fire department. Kauffman said he will request the Civil Service Commission to set dates for new examinations for fire candidates. The city now enrolls 176 men in the department.
The new members are Daniel J. Sheppard, 22, of 1340 Dayton st.; Joseph W. Convery, 27, of 157 Eutaw ave.; John R. Hertz, 23, of 2916 Congress rd.; Albert E. Cullum [sic] Jr., 28, of 2409 Howell st.; David W. Sanders, 31, of 821 Line st., and Albert Jones, 24, of 220 N. 11th st. The seventh man is Daniel O. Mulvey, 24, of 23 N. 25th st.
The men will be assigned to the fire training school for one month and for one week at a fire school at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
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Police, Fire Tests Take Heavy Toll
Camden Courier-Post —
Courier-Post Bureau
TRENTON — The high rate of failures on police and fire examinations was repeated yesterday in the Civil Service Department’s announcement of the results of tests for fire captain and patrolman in Camden City.
In the captain’s test, 23 passed, 64 failed and two did not show up for the test. In the test for patrolman, 10 passed, 32 failed and 14 failed to show. In the non-residents’ test for Camden patrolman, six passed, eight failed and five did not appear.
In the fire captain’s test, Kenneth M. Clark of 111 North 26th St., Camden, a veteran, qualified with a score of 92.6, highest for the seven veterans who qualified. Joseph R. Gfrorer of 3040 N. Constitution Road, Camden, was highest of applicants with a score of 96.5.
In the residents’ patrolman test, Robert D. Craig of 817 Vine Street was high with 78. In the non resident’s test, Edwin B. Hoffman of 514 Walnut Street, Audubon, a veteran qualified with 72.2 and Flem J. Hopkins Jr. of 113 Estates Ave., Pine Hill, was high with 78.
Others who passed the fire captain’s test were:
George D. Getty of 1111 N. 34 St., 95.4; John DiMaggio of 319 Beckett St., 94; Joseph J. Anderson of 2406 Denfield St., 92.96; Phillip A. Maycott of 2836 Lincoln Ave., 90.5; James McMaster of 402 N. 37th St., 90.2; William D. Hillman of 3071 Constitution Rd., 89.4; Joseph Arensberg of 1041 N. 32nd St., 88.3; Robert E. Briggs of 2861 Congress Road, veteran, 86.3; John S. Brzozowski of 371 N. 34th St., 86.2; Edmund F. Gorczynski of 272 N. 33rd St., veteran, 85.4; Anthony F. Orme of 3317 River Ave., veteran, 82.4; William B. Young of 1126 N. 33rd St., 80.5; William D. Ayers of 2846 Pierce Ave., veteran, 79.1; Joseph Dowhy Sr., of 866 Beideman Ave., veteran, 78.9; James O. Jones of 3214 Mitchell St., 78.3; Joseph Chelhowski of 1324 Sheridan St., veteran, 75.8; James T. Robinson of 504 Trenton Ave., 75.5; Anthony D. Moffa of 23 Leonard Ave., 73.3; Robert E. Davenport of 1026 Reeves Ave., 73; John F. Gaffney Jr., of 78 S. Dudley St., 72.8, and Albert E. Collum Jr., of 2409 Howell St., 72.6.
Patrolman (residents) who passed:
Joseph A. Fox of 2117 Mount Ephraim Ave., 77.1; Charles W. Cahilly 2d of 2015 Westminster Ave., 75.; Edward B. Bush of 3210 Mitchell St., 78.9; John F. Oppmann of 550 N. 30th St., 77.7; Gary E. Miller of 486-A Rand St., 77.4; Donald J. Tymusczuk of 2737 Concord Ave., 75.1; Joseph A. Broccoli of 1467 Pershing St., 74.2; Richard W. Merta of 1641 Pulaski St., 72.9, and Robert G. Gibson of 572 Clinton St., 72.6.
Patrolman (nonresidents) who passed:
Flem J. Hopkins Jr., 78; Elwood L. Ridge, 75.4; Joseph E. Benton, 74.7; David Vautier Jr., 74.1, and Frank R. Pedano, 73.8.
825 Fern Street Fire
Camden Courier-Post —
Body of child, one of two young victims of Camden blaze, is carried from a row house at 825 Fern Street by Captain Al Collum of Engine Company 1
Fatal fire truck crash is blamed on their sirens
Camden Courier-Post —
By TONY DAVIS
Courier-Post Staff
A Camden fire official said he believes Saturday’s collision of two fire trucks that killed one person and injured 14 others was caused by the inability of the drivers to hear each other’s vehicle over their own sirens.
However, Acting First Battalion Chief Joseph Anderson stressed that he was only “theorizing” and that a full investigation of the crash would begin today. The two trucks, Engines One and Eight, collided at 6th and Pine Streets at about 5:15 pm, Saturday, Anderson said.
The impact of the crash sent Engine Eight, which was heading north on 6th Street, into the Livecchi grocery store while Engine One, which was heading east on Pine Street, stopped safely about one block north on 6th Street, Anderson said.
The two vehicles were en route to the scene of a minor fire in a vacant house about two blocks from the scene of the collision. Anderson said another truck was called to extinguish the blaze.
Dead was 65-year-old Wilkins Tisdale, of 583 Line Street, Camden, according to Blair M. Murphy, an investigator for the Camden County Medical Examiner’s office. Murphy said the causes of death were internal injuries and a severed arm.
Tisdale, a retired construction worker who had just walked out of the grocery store, was pinned for 90 minutes under a large freezer in the store, Anderson said.
Juanita Dorsey, 34, 704 Pine Street Camden, who had been standing inside the store, was pinned under the freezer when it was hit by the truck, Anderson said. The woman was listed in satisfactory condition in Cooper Hospital with back injuries.
Richard Sorenson, a hoseman for Engine Eight, was in critical condition at Cooper with a punctured lung, broken ribs and a broken nose, right shoulder and right arm.
Paul Delfing, driver of Engine One, and James Peterson, driver of Engine Eight, were both pinned inside the cabs of their vehicles for 20 minutes, and later treated and released from Cooper for head and facial injuries, Anderson said.
Sorenson and five other firemen on the two trucks were all thrown from them by the crash. The other firemen injured were Joseph Chelhowski, captain of Engine Eight, who was in satisfactory condition in West Jersey Hospital, Northern Division with ankle injuries and bruises.
Albert Collum, captain of Engine One, who was in stable condition at Cooper with a concussion, a broken finger, contusions and bruises.
William Smith, a hoseman for Engine Eight, who was being held for observation at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital with head and facial cuts and bruises.
John Asher, a hoseman for Engine One, and Paul Capazola, a hoseman for Engine Eight, who were treated and released from Cooper for cuts and bruises.
Five other persons were injured, none seriously, in the crash. One, Leonard Medford, of 611 Line Street, Camden, was in satisfactory condition at Cooper Hospital with leg injuries. The others were all treated and released from Cooper and Lourdes hospitals.
Anderson said the diesel engines of the two trucks both received “extensive” damage and that he did not know if the eight-year-old trucks, which he said usually last 15 years, could be used again.
Chief Edward V. Michalak said the department has pressed two of its older, auxiliary pumpers into service to keep the city’s nine engine companies and three ladder companies at full strength.
Michalak said, however, that the two trucks damaged were among the newest the City owned.
Although he would put no dollar estimate on the damages, he said they were “excessive” and that it would not be known until at least Tuesday whether they could be repaired.
The city will not be receiving any new fire trucks until next April, when delivery of four pumpers is expected.
Although the city has experienced fire truck mishaps before, the chief, a 33-year veteran of the force, said this was the most serious.
He would not comment on the cause of the accident pending completion of the department’s investigation.
Fatal Fire Truck Crash at 6th and Pine Streets
Camden Courier-Post —
WILKINS TISDALE
. . . Killed in crash.
SPECTATORS peer solemnly at Camden fire truck that crashed into corner grocery at 6th and Pine streets, Camden killing one man and injuring 14 other persons after collision with another fire truck at intersection.
CAB of fire engine lies atop freezer where it came to rest after slamming through grocery store wall.
Courier-Post Photos by Jack Wolfer
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Fire Department Personnel Card
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.
Albert Edward Collum, Jr. Obituary
Tampa Bay Times —
Age 79, originally of Camden, NJ, died Aug. 15, 2016, in Hudson. Albert served in the U.S. Navy and as a Captain with the Camden Fire Department. He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters. He is survived by his brother, Bill; son, Albert; wife, Peggy; daughter-in-law, Lorie; sister-in-law, Nancy; nephew, Brad; step-daughter, Stephanie; and his grandchildren, Cameron, Cody, Caleb, and Ava. Beloved father and grandfather, Albert will be laid to rest at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.