Irvin F. Bishop
IRVIN FRANKLIN “FRANK” BISHOP was born in Camden, New Jersey on September 11, 1894, the youngest of three children born to Henry and Rebecca Bishop. His father worked as a carpenter. The family lived at 918 Newton Avenue when the Census was taken in 1900. The 1906 City Directory shows the family at 313 Mechanic Street. By 1910 they had moved back to Newton Avenue, taking up residence at 934 Newton Avenue, and were still at that address in 1914. Irvin F. Bishop had by this time gone to work as a driver, most likely horse-drawn wagons at this time. He would later drive hook and ladder apparatus for the Camden Fire Department.
The Federal Census taken on January 9, 1920 shows Irvin F. Bishop working as a truck driver and living at 534 Mechanic Street with his wife Lillian and three children, Helen, Margaret, and Edmond. He was appointed to the Camden Fire Department on August 25, 1920 and reported for duty on September 16, 1920 with Ladder Company 2, quartered at 619 Kaighn Avenue, where he would serve for 33 years. On September 15, 1953 Irvin F. Bishop was made Chief’s Aide, a post he held until his retirement on January 1, 1955.
The 1924 City Directory shows Irvin and Lillian Bishop at 519 Mechanic Street. Things may have gone bad in the marriage, as there is no mention of Lillian Bishop in the 1927 or 1929 Directories, or in the 1930 Census.
The 1927 Directory lists Irvin F. Bishop’s address as 1108 South 4th Street, while the 1929 Camden City Directory shows Irvin Bishop living at 554 Haddon Avenue. The April 1930 Census shows him renting a home at 1126 Baring Street. During the 1930s Irvin F. Bishop had remarried and was living at 3073 Tuckahoe Road in Fairview. They were still at that address as late as 1942. By 1947 he and wife Mabel had moved to 2771 North Constitution Road, also in Fairview.
On May 21, 1942 Firemen Irvin Bishop and Austin Marks of Ladder Company 2 rescued an unconscious woman from a burning building on Locust Street near Kaighn Avenue, South Camden.
Irvin Bishop retired from the Camden Fire Department on January 1, 1955 and was replaced in the Department by Kenneth M. Clark. Irvin F. Bishop’s last address was 2012 Berwick Street in East Camden. He passed away on June 11, 1958.
Iron Bars Prevent Rescue of Boy Who Dies in Camden Fire
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Six Firemen Injured in Heroic Attempts to Save Little Victim
Doomed Lad Stares Piteously Out Windows as House Is Blazing Furnace
Iron bars built into the window sills when the place was used as a bank prevented the rescue of a boy who perished in a blaze at 1009 Broadway, Camden, last night.
In desperate endeavor to rescue the boy, Harry Armbruster, Jr., 11 years old, six firemen were seriously injured. All are in Cooper Hospital with various injuries.
The firemen on their ladders could see the boy through the window in his little sleeping room at the rear of the second floor. They tried to wrench out the bars, but, built to resist burglars, the staunch pieces of iron resisted all their efforts.
The front of the house was an inferno of flame and smoke, and entrance to the doomed boy in that way was impossible. No one could have lived in the furnace a moment.
The frenzied firemen, stung to deeds of super-heroism by the sight of the little chap staring white-faced through the iron bars that were to cost him his life, broke into the building on the ground floor and groped their way through the smoke to his room.
But it was too late. The flames and smoke had licked their way to him, and when the firemen fought their way through he was unconscious. He died on the way to the hospital.
The names of the fire heroes who are in the hospital are:
CAPTAIN WILLIAM PRICE, No. 2 Truck.
FIREMAN JOHN HUNT, No. 8 Engine Company.
FIREMAN IRWIN BISHOP, No. 2 Truck Company.
CAPTAIN CHARLES WATKINS, No. 7 Engine Company.
FIREMAN WILLIAM MERRIGAN, No. 7 Engine Company.
FIREMAN WILLIAM REYNOLDS, No. 2 Truck Company.
The two firemen who carried the boy out were Captain Price and Hoseman Reynolds.
The building where the fire occurred is owned by Harry Ambruster, the boy’s father. It was formerly occupied by the Broadway Trust Company, but is now a store building.
Ambruster maintains a cleaning establishment in the basement of the building and lives above the store. He is a widower and his son was motherless. Shortly before 11 o’clock, Ambruster, preparatory to closing his cleaning establishment, went into the yard behind the store, and smelling smoke, investigated. He found that the smoke came from the cellar and he knew that his son was asleep in the front room of the second-story.
Because the building was formerly occupied by the banking company, all the windows are protected with heavy iron barrings. Ambruster was torn between two duties. He wanted to run upstairs to get his son safely out of the burning structure and he wanted to turn in an alarm. Shouting “Fire! Fire!” he ran to the front part of the building, and tried to go upstairs.
The staircase was in the midst of a roaring mass of flames, however, and he could not get upstairs. Distraught, the father frantically ran hither and thither outside. The fire engines had been summoned and firemen had raised ladders to the second story window, having been told of the presence of the sleeping boy.
The bars were immovable. Captain Price pried with an iron crowbar, but in vain. In the meantime Firemen Hunt, Bishop and Merrigan and Captain Watkins had tried to make their way through the burning first floor to the staircase and the sleeping boy.
Bishop and Merrigan were overcome and lay inside the burning building unknown to the firemen on the outside. It looked as though the floor would collapse at any minute.
Captain Price and Reynolds, staggering through the hall with the almost dead boy, passed the unconscious Bishop and Merrigan on the way.
At the foot of the stairs, Reynolds, overcome by the dense smoke, collapsed. Captain Price continued alone, carrying the boy over his shoulder.
The lad’s father was by this time frantic with excitement. When Price appeared in the doorway framed against a background of rolling flames, he ran forward and seized his son. They were placed in an ambulance and rushed to the Cooper Hospital. There doctors pronounced the boy dead.
Captain Price in the meantime had told of the three unconscious firemen inside the burning building who were in imminent danger of death should the floor fall in.
Rescuers immediately dashed into the burning structure and brought out their comrades and all were rushed to the hospital.
The building, a two-story brick edifice, was directly behind the Lyric Theatre, where a crowded audience was witnessing a motion picture performance. Realizing the proximity of the fire, and fearing a panicky stampede, the orchestra continued to play, and the operator was given orders to continue the picture then showing for ten minutes. Then the smoke became noticeable within the theatre, and the performance was ended. The audience left the theatre quietly, without any sign of fear or panic.
Three alarms were turned in during the fire, and the building was practically destroyed.
Dismissed as Tipsy, Fireman Is Heard in Civil Service Plea
Camden Courier-Post —
‘Drunk on Duty’, Former Associates Testify at Garner’s Hearing
Testimony by fellow firemen that he “was so drunk he had to be lifted off a fire truck” marked the hearing of George W. Garner, a city fireman of 1266 Kenwood avenue, before Civil Service Commissioner William S. Etiles yesterday.
The case was the first Civil Service hearing in Camden in two years. Commissioner Stiles reserved decision.
Garner was dismissed on May 4, 1934, by Mayor Stewart in his capacity of director of public safety. The charge was “continued disobedience of orders and intoxication while on duty.” The defendant is married and has two children, one four years and one only three days old.
Capt. James Young, Garner’s superior officer at Engine Company No. 2, 619 Kaighn avenue, testified that he found Garner in a saloon with a woman on the evening of April 30 last.
“Garner had asked permission to go out about 7 o’clock and get coffee for the men,” said Captain Young. “Two hours later he went out without permission.
“Senior Captain Lawrence Newton and I went looking for him and found him in a saloon operated by Umberto DiClaudio at Sixth and Kaighn avenue. He was sitting at a table with a woman.
“I asked him what he was doing and he said the woman had a toothache.
“At 2.29 a. m. an alarm sounded, and when we went to take out the fire truck Garner was on the running board unconscious. We couldn’t rouse him and I had to assign two men, Chester Price and Irving Bishop, to carry him off. He was too intoxicated to move.”
Price and Bishop corroborated the testimony of their captain, as also did James A. Creato and William Cummerford. Battalion Chief Leonard Magee, of Engine Company No. 3, testified he saw Garner after the fire and “the man was in a stupor.”
Acting Fire Chief John H. Lennox said the next morning when he saw Garner, “He looked to me as if he had had a bad night.”
DiClaudio, the saloon proprietor, denied that Garner had bought anything to drink, saying he sold him 12 boiled eggs to eat.
Garner, on the stand, entered a general denial of the charges. He was represented by Morris Tartar.
Assistant City Solicitor Lewis Lieberman showed the court a resignation signed by Garner and dated March 10.
World War II Draft Card
REGISTRATION CARD — (Men born on or after April 28, 1877 and on or before February 16, 1897)
Serial Number: U 340 Name: IRVIN FRANKLIN BISHOP Place of Residence: 3073 TUCKAHOE RD, CAMDEN, N.J. Mailing Address: Same Telephone: None Age in Years: 47 Date of Birth: SEPT. 11 1894 Place of Birth: CAMDEN, N.J. Name and Address of Person Who Will Always Know Your Address: MRS. MABEL BISHOP, 3073 TUCKAHOE RD, CAMDEN Employer’s Name and Address: CITY OF CAMDEN Place of Employment or Business: FIREMAN
District Firemen Fete 2 Veterans On Retirement
Camden Courier-Post —
Two retired veterans, District Chief Engineer Robert A. Wonsetler and Chief’s Aide Irvin F. Bishop, were given a farewell party Saturday night by firemen at the 27th and Federal sts. firehouse.
Wonsetler, who retired after 31 years 11 months of service, and Bishop, with a record of 34 years 4 months, were presented wrist watches at a dinner attended by officers and members of the Camden Bureau of Fire.
Honored guests included Chief Engineer William V. Pfefferle, District Chief Engineer John J. Graham and District Chief Engineer Austin Marks. Many members of the auxiliary were present.
Wonsetler, who was appointed to the department Feb. 8, 1923, served through the ranks to become district chief engineer. He served as executive delegate and legislative lobbyist of the Camden Branch, Local 5, Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association Inc. 10 years.
He was elected president of the New Jersey State Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association in 1939, being the first Camden fireman elected to that office in 41 years.
Wonsetler was honored with a life membership and a gift by FMBA. In addition to working at many of Camden’s major fires, Chief Wonsetler, from 1936 to 1952, was the broadcaster of the “Voice of Safety” program sponsored by the Camden Fire Department Bureau of Fire Prevention. He lives at 3281 Pleasant ave.
Bishop was appointed to the fire department Aug. 25, 1920, and spent 33 years at No. 2 Truck Company, 619 Kaighns ave.
He was assigned as chief’s aide Sept. 15, 1953.
Bishop was injured several times during his career. He lives at 2771 N. Constitution rd.
Fire Department Personnel Card
Replaced by Kenneth Clark.
NAME: IRVIN F BISHOP CO.: TRUCK #2 GROUP NO.: 7-3 TITLE: LADDERMAN TEL. NO.: EM. 5-2175 ADDRESS: 2771 N. CONSTITUTION RD WHERE: 2769 N. CON. RD. BADGE NO.: 152 BLOOD TYPE: O Positive BORN AT: Camden N.J. DATE: September 11, 1894 APPOINTED: Aug. 25, 1920 REPORTED FOR DUTY: Sept. 16, 1920
CHECK POSITIONS THIS MEMBER IS CAPABLE OF FILLING: ACTING CAPTAIN (x) DRIVER (x) PUMP OPERATOR ( ) TILLERMAN ( )
ASSIGNMENTS: 9/16/20 Truck #2 Ladderman Assigned Chief’s Aide 9-15-53 Pensioned Jan. 1-1955
Irvin F. Bishop
Camden Courier-Post —
Irvin F. Bishop, 62, of 2012 Berwick st., a retired city fireman, died Wednesday in Cooper Hospital. He was a lifetime resident of Camden and retired as a fireman five years ago after serving 34 years. He was a member of the Police and Firemen’s Benevolent Association.
Surviving are his wife, Mabel M.; three daughters, Mrs. Margaret Williams, of Albany, N. Y.; Mrs. Joan Cranmer, of Audubon Park, and Miss Mary Bishop, at home; a son, Edwin, of Albany; four grandchildren; a brother, Harry, of Blackwood, and a stepson, Paul Marquardt, of Mantua.
Services will be held Monday at 11 a. m. in the Frank J. Leonard Funeral Home, 1451 Broadway, where friends may call Sunday night. Burial will be in Berlin Cemetery.