William L. Kamman
William L. Kamman
WILLIAM L. KAMMAN was born on August 26, 1938 to William and Bertha Kamman. The 1940 City Directory shows the family, which included siblings Alice, Richard, and Wayne, living at 1254 Thurman Street. By 1943 they had moved to 1091 Thurman Street and they remained at that address through at least the fall of 1959.
William Kamman joined the Camden Fire Department on August 15, 1961. He married not long afterwards, his wife Patricia bearing one child, a son, also named William. The Kamman family lived at 1111 Morton Street through at least 1970.
William L. Kamman was promoted to Captain on February 1, 1989. He retired on January 1, 1994 after over 32 years with the Camden Fire Department. His last years were spent in Florida, where he died on May 18, 2007.
3 Boys Killed in Camden Fire
Camden Courier-Post —
2 Row Homes Destroyed
By EDMUND J. CHELLAND and JAY APT Courier-Post Staff
Three small boys died and four other persons were injured today as a flash fire swept two Camden row houses at 317-319 Mechanic Street.
One of the injured persons was hurt after leaping from a second floor window. Another was injured dashing through flames and smoke to safety. Two other persons escaped unharmed from the burning buildings.
Fire Marshall George Baxter and Fire Chief Edward Michelak said a kerosene space heater apparently malfunctioned and set off the blaze in the two-story frame home at 317 Mechanic Street shortly before 9 a.m.
Pronounced dead on arrival at West Jersey Hospital was Thomas Carter Ratcliffe, 9, of 317, and his nephews, Randy Smith, 1, of 319, and the latter’s brother, Robert, 2.
The baby was found dead in his crib. His brother and uncle were found dead in the uncle’s bedroom. The older Smith boy was believed to have run from his home through a second floor door to the adjacent home.
Treated at the same hospital were Mrs. Emiline Green, 66, of 321; Edwood Sharp, 39, of 317; Philip Borelli, a fireman attached to Ladder 2; and Patrolman James Snyder, 25, of 835 N. 35th Street.
Mrs. Green, a great-grandmother of the Smith brothers, was admitted for treatment of shock.
She tried to dash through a second-floor door linking her home to 319, but flames drove her back. She was led to safety by her husband, James, 60, custodian of a Glassboro dress factory.
Green also carried to safety the Ratcliffe boy’s sister, Shirley, 4, who had spent the night with them. Green and Shirley were unhurt.
Leaps 2 Floors
Sharp was admitted for treatment of a broken right ankle suffered when he leaped to the pavement from a second-floor window. He told police he was aroused by the fire, made a futile effort to rescue the Ratcliffe boy, then was forced to jump because of the intense heat and flames.
Borelli was overcome by smoke while battling the blaze. He was treated at the hospital and then returned to the scene.
Snyder was treated for an ankle injury. He and Patrolman George Pugh discovered the fire as they cruised in the neighborhood in Car No. 23.
They radioed an alarm, then tried to force their way into the house at 317 to rescue its occupants. A blast of heat and flame forced them to retreat as they opened the front door.
Firemen Find Bodies
More than 15 pieces of fire and rescue equipment responded to two alarms. They managed to keep the flames from spreading to the house at 321, although it suffered heavy smoke and water damage.
Five firemen searched the flame-and-smoke-filled buildings for the trapped boys and carried the bodies out.
The firemen were Benjamin Walter of Truck 2; William Kamman of Engine 3; William Stibi of Rescue 1; John DiMaggio, acting captain of Rescue 1 and John McGregory, a fire captain.
Three other occupants of the burned buildings were away at work at the time the fire broke out.
Coal Stove Out
Chief Michelak said they are Mrs. Emma Lou Ratcliffe, of 317, who is employed by a Swedesboro cleaning establishment; Mrs. Patricia Smith of 319, who is employed by a Pennsauken cleaning establishment, and William Roane, 25, of 319, who is employed by a Camden barrel reconditioning firm.
Mrs. Ratcliffe is the daughter of Mrs. Green. She is the mother of Shirley and Thomas Carter Ratcliffe and of Mrs. Smith. The latter is the mother of Randy and Robert Smith.
The fire chief said that Mrs. Smith told him that she had found a cellar coal stove had gone out when she awakened to go to work. He said she told him she lit the kerosene heater and left for work about 8:25 a.m.
—Courier-Post Photo by Sam Kushner
SHROUD-COVERED body of one of three boys who died in row house fire on Mechanic Street near 4th is carried out by firemen while neighbors look on from nearby porch.
—Courier-Post Photo by Sam Kushner
SMOKE SWIRLS around fireman as he leans from second-floor window of row house on Mechanic Street near 4th where three small boys perished in blaze.
—Courier-Post Photo by Sam Kushner
CAMDEN POLICE lead woman tentatively identified as grandmother of three children killed in fire from scene of tragedy on Mechanic Street.
5 City Firemen Suffer Injury Fighting Blaze
Camden Courier-Post —
Five Camden firemen were treated at Cooper Hospital yesterday for injuries received while fighting a three-alarm fire at PonPas Waste Paper Co., 1300 Pine St.
George Abbey, 27, of 1 Oak Walk, Camden, was treated for shoulder injuries; William F. Kamman, 33, of 1111 Morton St., for ear injuries; Carl Greenwald, 51, of 379 N. 33rd St., for injuries of the right side; John Nicholson, 25, of 1107 N. 34th St., for facial burns; and Lloyd Hinshall, 27, of 1153 Bergen Ave., was treated for foreign objects in his eyes. All five were treated and released.
The fire was declared under control shortly after 10 a.m. after it had burned for more than two hours. The warehouse, a two-story brick structure, 180 feet long and 80 feet wide, was filled with bales of paper for recycling.
Blaze destroys business
Camden Courier-Post —
By JUDY PETSONK Of the Courier-Post
Courier-Post photo by Evangelos Dousmanis
Battling blaze A five-alarm fire destroyed the Du Bell Lumber Co. in the 1800 block of Federal Street last night. The blaze also damaged the adjacent Concrete Steel Co.
CAMDEN — A spectacular fire which burned out of control for several hours last night destroyed the Du Bell Lumber Co. and damaged the adjacent Concrete Steel Co. on Federal Street here.
The cause of the fire was under investigation. Arson was thought to be “a possibility,” according to Camden Patrolman John Hale.
The fire was reported around 8:40 p.m. and the buildings of the lumber company were engulfed when firefighters arrived.
There were no serious injuries reported. One fireman, Robert Williams, 37, of the Eleventh Engine Co. suffered heat exhaustion and was taken from the scene by ambulance.
“It’s just too hot,” he said, his face bubbled with sweat.
The lumber company in the 1800 block of Federal Street is a division of the DiMedio Lime Co., which is the next property on Federal Street and was threatened by the fire. Officials of the firms could not be reached last night, and no estimates of damage were available.
Fire destroys lumber firm
All of Camden’s fire-fighting equipment was pressed into service, and off-duty firemen were called in. Fire equipment was called in from Oaklyn, Haddon Heights, Mount Ephraim, Brooklawn, Gloucester City, Woodlynne, Gloucester Township and Pennsauken to help fight the fire and cover the city.
Flames from the fire leaped more than a hundred feet in the air as an estimated 300 persons from the neighborhood watched. The intense heat blistered the siding of Pooch’s Pub across the street.
Gloria Plymire, 17, of 452 Stockton Station, Camden, said she saw smoke coming from the upper windows of the main building and ran into the pub to call the firemen. By the time her father, Nelson, 47, parked and locked the car, the building was engulfed in flames, she said. “Then it started to blow up.”
By the time the first fire engines arrived a few minutes later, the fire was through the roof, a Camden fireman said.
Explosions could be heard a block away and within minutes, only the outline of a building frame could be seen against the brilliant flames.
“It’s like the atom bomb,” said Donald Anderson, of 1426 Dayton St., Camden, who was shooting pool in Cherry Hill when he saw the orange flames searing the horizon.
As flames nibbled the roof of the adjacent Concrete Steel Co., firemen struggled to find a way to get an engine into the locked yard. They feared the intense heat might cause the steel beams of the building to buckle.
The fire came in the midst of a city work dispute over the planned layoff of 30 police officers and 17 firefighters. Some ambulances at the scene of the fire carried signs with a skull saying “Welcome to Fear City.” Among the spectators in the roped-off area across the street from the fire were several off-duty Camden firemen.
Camden firefighter William Kamman was at a birthday in Runnemede when he saw the flames and piled his family into the car to go watch.
“This is the group that’s going to be laid off that’s fighting this fire,” he said. “There’s a kid out there (pointing to a group spraying the flames from close in) that’s not even supposed to be here. He’s on his own time.”
Sifting the rubble
Camden Courier-Post —
Courier-Post photos by Curt Hudson
Construction equipment moves into the wreckage of the Du Bell Lumber Co. (top), to clear debris so investigators can determine the cause of the Saturday night blaze in Camden. William Dukes, assistant Camden County Fire Marshal, and Capt. James McGrory of the Camden Fire Department probe the ruins.
William L. Kamman — Fire Card
William L. Kamman — Camden Fire Department
Camden Firemen at Variety Club Collection — 1980s
L to R: Ron Boyle, Bill Kammen, Frank McGuckin, Bill DiPompo, Sonny Frett, Bill Kammen Jr., Bud Rotchford, Captain Roy Moffa
William L. Kamman
Camden Courier-Post —
KAMMAN, WILLIAM L.
68, passed away on May 18, 2007 in Kissimmee. William retired after 33 years, as a Captain, from the fire department in Camden, New Jersey. He is survived by his loving wife of 44 years, Patricia, his son William, his sister Alice, his brother Richard and a host of other relatives and special friends.
A memorial service will be held at Grissom Funeral Home on Wednesday, May 23, 2PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 3319 Maguire Blvd, #101, Orlando, Florida 32803. Services entrusted to GRISSOM FUNERAL HOME, Kissimmee. 407 847 3131
Fire Watch: In This Issue
Fire Watch Magazine — Spring 1977
FIRE WATCH
VOL. 1 NO. 1
SPRING 1977
IN THIS ISSUE
MESSAGE FROM LOCAL #788 2
WHAT'S NEW 4
VIEW FROM THE TOP 5
SAFETY EVERYONE'S CONCERN 6
A CITY CHANGING IT'S [sic] IMAGE 8
DO YOU REMEMBER 10
HOT FLASHES 11
FIREHOUSE CHATTER 12
IN RECOGNITION 13
RUNS AND WORKERS-1976 13
DOWN MEMORY LANE 14
OUR SUPPORT SERVICES 16
QUIZ BIZ 18
FROM THE RULE BOOK 19
OUR PATRONS 19
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY AND FOR CAMDEN FIREFIGHTERS
The Cover Photo of our inaugural issue displays the scene that greeted first arriving units on the morning of 6 June, 1976 at Mt. Ephraim Avenue and Fairview Street, the Harris Terminal Complex. The fire involved a four story brick and corrugated steel warehouse (100 x 1000) containing miscellaneous industrial materials. Structure was fully involved upon arrival of Department Forces. As is evident in photo, the firebuilding was completely obscured from view by extremely heavy smoke conditions that were visible as far as thirty miles away. Elevated water tank in background, which is adjacent to firebuilding, is 100 feet tall. A massive effort by over 400 hundred [sic] manning some fifty pieces of equipment, was required to control the blaze. The Camden Fire Department was assisted by the mutual-aid response of Fire Units from Camden County. A 10th Alarm for Box #4412 was transmitted for this fire. Photo by M. Hall.
(LIABILITY STATEMENT)
1) The contents of FIREWATCH magazine are not intended to reflect official Fire Department policy, and are published with the express purpose of broadening the member's understanding and interest in the Fire Fighting Profession, and the Labor Movement. Opinions and ascertations [sic] set forth by authors of articles in FIREWATCH magazine do not reflect the views of the Fire Department of the City of Camden, N.J. or Local #788, I.A.F.F.
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OFFICIAL DIRECTORY CAMDEN FIRE DEPARTMENT
Edward V. Michalak, Chief of Department
Dep. Chf. Joseph R. Guarino, Personnel & Administration
Dep. Chf. Daniel F. Jiannetto, Department Properties
Dep. Chf. Anthony C. Saponare, Support Services
Dep. Chf. Theodore L. Primas, Staff Services
Batt. Chf. Harold H. Pike, Chief Fire Marshal
Capt. Vincent G. Orme, Asst. Fire Marshal & Community Relations
Batt. Chf. Matthew J. Davies, Fire Training Academy
Capt. Ronald Guernon, Training Officer
Chief Joseph F. Wolfinger, Motor Maintenance Unit
OFFICIAL DIRECTORY CAMDEN FIREFIGHTER'S UNION, LOCAL #788, I.A.F.F.
Robert J. Williams, President E.11
William H. Colucci, 1st Vice President L.1
Robert K. Troutman, 2nd Vice President E.6
Richard J. Tate, 3rd Vice President E.8
Robert W. Frett, Secretary B.1-Aide
George F. Kifferly III, Treasurer E.11
Edward DeHart, State Delegate E.11
William S. DiPompo, State Delegate E.8
William L. Kamman, State Delegate E.3
PUBLICATION STAFF, FIREWATCH MAGAZINE
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Circulation Martin Murray L.2
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