Camden Courier-Post, August 30, 1981View transcription
Blaze destroys business
By JUDY PETSONK
Of the Courier-Post
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
Please see FIRE, Page 9A
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.
Courier-Post photo by Evangelos Dousmanis
Fire destroys lumber firm
Continued from Page 1A
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.
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."
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."
