Camden Courier-Post, August 18, 1995View transcription
Fire Guts 5 Vacant Camden Homes
CAMDEN — The three-alarm fire that destroyed five vacant homes early Thursday in the 700 block of Morgan Boulevard has been ruled an arson.
One city firefighter was taken to Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center in Camden, where he was treated for electrical shock and released. It was not immediately known how he was injured. His name was not immediately available, said Deputy Chief Fire Marshal John Mills.
Mills said the blaze started on the porch or just inside a vacant home at 719 Morgan Boulevard shortly before 4 a.m. It quickly went to three alarms as the fire spread to homes at 713, 715, 717 and 721 Morgan Boulevard.
Firefighters arriving on the scene found the two-story wood-frame rowhomes fully involved in smoke and flames and immediately began protecting an occupied home at 723 Morgan Boulevard, separated from the other homes by a small alley. Five residents of that home were evacuated, but were allowed to return home about an hour later, he said.
City firefighters fought the blaze for about 50 minutes before declaring it under control.
Mills said all the homes had been vacant for several years; several of them already had been damaged by previous fires. He said vagrants and homeless people were known to frequent the homes, and said several people were seen running from the home shortly before the fire was discovered.
Camden Courier-Post, August 18, 1995.
CAMDEN — The three-alarm fire that destroyed five vacant homes early Thursday in the 700 block of Morgan Boulevard has been ruled an arson.
One city firefighter was taken to Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center in Camden, where he was treated for electrical shock and released. It was not immediately known how he was injured. His name was not immediately available, said Deputy Chief Fire Marshal John Mills.
Mills said the blaze started on the porch or just inside a vacant home at 719 Morgan Boulevard shortly before 4 a.m. It quickly went to three alarms as the fire spread to homes at 713, 715, 717 and 721 Morgan Boulevard.
Firefighters arriving on the scene found the two-story wood-frame rowhomes fully involved in smoke and flames and immediately began protecting an occupied home at 723 Morgan Boulevard, separated from the other homes by a small alley. Five residents of that home were evacuated, but were allowed to return home about an hour later, he said.
City firefighters fought the blaze for about 50 minutes before declaring it under control.
Mills said all the homes had been vacant for several years; several of them already had been damaged by previous fires. He said vagrants and homeless people were known to frequent the homes, and said several people were seen running from the home shortly before the fire was discovered.
Engine Company 8 prepares to go in service with its squirt at 719 Morgan Boulevard, August 17, 1995.
