Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-04
CAMDEN WILL HAVE
GREAT TERMINAL

V A tiny spark blown into = lumber yard
and lighted cigarette carelessly dropped
Il In the Camden fcrryhouse yesterday
caused two Of the worst fires In the his-
tory OF this city and Camden and entailed
!, damage estimated today at nearly s1.000,-
4 600 One man is believed to have been
e burned to death In the Camden blaze.
Z Smoke was still pouring from the charred
v remnants Of the Charles Este Lumber
Company's ward, In Glenwood avenue be-
/, tween 18th and goth streets. today. One
E engine company was pumping water
+ into the smolderlng charcoal that remains
' OF thousands of dollars worth OF lumber
Seventeen homes were destroyed or bad
r ly damaged by the lumber yard fire,
which also consumed the engine OF COM
pany No. 49, In the Camden blaze the
woodworking mill Of c b. Coles Sons
adjoining tho ferryhouse, was destroyed
/ The Dialogue shlpyard was also damaged
and two barges In the yard were burned
to the water line.
BODY MAY BE IN THE RUINS.
More than 30 firemen were overcome by
smoke or hurt at the lumber yard nre and
s we're injured in the Camden blaze. John
c. Brown, a negro porter. of Lawnslde
N. j., who was believed to have perlshed
| In the flames, turned up this morning |
He was on duty at the ferry house all |
| night Saturday, but left shortly before |
| blit uEei dnu went NOME W hlttp' Ahlb
| afternoon he presented himself to his
| superior. He was last seen staggering |
| through the smoke of the ferry house,
vainly trying to reach place of safety.
Five alarms were sent In from the
lumber yard fire, and four local com
panies responded to call for aid from
the Camden department Four of the
men injured or overcome were Phlladel-
phIn fire fighters.
Within n half hour after baker sent
In the first alarm from the lumber yard
the entire three and half acres were
being swept by the flames. Engine Com
pany 45, the FIRST to arrive, had con-
nected its engine with a plug at Cum
berland street and Glenwood avenue.
A strong wind from the southeast got
behind the flames and In few minutes
the heat was so intense fremen could
not get the horses back to the engine
to draw 1t away Members of the COM
pany who tried to pull the heavy ap-
paratus out OF danger had to give UP
the attempt and stagger through the
smoke to safety. Few cases of broken
hose were reported and they were due
to heavy apparatus crossing the lines.
All traffic on several trolley lines and on
the Pennsylvania Railroad was tied up
for an hour. Firemen fought the flames
from the Pennsylvania tracks, At the
end of an hour the heat became 30 in
tense that the fremen were driven Off
the railroad. The line then decided to
resume the running OF express trains.
Sheets of flames were sweeping across
the tracks by this time. 1t was impossi- !
BILE to stand at the edge of the road
some distance from the burning lumber
yard.
ROWS OF HOUSES ATTIRE. q
The smoke was so dense 1t was almost .
impossible to see. Into this inferno at 8
60 miles an hour came one of the big 7
Pennsylvania locomotives drawing a l
string of steel coaches; the roar of the a
locomotive and the pound of the wheels a
alike were drowned out in the crackle Of p
the flames.
For an instant there was vision of the
faces of passengers in coach windows
that seemed to be ablaze, and then the ]
train had passed through the flame and
smoke and was speeding toward its des-
tination.
Rows of houses in goth street and in b
Glenwood avenue were ignited in spite OF v
the efforts OF 26 engine companies to pro- 4
tect them. Householders began to move a
their goods into the streets. but this [
the firemen and the police stop
ped It, b
The large number of men overcome at o
the blaze was due TO the intense heat and Il
smoke. the slightest shifting Of the breeze S,
in several hremen topping over "
IN each instance other firemen went back Il
md carried their fellows to safety. Ambu II
ances with physicians from dozen hos
,itals ranged themselves at various points :,
lround the burning lumber yard and
iearly all the injured or overcome were
reated on the scene. Z
Daring rescues of horses featured the
blaze. John Walz. night watchman at
he lumber yard, and Henry Heine, the
stable boss, who live together in house d
n the yard, heard 12 horses in the stable h,
1ear their dwelling whinnying. They M
,lindfolded the animals and got II of them N
nto the street and away from the flames. n
Another ran to the fence surrounding the y,
lard. h,
Policemen Grove and Greenwood rIsked o;
heir lives to chop a hole in the fence
through which the animal passed to m
iafety. ri
Elmer Fisher. of 25oS North goth street, At
escued his 4-year-old granddaughter n,
Eleanor Fisher, from the second-story =
ear room OF his home. BY the time he
ot to the room the bed was in flames.
he child was sleeping peacefully and
he did not wake up when Fisher car bu
led her into the street. DIR
Householders in the section whose We
omes were threatened by the flames ~
made large pots of hot coffee for the wi
remen and some Of the women had to oh
q warned against getting too close to | Nh
he fire. The water thrown on some of w,
he houses froze and the streets In the 10
eIghborhood nearly all were flooded and of
hen turned into miniature frozen lakes
y the tons OF water thrown into the :
laEe.
The big furniture manufacturing plant
I Hale & Kilburn was threatened for
time. The fire ate to within 25 or 80
ards OF 1t, but firemen. by desperate
lassing OF heavy water lines almost in
solid row between the building and the
flames, managed to prevent
ne ignition of the plant.
"FREAKs" OF THE FIRE.
one OF the freaks OF the fire was the
york OF destruction in the home OF Ed
rard sabin, 247O Glenwood avenue Near
? everything in the parlor OF the house
'as destroyed. except a Christmas tree
nd several little toys thrown about the
,ot OF 1t. Not even decorated ball on
ne tree was damaged.
There are still IA ftremen In the
Homeopathic Hospital today.
one Is seriously injured. They are Lieu
,nant Thomas j. Devine, OF Engine Com-
any No. 2; James Grant, Truck J.
homas Mann. Engine Company No. 4;
yiimot Dean. No. 2; William Maurice,