Deadly Fire in Camden City; My God, Not Again
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews
CAMDEN CITY, NJ (March 11, 2024)(CNBNews)--Today's headlines should sound familiar to many, if not most, people of Gloucester City: "Firefighter equipment malfunctioned during a blaze in Camden, delaying efforts to rescue a person who died." There is no good news here but one might think that ONLY one person died in Camden, needlessly, where 20 years ago Gloucester City lost three little girls and three firemen, again needlessly.
"The dwelling fire broke out on Newton Avenue. Several people escaped and told Engine Company Eight (firemen) the first-arriving unit - that a resident was trapped on the second floor.
"Firefighters confined and extinguished the second-floor fire. But mechanical issues with their apparatus caused their hose to go limp several times, forcing personnel to retreat to the safety of the stairs, according to the Camden Fire Unions."*
Another truck arrived and provided water, allowing Engine Company Eight (firemen) to continue fighting the fire.*
The Unions' Presidents, Samuel Munoz and William Perez stated that this was not the first time Camden's firefighting equipment has failed over the past year. They stated emphatically that the union members are being expected to provide fire protection with subpar apparatus and more than 50% of their fire engines have failed their pump tests.
The following statement should ring true to most Gloucester City residents:
The mechanical issues have reached a "crisis level" that have put Camden's residents, firefighters and property in peril, according to the union presidents.
The union presidents emphasized that their job is to provide fire protection and any investigation of this tragedy will be left to investigative personnel. The name of the decedent has not been released.
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* New Jersey Firefighters PFANJ International Association of Fire Fighters, 6ABC Action News, NBC10 Philadelphia, CBS3 (KYW-TV)/CW Philly (WPSG-TV,) Telemundo 62, PATCH (3/11/2024)
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