Only ten days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, The mood of the men of the fire department must have still been that of grief and fear which was encircling the country. But yet they carry on. Many of the firefighters may have made plans to enlist in the service or had already done so. The department would feel the absence of so many firefighters in the long years ahead and those lost in the war forever.
The M. J. Earl Paper Company
Wednesday, December 17, 1941
The Junior Fire Company received a still alarm at 20:29 for a fire at the
M. J. Earl Warehouse, 701-705 Walnut Street. Moments later, Box 36, 7th and
Walnut Streets, sounded its location. The first bell brought out the
Rainbows, Neversinks, Reading Hose, Washingtons, Keystones and the
Friendship's emergency wagon.
Firefighters found the sub-basement, utilized by the Bechtel, Lutz and Jost,
Incorporated, well involved and spreading rapidly when they arrived on the
scene. The business utilized this for storage of china and glassware.
Fire Chief Brown tapped out a second alarm for more help at 21:11. This
brought out the Friendship's engine and both trucks from the Hampdens.
Most of the fire was knocked down within a half hour. In order to reach
the west side of the sub-basement to extinguish the rest of the flames,
Firefighters were compelled to climb down a thirty foot extension ladder from the
railroad tracks to reach the storage area.
An out tap was sounded at 22:05.
Besides the loss to Bechtel, Lutz and Jost, some merchandise belonging to
the Wagenhorst Sheet Metal Works and several rolls of oiled paper
manufactured by M. J. Earl's Paper Company were damaged by fire, smoke and
water.
Several other businesses that operated out of the M. J. Earl building
sustained moderate to major smoke damage. They included the Berks County
Tuberculosis Sanatorium, the Cigar Markers Cooperative Association, the
Cigar Marker's Union, the Commonwealth Cooperative Association and the
Federated Trades Council.
One Firefighter was injured during the fire. Seventy-year-old Charles
Schaeffer of the Rainbows tripped over a box culvert along the 7th Street
railroad tracks. He was treated at the Homeopathic Hospital, 135 North 6th
Street, and released.
The loss was listed at $5,000.
Thanks to Historian Tony Miccicke for sending us these stories.
The Junior Fire Company received a still alarm at 20:29 for a fire at the