Cherry Hill Sends Aid for the 2nd Time to Camden in Less Than 48 hrs
Initial Division A/B Corner that Squrt 51 positioned on
Division B/C Corner where Collingswood and Pennsauken
operated their Ladder pipes
After the members of A Platoon spent all afternoon on June 9, 2011 fighting a 12 Alarm blaze in Camden, Squrt 51's crew and Engine 22's crew made shift change at 0800 hours Friday morning only to find themselves returning to Camden City at 0230 hours, Saturday morning. This time at 400 Wilson St. for a 400' x 400', 3-story, J-Shaped building on fire. Camden City Battalion 1 reported early on that there was heavy fire showing and companies were experiencing water and man power issues. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Alarms were struck immediately. Squrt 51 and Engine 22 responded in on the 4th Alarm. Squrt 51 first backed down to the Division A / B Corner only to be redirected to the rear of the Building (Division C) due to water supply issues. Upon reaching Division C, Engine 22 and Squrt 51 were asked to establish a water supply for Collingswood's Ladder 16 and Pennsauken's Ladder 1124. With the help of Haddonfield's Engine 14, Engine 22 and Squrt 51 laid water supply lines from the aerial devices to the river front, where Philly Fire Boat 1 was located. This provided the companies with a substantial supply of water right from the Delaware.
Members of Engine 22 and Squrt 51 coming up with a game plan for the hose lay
With the water being sent from Philly Fire Boat 1, Squrt 51 was able to provide water to both Ladder 1124, via a 4" and 5" supply line, and Collingswood's Ladder 16, via a 4" supply to Haddonfield's Engine 14 and then to Collingswood's Ladder. Engine 22 and Squrt 51 operated until relief arrived at 0900 hours from the on coming shift, A Platoon. Shift change was made on scene at the fire with Engine 22 and Squrt 51 continuing to operate until 1100 hours.
Squrt 51
2x 4" Supplies and a 5" Supply Hose being
pumped by Squrt 51
Captain Gaeta (E-22) and Lt. Houck (SQ-51's O/T Officer)
Haddonfield's Engine 14 originally grabbed water from
a Camden Hydrant only to find it not sufficient. So a
4" supply line was stretched from SQ-51 to E-14,
to give them additional water.
