PARK THEATRE - 1974

Fire destroyed the Park Theatre in Caldwell, New Jersey, in 1974. The theater was constructed in the 1920s.

ATLANTIC COAST FIBERS - 2021

On Jan. 29-30, 2021, an 11-alarm fire - accompanied by an explosion - ripped through the Atlantic Coast Fibers recycling plant on 7th Street in Passaic. The business employed 70 people. "Firefighters realized that we could not make any headway, and the fire was getting up and over us into the roof. We had to back out," Passaic Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost told CBS. The site covered five acres.

CLIFFSIDE DYE - 1980

 

Photo: Paterson Retired Firefighters

A general alarm gutted the vacant Cliffside Dye Works at 99 Cliff St. in Paterson on April 8, 1980 - the fourth suspicious blaze in a year.

The 90-year-old mill was engulfed when firefighters arrived - and its walls partially collapsed as the flames raged.

"You just pour water on it," Deputy Fire Chief Solomon Reines told the Paterson News. "There is nothing to save."   

Paterson was known as the "Silk City" for its bustling textile industry during the late 19th Century and early 20th Century.

However, textile firms went bust and empty mills went up in flames when the industry moved to the U.S. south, where wages were lower, and then offshore.

Box 123 as transmitted at 9:35 a.m. - and "it couldn't possibly get going like that unless it had some help," Fire Chief Harold Kane said.

5 ALARMS IN NEWARK

On July 7, 1951, the first five-alarm fire in the history of the Newark Fire Department struck the Warren Maritime Petroleum Corporation at Port Newark. "The fire involved exploding LPG tanks which flew hundreds of feet in the air," according to the Newark Fire Department's website.

LINDEN - 1970

"On December 5, 1970, a very unusual fire occurred at the Exxon Refinery in Linden. A giant explosion, followed by ignition of several storage tanks, caused structural damage to homes as far as 7 miles from the site. The incident was followed by the almost instantaneous looting of stores whose windows had been blown away. Miraculously, no one was seriously injured." - Elizabeth Fire Department website

WYCKOFF - 1935

On Nov. 24, 1935, fire struck the Christian Sanitorium in Wyckoff. Two patients died in the blaze that destroyed one of the sanitorium's five buildings. Paterson, Hawthorne, Midland Park and Franklin Lakes provided mutual aid. Nurses saved many patients. The victims were identified as Barbara Sinke, 47, of Prospect Park, and Mary Duke, 77, of Bayonne, according to an Associated Press story in the St. Petersburg Times in Florida.

DEAR OLD DAD - 1956

By Vinny Del Giudice
Paterson Fire Journal

While doing research, your Fire Journal editor stumbled upon an article in the Paterson Morning Call mentioning his father, also named Vincent Del Giudice, during his time as a Paterson General Hospital ambulance surgeon.

Dr. Del Giudice, then 34, treated seven Paterson firefighters at a two-alarm fire at the Elbow Building at Main and Market streets on Feb. 9, 1956. The article also mentioned his sidekick, ambulance driver Barney Ritchie.

The grainy photo below shows Barney (to far right with his trademark cap) administering oxygen to the firefighters:

Your editor was unable to locate a photo of his "Old Man" at the fire.

My father was a resident physician at the time and ambulance duty was a rite of passage - and he didn't like it, especially after serving as a medic in World War Two. He was at Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa aboard a U.S. Coast Guard troop transport. 

The residents wore white tunics, white trousers and white shoes, not necessarily the best attire for attending a fire. Then again, they did travel in style as ambulances of that era were often Cadillacs, at least in North Jersey.

As for the blaze itself, the first alarm was transmitted for Box 472 at 6:05 p.m. for Engines 1, 4 and 5 and Truck 2. The second alarm was stuck at 6:28 p.m. bringing Engines 6 and 9 and Truck 3 to the scene.

I image the Paterson General Hospital ambulance with my father and Barney rolled on the second alarm - at dinner time.

TRIO OF 3-ALARMERS

Paterson was the scene of three simultaneous three-alarm fires on Jan. 26, 1926. At 12:25 a.m., Box 472 at Main and Market Streets, two commercial buildings. At 12:35 a.m., Box 514 at Market and Cross streets, a tenement. At 1 a.m. at Box 23 River and Warren streets, a feed and grain store and other wooden buildings. Haledon, Prospect Park, Passaic and Clifton sent assistance,  the Paterson Guardian newspaper said.

PERTH AMBOY - 1921

 

On June 15, 1921, a Perth Amboy fire engine racing to a blaze at a junk shop collided with an express train at the Market Street crossing of the Central Railway of New Jersey, killing nine volunteer firefighters.

It's believed to be the largest loss of fire service personnel in 20th Century New Jersey.

Seven of the men aboard Engine Company 4 died instantly, including the driver. The crossing gates were open and witnesses said the train was traveling faster than usual. The New York Times said the locomotive was "flying."

The flagman said there wasn't enough time to close the gates and he tried to stop traffic waving a red flag.

The magazine Fire and Water Engineering said the fire engine "recoiled" and "spun" after slamming into the second car on the train. The victims were dragged as far as 100 feet down the track. The train also came close to nicking an auto at the crossing.

The fire at the junk shop of H. Rudderman on South Second Street was inconsequential. 

OLD CENTRAL

Paterson's central fire station, 115 Van Houten St., opened March 19, 1912 as quarters of Engine Co. 1 and Engine Co. 5. Later that year, Truck Co. 2 moved in. In 1982, it was replaced by the Madison Avenue station, on former site of Paterson General Hospital.

CLOSE CALL - 1958

 

Photo: Paterson Retired Firefighters

In 1958, a backdraft at two-alarm fire at 144 East Main St., Paterson, injured Deputy Chief Daniel J. Carroll, Firefighter Daniel Elkovich and Firefighter Nicholas Ricciardi.

HACKENSACK FIRE PATROL 1876-1921

By Hackensack Fire Department

Hackensack Fire Patrol No. 1 was organized for the protection of property taken from burning buildings. 

The members were appointed deputy sheriffs and put into service on July 4, 1876 with 10 men to preserve order during the centennial parade and fireworks show.

On March 14, 1879, the state legislature passed an act defining the duties of the patrol and specifying that the company should have 20 men.  

In May 1887, the Hackensack Improvement Commission granted the application of the Fire Patrol for an improved equipment, and in August 1887 a new wagon equipped with canvas covers, stretchers, ropes, lanterns, etc. was delivered to the Company and housed in the quarters of Relief H & L Co. 2., where it was organized.

In February 1893, the wagon was moved to the firehouse on Mercer Street.

In 1896, they had 17 members.

In 1921, the patrol was reorganized as a fire department salvage unit.

KIRKER CHEMICAL - 1985

Photo: Paterson News
Firefighter Rich Nocholas told The New York Times he saw "a big fire ball - it was sailing through the roof "of the Kirker Chemical Company in Paterson on Oct. 8, 1985. The three-alarm blaze forced the evacuations of 200 residents. Three workers escaped from the burning plant that produced nail polish and auto paint. Paterson firefighters used foam and water to contain the flames, the Times said.