Updated: May 21, 2000 - 2 PM
Beyond The Flames
One toxic dump, two decades of sorrow
Introduction
On Feb. 2, 1978, more than 200 men answered a fire alarm at a rubber
recycling plant in Chester, Pa., just south of Philadelphia. None knew --
until too late -- that the site had become a huge, illegal dump for the
chemical wastes of some of the nation's largest industries.
Illness and
death have haunted the group ever since. A handful of public officials knew
of the hazard 10 months before the blaze, but no one warned the
firefighters.
For the widows and of the sick, a court fight brought little
solace. And for the rest, a health risk lingers.
Read their story in `Beyond the Flames,' an eight-day narrative series in
The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Inside "Beyond the Flames"
- Part One - On Firehouse.Com
In the ashes of a blaze, a heroic sacrifice remains
Moose's men had vanished behind a wall of flame.
On the industrial riverbank of Chester, a block-long warehouse roared with explosions and spewed noxious smoke. Fireballs somersaulted through its caving roof.
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- Part Two - Link to Philadelphia Inquirer
A staggering chemical find; a warning never sounded
Part 2 chronicles the outlaws who created
the Wade dump, the environmental investigators who
discovered it, and the troubled city that never warned
its firefighters of the danger.
- Part Three - Link to Philadelphia Inquirer
The scourge remains untended
Part 3 of the eight-part series describes how,
after much foot-dragging, government officials were forced to confront the environmental disaster at the Wade dump.
- Part Four - Link to Philadelphia Inquirer
As their brothers die, firefighters seek answers
A chill wind ruffled the flowers piled atop a shiny red fire engine as it turned slowly into Valley Forge Memorial Gardens around noon on April 28, 1982. Behind it, a cortege of mourners stretched for miles.
- Part Five - Link to Philadelphia Inquirer
For Wade and dumpers, jail time; for companies, an ultimatum
Less than two months after his cancerous thyroid was removed, Fire Capt. Vincent "Moose" McLaughlin resumed command of Chester's "A" Platoon.
- Part Six - Link to Philadelphia Inquirer
A life fades, and a lawsuit takes shape
"Moose" McLaughlin wore a powder-blue tuxedo, white shoes, and a carefree grin that had everyone fooled.
- Part Seven - Link to Philadelphia Inquirer
The settlement: Putting a price on lives cut short
Anne Lewis had no heart to revisit her husband's ugly death.
- Part Eight - Link to Philadelphia Inquirer
'Who's next?' The question that lingers 22 years after fire
It had taken much of the morning of Oct. 30, 1989, for Judge Melvin Levy to have his individual audiences with the nine widows in the Wade dump litigation. Before, the women hadn't known what to expect. After, most didn't know what to think.
Reprints of the complete series are available by mail. Send $3 check or money order to:
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Phone: 215-854-4444
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