Camden firefighters had a busy 24 hour tour starting on June 16th and ending on June 17th with four all hands fire and two second alarms all in the south Camden section of the city.
Firefighters were dispatched to 620 Sycamore St. for an Explosion and Fire with reports of people trapped. Engine 8 arrived first with Captain Dan Baker. Captain Baker reported that they had a Brick 2 story row house that had exploded and had numerous people injured and one victim still trapped on the collapsed second floor. He immediately requested the second alarm. Rescue 1 was arriving with Captain Frank Sandrock and Battalion Chief 1 Daryl Lewison along with Squad 7, Engine 1, Ladder companies 2 and 1.
Arriving on the second alarm was Battalion Chief 2 Mike Dipascale, Engine Companies 6 and 9, Ladder 3, Special Operations Rescue Unit, Car 3, Deputy Chief Mike Harper and Chief of Department Joseph Marini. Firefighters could hear a female calling for help from the collapsed second floor and went to work shoring up the collapsed building.
About 30 minutes into the call firefighters were able to get to the badly injured woman out of the building and she was transported to the hospital by Camden EMS. Two other males were in the house when it exploded and were also taken to the hospital by Camden EMS. The explosion is under investigation by the Camden Fire Marshal Office and Camden Police Arson Unit along with the ATF.
