ARSON FIRE RESULTS IN ARREST
FIRE REPORT
A fire alarm box alerted the City of Pottsville, Pa., Fire Department to the most serious of three arson fires set within a two-week period.
The dispatcher sent all eight of the city’s volunteer fire companies to the 800 block of Mt. Hope Ave., a standard procedure for a box alarm in Pottsville.
Engine 33, a 1250-gpm pumper, was the first to arrive, finding the neighborhood blanketed with heavy smoke and fire on both floors of Webb’s Tire Service at 800-802 Mt. Hope Ave.
The Webb building, a 30 X 60-foot, two-story building, was the tire company’s office and shop. A 50 X 100-foot adjoining one-story garage on Eighth St. served as the company’s warehouse. Adjacent to the office and tire shop were two 2½story houses of frame construction.
After laying a 3-inch line from the hydrant at Eighth St. and Mt. Hope Ave., Engine 33 positioned itself on Eighth St. and applied water on the first and second floors of the Webb building with two preconnected 1 1/2-inch lines.
The second engine company to arrive, Engine 71, a 1000-gpm pumper, found flames pushing out the first floor doors and windows of the Webb building. Engine 71’s personnel attached a soft suction to Engine 33’s hydrant and then ran a second 30-inch line to Engine 33.
Using 1 1/2-inch preconnects, Engine 71 attacked the first floor of Webb’s through the entrances on Mt. Hope Ave. Fire fighters from Ladder 51 and Rescue 63 entered the adjoining residences on Mt. Hope Ave. with 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 -inch lines in an attempt to contain the fire.
Ladder 21, positioned in front of the residences, could not use its aerial ladder because of dense smoke obstructing the view of overhead power lines. Instead, ground ladders were used to scale the involved buildings.
Assistant Chief William Cerrullo, the chief on duty, immediately ordered the use of 2 1/2-inch hand lines and the ventilation of the residences in an effort to stop the lateral spread of fire. Ladder 21 attempted to carry out this order, but found the attic already well involved and the roof too weak to support any weight.
The two other assistant chiefs, George Moyer and Gary Witmier, were assigned to the fireground.
Upon learning of the fire’s severity, offduty Fire Chief Todd March responded to the scene and assumed the role of water supply officer. March realized that a larger volume of water than what was being used was needed to control the fire, and he immediately ordered incoming Engine 81 to lay a 3-inch line from the hydrant at Seventh St. and Mt. Hope Ave. Engine 81, a 750-gpm pumper, then supplied Ladder 51, a 1000-gpm quint, which was positioned on Mt. Hope Ave. in front of Ladder 21.
by Kurt sieidie. Pottsville Republican
Engine 31, a 1000-gpm pumper, was directed to approach the fire on Harrison St., which is parallel to Mt. Hope Ave. Engine 31 then laid a 3-inch line from the hydrant at Seventh and Harrison Sts. Engine 42, a 750-gpm pumper, came in on Harrison St. behind Engine 31. Engine 42 took the same hydrant as Engine 31 and supplied both Engine 31 and Engine 33. Members of Engine 33 and Engine 42 advanced 1 1/2-inch lines through the rear of the tire warehouse.
March then ordered Engine 11, a 1000-gpm pumper to reverse lay a 3-inch line from Engine 81 to the hydrant at Seventh St. and Laurel Blvd., which is on a 12-inch main.
With the water supply problem solved, Cerrullo ordered Engine 71’s deck gun and Ladder 51’s ladder pipe into operation to contain the fire which had advanced through the roofs of the residences.
Because of the master streams, Ladder 51 and Rescue 63 personnel withdrew from the second floor front of the residences and concentrated their attack into the on the rear of the dwellings.
When the master streams were shut down, Engine 71 pressed its attack into the first floor of Webb’s. Engines 33, 42 and 81, using Ladder 21’s ground ladders, advanced their 1 1/2-inch lines onto the second floor of Webb’s. The fire was then declared under control.
By 7:30 a.m., two hours after the initial alarm, many of the units had returned to their stations, and Ladder 51 and Engine 33 remained on the scene to complete overhaul.
Webb’s Tire Service was completely gutted and the roof destroyed. The roof areas of the residences were also destroyed, and the second and first floors received heavy heat, smoke and water damage. Since the fire, Webb’s has been torn down, and the residences are in the process of being refurbished.
Cerrullo said that the quick response and aggressive initial attack by the fire fighters prevented the northward spread of fire through the rear of Webb’s into the adjoining warehouse.
The cause of the fire was investigated by March, city detectives and a state police fire marshal. The investigation revealed that a stereo and a tape player were missing from the Webb building and that there were several points of fire origin.
During the investigation, the state police fire marshal discovered a man’s wristwatch in the charred rubble. The watch was identified by a detective as belonging to a man who had been arrested in connection with an earlier fire and burglary, but the man had been released on his own recognizance. This earlier fire was limited to an area underneath a bar of a first floor bar and grill room at the Moose Lodge.
Two days after the Webb fire, the suspect was connected with a third fire, which occurred in an insurance office occupying the first floor of a three-story apartment building. The six separate fires in the insurance office did only moderate damage.
On April 2, a warrant to search the suspect’s apartment was obtained by city detectives. During the search, detectives noted the serial numbers of all appliances. The serial number of the stereo in the suspect’s apartment matched that of Webb’s missing stereo.
The suspect was arrested and charged with arson, burglary and theft, and placed in the county prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. At the time of this writing, the arsonist was awaiting release through a prison workrelease program.
