The Freedom Valley Chronicles:
The Millennium Fire
Part Seven

The Response From Neighboring Communities And Counties

August 14, 2018

The Wyndmoor Hose Company of Springfield Township helped to fight the fire at Riverwalk At Millennium on August 13, 2008.

A crew from Wyndmoor Hose Company in the midst of the fire fight at Riverwalk At Millennium.
Many fire companies and fire departments came to the aid of Conshohocken on August 13, 2008,
as well as for a number of days afterwards.

The Exeter Township Fire Department was one of the fire companies from Berks County that came to the aid of Conshohocken.
The fire department was at the scene on August 13 and August 14, 2008.

The crew from the Swedesburg Volunteer Fire Company arrived on scene on August 13, 2008,
and did not leave until the morning of August 14, 2008.  Fire fighters were placed on the hydrant at
Washington and Ash Streets to boost the pressure for the original line that the
Washington Fire Company laid into the fire.  This truck sat there pumping water for 10 hours.

“I was personally at that call,” explained Assistant Chief Matthew Curll of the Swedesburg Volunteer Fire Company.  “I was only with the company as a Junior at the age of 15.  I remember us turning off of Ford Street onto the Fayette Street Bridge and looking over as the original fire building was collapsing.  You could feel the heat [on] the bridge.  The fire had to been at least 1/4 to1/2 of a mile from the Bridge.”

“As a Junior, I didn’t really do much firefighting,” stated Assistant Chief Curll.  “At first, I just started to help hand out water to the other firefighters.  As the night went on, I assisted with wetting down hot spots on the original fire building.  Our crew of interior firefighters – four were on the truck that day – were tasked with helping search occupied apartment units that [building] ended up on fire.  When we got there, the back corner occupied building had just caught on fire.  Our crew searched the top two floors of the front building where we helped stop the fire from spreading.”

The parking lot at The Home Depot in Frazer served as the meeting location for the Chester County Task Force.

Fire fighters from several Chester County communities were asked to help the people of Conshohocken.  At about 3:30 AM on August 14, 2008, these fire fighters gathered in a parking lot at The Home Depot in Frazer.  The units received a briefing on the fire and what to expect.  After the briefing, the units traveled as the Chester County Task Force in a convoy to Conshohocken.

Among the units that gathered in Frazer and answered the call of Conshohocken were the Parkesburg Fire Company (now part of the Keystone Valley Fire Department), the Honey Brook Fire Company, the Fame Fire Company of the West Chester Fire Department, the Longwood Fire Company, the East Whiteland Fire Company, the Union Fire Company of Oxford, the West Bradford Fire Company, and the Downingtown Fire Department.

According to the Honey Brook Fire Company, the crews from Chester County were assigned a 6 AM to 12 Noon shift for August 14, 2008.

“We arrived at the scene at approximately 5:44 AM,” explained Fire Chief Rob Cazillo of the Keystone Valley Fire Department.  “The Deputy Chief from Conshohocken staged us in a parking lot about one block away from the scene with the Command Post. Crews were instructed to standby until command was ready to have a briefing. While waiting, the crews relaxed, and enjoyed some breakfast provided by Wawa. The Deputy Chief then called the crews in for the briefing and gave the crews their orders. The State Fire Marshals then put on hold all operations while they performed their investigations. The crews just hung out and waited for the go ahead. At approximately 1:24 PM, the new relief crews arrived and the crews from [the] Chester County Fire Companies were released.”

Beyond the investigations underway, the Honey Brook Fire Company noted that since the bulk of the fires had already been knocked down, crews were also “waiting for the arrival of heavy equipment so they could mop up the many, many hotspots.”  When it was determined that the heavy equipment would not be arriving until the afternoon, the Chester County Task Force was released. Crews then returned to their respective stations.

The West Bradford Fire Company and the Parkesburg Fire Company waiting at the Command Post in Conshohocken.

Members of the Parkesburg Fire Company are seen at the parking lot of
The Home Depot in Frazer in the very early morning hours of August 14, 2008.

The Command Post where units of the Chester County Task Force were stationed in Conshohocken.

Trucks from the Conshohocken Fire Company #2 and the Honey Brook Fire Company
are seen side-by-side before dawn on August 14, 2008.

Ambulances from throughout the Freedom Valley and beyond came to offer help.
Narberth Ambulance and West End Ambulance were at the Command Post in Conshohocken.

Multiple squads were lined up at the Command Post in Conshohocken on the early morning of August 14, 2008.

As dawn has broken, you can now see clearly that trucks from the Conshohocken Fire Company #2
and the Honey Brook Fire Company are side-by-side at the Command Post.

Fame Fire Company of the West Chester Fire Department joined Honey Brook Fire Company
as part of the Chester County Task Force helping Conshohocken.

The Grill Volunteer Fire Company of the Township of Cumru came from Berks County to help Conshohocken.

The Whitemarsh Community Ambulance Association joined the Grill Volunteer Fire Company
of the Township of Cumru at the Command Post in Conshohocken.

The North Penn Goodwill Service is seen here setting up food services to help feed
the first responders at the Command Post. This organization is based in Souderton.

The Manoa Fire Company of the Haverford Township Bureau of Fire came from
Delaware County to help Conshohocken on August 14, 2008.

The next news column will detail how firefighters fought the hotspots at this fire.

Credits:

The first and second photographs are provided courtesy of the Wyndmoor Hose Company, August 13, 2008.

The third photograph is provided courtesy of the Exeter Township Fire Department, August 13, 2008.

The fourth photograph is provided courtesy of the Swedesburg Volunteer Fire Company, August 14, 2008.

The fifth photograph of The Home Depot in Frazer is provided courtesy of Google, 2015.

The sixth photograph is provided courtesy of the Keystone Valley Fire Department, August 14, 2008.

The seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth
photographs are provided courtesy of the Honey Brook Fire Company, August 14, 2008.

The seventeenth photograph is provided courtesy of TrafficDan Miller, August 14, 2008.

Do you have questions about local history?  A street name?  A building?

Your questions may be used in a future news column.

 Contact Richard McDonough at freedomvalleychronicles@gmail.com.

© 2018 Richard McDonough