Camden Fire Department - Auxiliary Firemen aka Fire Reserve

In 1940 to supplement the staff of the paid Fire Department, the City of Camden organized a volunteer Auxiliary Fire Force, also referred to as the Fire Reserve, under the aegis of the New Jersey Civil Defense Corps. The volunteers received abbreviated training and were assigned to firehouses near their homes. Their principal duties involved fireground support as opposed to active interior firefighting. The Auxiliary Fire Force was active as late as 1980. Howard Doerschner, among the first to sign up, became the first Chief of the Auxiliary Fire Force and served in that capacity for many years.

The Auxiliary Fire Force in the City of Camden was organized in 1940 under the auspice of the Federal Civil Defense Agency. Auxiliary Firemen were recruited to augment the regular Uniformed Force and were required to perform a minimum specified number of duty hours each month.

Auxiliary members received abbreviated fire service training and were assigned to various firehouses near their local neighborhood. Identification card and badge number 14 was issued to Auxiliary Fireman William Earl Doan in September 1941. Auxiliary Fireman Doan was assigned to Engine Company 9, East Camden.

The first class of Auxiliaries graduated in July of 1941. The graduates included: George D. Wilkinson, fire marshal of the RCA Manufacturing Company, and his two sons, Ernest and George; Garfield Watson, sergeant of police at New York Shipbuilding Corporation; Lieut. George Hamilton, Jr., of the 157th Field Artillery; and Captain William Hare, of the Kaighn Avenue-South Street Ferry.

Other graduates included Harry B. Thompson, Earl Denby, Lester W. Giberson, Norman P. Maull, Joseph Leone, Samuel Schuele, George P. Smith, Joseph Marchese, Nicholas A. Messaro, Willam S. Martz, Elwood P. Martz, Jr., Clyde Getzinger, George W. Grove, Stephen Kirby, James W. McCracken, William Watkin, Manuel Weiss, Riccardo DiGiacomo, Louis Cimini, William P. Walter, Sigmund Yakaski, Nicholas Iacovelli, Robert Holmes, Walter D. Lohrman.

Myer J. Mutter, Charles Geitz, Charles A. B. Smith, r, Harry L. Freidel, Franklin L. Wright, Paul W. Kessler, Warren I. Carter, Creston Polland, Edward E. Friant, Frank F. Shropshire, Charles Gall, Albert E. Pine, Nicholas Cerasoli, George W. Williams, Joseph G. Foster, Joseph Elliott, George Hance and Irving L. Stiefel.

It should be noted that William Watkin, William P. Walter, and Warren I. Carter, who trained with the auxiliaries were full-time members of the Camden Fire Department. Charles Gall and Elwood Martz Jr. were both sons of Camden firefighters.

Camden Courier-Post * July 1, 1941

50 Volunteer Firemen Complete Training for Emergency Duties
Graduates First of 500 to Be Trained by City for Huge Reserve
Similar to that in London; Defense Officials Praise Work

Camden's first group of war and emergency volunteer firemen received their "diplomas" last night on completion or their training at the fire school in No. 10 firehouse, Ninth street and Morgan boulevard.

They are the initial volunteers to be trained as a reserve for the city fire department in an emergency. The volunteers, 50 of them, will be on 24-hour call. Eventually more than 500 men are expected to receive the training course for a huge reserve similar to the corps of firemen now being used in London.

The men range in ages from 11 to 59 years with Charles Smith, son of Sgt. Ray Smith, being the youngest, and Harry L. Freidel, the oldest.

The training course started May 12 and the trainees have attended three sessions a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, for seven weeks under the direction of Fire Captain Raymond Smith, no relation to the sergeant, who is director of the training school. Smith is a graduate of Class 56, of the Philadelphia Fire Training School.

Each volunteer fireman will be issued an identification card which will hold his fingerprints.

Class Praised

Among those congratulating the graduates were Herbert E. Harper, chairman of the Camden Defense Council; William C. Schriver, council member; Fire Chief John Lennox and Captain Smith. Howard Odrain, deputy chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department with 31 years of experience in fighting fires, attended as an observer.

"In behalf of the Camden City Defense Council, I want to thank you men for the hours and days you have put into taking this course," Harper told the graduates,

"You have been prompt in attendance and have been attentive. We don't anticipate any air raids or any acts of war-invasion, but we have an important problem in enabling national defense Industries in Camden city to make load in their Jobs.

"The sabotage committee of the defense council has been visiting the local Industries encouraging the plants to set up their own fire fighting squads and many are doing so. You men will be needed in times of an emergency to aid these forces and to assist at industries where there is no fire fighting squads."

Chief Lennox termed the volunteers "our second line of defense" and thanked them for their cooperation.

Training Complete

The course included training In all phases of fire-fighting from operating pumpers to climbing ladders and combating incendiaries, Rescue work also was included. The use of gas masks and asbestos suits in chemical firs, how to approach delayed bombs with snubbers and the proper methods of using extinguishers were taught.
A demonstration was held outside the firehouse by the volunteers. Their activities included scaling ladders, using gas masks to enter a smoke house, climbing and working on the top of the fire tower, using an aerial truck, tying tools for the lifting to tools, working on the end of water lines, working on pumpers, hooking up to stand pipes, jumping into life nets, tying life ropes and using asbestos suits through flaming gasoline and oil.

The Class

The graduates included: George D. Wilkinson, fire marshal of the RCA Manufacturing Company, and his two sons, Ernest and George; Garfield Watson, sergeant of police at New York Shipbuilding Corporation; Lieut. George Hamilton, Jr., of the 157th Field Artillery; Captain William Hare, of the Kaighn Avenue-South Street Ferry.

Harry B. Thompson, Earl Denby, Lester W. Giberson, Norman P. Maull, Joseph Leone, Samuel Schuele, George P. Smith, Joseph Marchese, Nicholas A. Messaro, Willam S. Martz, William E. Doan, Elwood P. Martz, Jr., Clyde Getzinger, George W. Grove, Stephen Kirby, James W. McCracken, William Watkin, Manuel Weiss, Riccardo DiGiacomo, Louis Cimini, William P. Walter, Sigmund Yakaski, Nicholas Iacovelli, Robert Holmes, Walter D. Lohrman.

Myer J. Mutter, Charles Geitz, Charles A. B. Smith, Howard Doerschner, Harry L. Freidel, Franklin L. Wright, Paul W. Kessler, Warren I. Carter, Creston Polland, Edward E. Friant, Frank F. Shropshire, Charles Gall, Albert E. Pine, Nicholas Cerasoli, George W. Williams, Joseph G. Foster, Joseph Elliott, George Hance and Irving L. Stiefel.

*Camden Courier-Post July 1, 1941**

The photograph on the left shows Edward Friant, of 124 North Thirtieth Street, descending from a tall building on a rope by using a life belt. The center scene depicts Charles Geitz, of 465 Mechanic Street, left, and Nicholas Iacovelli, or 1303 Decatur street, using asbestos suits in the middle of roaring flames. The suits, according to Fire Captain Ray Smith, instructor at the school, are able to withstand 1,750 degrees of heat. Ernest Wilkinson, of 1304 Park boulevard, is the man behind the mask on the right shown emerging from a building filled with formaldehyde gas.