Camden Fire Department - 1017 Penn Street

This page and the other pages in this series are the successors to the series of web-page about the Camden Fire Department called Camden Fire Department: The Fires of the Summer of 2011. On this and other pages in the series you will find pictures and information regarding different events and aspects of the fire service in Camden, New Jersey.

At 10:59 on October 16, 2011 a fire was reported in a two-story house at 1017 Penn Street in North Camden, with one person possible caught inside. Engine 1, Engine 9, Ladder 1, Ladder 3, Ladder 2 (FAST Truck), Battalion 1 dispatched for report of smoke from the dwelling. Engine 1 arrived at the address, a two-story stand-alone dwelling. No fire was apparent upon arrival. After gaining entry and found the home filled with smoke and fumes. Camden Fire Department personnel conducted a search of the premises. Firefighter Mariano Pinto discovered an unconscious female on the second floor. Battalion 1 requested BLS and a medic for the unconscious woman. Upon further investigation discovered a malfunctioning oil-fired furnace, emitting high levels of carbon monoxide in the dwelling, which caused the female occupant to pass out. She was was removed from the building and taken to an ambulance, transported to hospital, however it was tool late to save her life. The building was ventilated, which took quite some time, and then secured. All units were made available at 11:49 AM.

The victim of this tragedy was Vivian Gaddis, 83. Ms. Gaddis was a former beautician who had been recognized as the best-dressed African-American woman in Camden in January of 1957.

As with the web page covering other Camden Fire Department events, if you can identify anyone that I've missed, please e-mail me. (I'm terrible at at names and faces).

Phil Cohen
October 27, 2011