A Fireman's Story

This is a great article about Wendell Fisher; I borrowed the newspaper portion above from Tom Glove’s site.

Mark Cozens in this article is now a Captain Ladder #2, City of Trenton Fire Department. Wendell Fisher passed away in April of 2004.

Mark was an inspiration to new, young members; he stressed physical fitness, training, and keeping up with new technology, as the key to a good firefighter. As I look back it was amazing to see two men, from different generations strive toward the same goal, in different ways.

The fire Mark talks about being his hottest, at Eagle Rock Apartments was my apartment April 4, 1987, I was glad I was away on vacation at the time, as a volunteer I would have been torn as to stay with my home or run to the firehouse to drive a truck, glad I was not faced with that decision.

Growing up in Groveville and in the fire company Wendell was one of my heros. Through my years in the Groveville Volunteer Fire Company I learned a lot. As I have said before Wendell taught you the stuff that you did not find in a book, the practical stuff, the common sense stuff, the stuff that when in a jam would save your “butt”.

During the beginning of my time there, Thursday, May 17, 1962, we did not have a Mercer County Fire Training Center, like we do now. If we received any training, other than “in house” training it was at Ancora State Hospital, in south Jersey or weekend classes, at the fire school held annually at the New Jersey National Guard facility in Sea Girt, New Jersey, I did both. We were lucky, at the time I joined; we had three members that were employed as firemen at Fort Dix, Jim Donnell, Jim Stackhouse, and Wendell Fisher and later Ray Bell.

These men received almost constant training and updates on the latest equipment, products, and theories, they brought home their training and shared and taught it to us.

Wendell always had a joke, I mean always. I can still hear him today saying “Hey Lippy, did ya hear the one about the guy that wanted to learn to Skydive” and I still tell that joke today, ask me, I’ll tell it.

In 1963 New Jersey had a very dry Forest Fire Season, in April of that year it was particularly dry. South Jersey was plagued with fires that kept almost every fire company in south Jersey busy every day. Allentown Fire Company had been called early in the morning to help battle fires throughout Ocean County, particularly Jackson Township; they had sent all of their manpower to the fire scene, leaving Allentown unprotected. In this case Allentown called Groveville Fire Company to send one truck and a crew to Allentown for fire protection; this is standard practice even today.

When we arrived the crew consisted of Wendell Fisher, Driver- Ray Bell, Officer In Charge, and firefighters Carl Cubberley, Ron Robinson, Tom Dwier and Gary Lippincott. We were prepared to spend the day, but being young volunteers we were really hoping to be called into action at the fire scene.

After being there from early morning, without a call, we were told that a relief crew was coming out to relieve us but we had to return in an hour because our relief could not stay.

When we returned we found that our relief crew and our truck had been deployed to somewhere in Jackson Township. They were still calling for more help in the Jackson Township area, which was when something unheard of back then happened. We always had a very close relationship with the Allentown Fire Company, they all knew Wendell and Ray, they offered us to take their lone truck, which had been left behind, so we climbed on Allentown’s truck and we were given orders to report to the Forest Fire Warden at Route 526 and Route 571 at the Sawmill.

When we arrived we were instructed to start a back fire along the western side of Burnt Tavern Road, and report back. As Tom and I were lighting the backfire a man pulled up in a pickup truck and began to yell at Wendell, he told Wendell that it was his property we were setting on fire and he wanted us to stop. He said there is a stream between us and the fire and there was no need to burn his land. Wendell asked how wide the stream was, the man responded “It’s about 4 feet wide”, Wendell looked at the gentleman and said, only four feet? then I suggest you get down there and start splashing, now please leave before I have the State Police remove you.

Once we completed our assignment we were told to report to a Forest Fire Warden in Leesville, Jackson Township. As we passed through the little town of Holmeson people were in front of their homes calling for us to stop and protect their homes, as much as we would have liked to, but it was not our decision to make, we had to follow orders, we felt bad, because on our way home some of those homes were nothing but a chimney and a refrigerator standing.

When we arrived at Leesville the fire was miles away, we younger guys were disappointed, but Wendell had been in this position before and knew what to expect. we were ordered to proceed down a lane and set up to protect a house in the path of the fire. The owner had a large Auto Salvage Yard (Junk Yard); we were not to worry about that just the house.

Wendell positioned the truck behind the house on the opposite side from the fires path and far enough that should we lose the house, the truck would be safe. It was a small one story home, so we stretched two lines around each side to the front of the house. The fire was still just a glow in the distance, but Wendell kept expressing the impending danger.

The house was in a small clearing, but surrounded by what we used to call “Indian Grass” a tall very dry grass that when it burns it burns hot like lighting Diesel fuel, a very hot, orange flame. The game plan was as the fire approached we would knock it down in front of the house, follow it around the sides of the house and let the fire go on by, there was no way we could stop this fire, just protect the house. Wendell kept impressing on us to not open the hose till absolutely necessary, “Remember, you only have 500 gallons of water and nowhere to get more”. We young guys response “yea, yea, we heard it before” but not to Wendell’s face did we say that.

We were told that in the Junk yards was a 1922 Durant Roadster and seeing as how the fire as still just a glow in the distance we younger guys thought there was no harm in wandering over to take a look, after all if all went as planned the antique would be “Toast“ soon anyway. It was about 100 yards to the junk yard so we walked over, when Wendell found we were gone he came after us and when he found us he chewed us out all the way back to the fire truck. He told us we did not understand, when that fire comes through it will be like a freight train without a whistle. Our response, under our breath was “Yea, yea, yea, big time Fort Dix fireman, thinks he knows it all”.

So we sat by the hose lines; as the fire approached, the lines were charged and Wendell kept saying not yet, not yet, don’t open the hose its only 500 gallons. Soon, for no apparent reason a strong wind came from our back, but the fire was still coming towards us as the fire reached the edged of the clearing the wind got stronger, the fire was creating its own draft. As it got nearer the large Pine trees began explode and split as the sap boiled and created steam, these trees were fire from top to bottom.

Our faces were so hot and we were so scared it gives me chills still today, finally when the heat was almost too much to bear, Wendell said OK, now! and we knocked the fire down just in front of the house. Wendell and Ray stayed with each hose line as we worked our way around the house; telling to shut the water off, now open it up, just to conserve our water. The house was fine and the fire went on its way and the Junk Yard and the 1922 Durant Roadster was “Toast”

I don’t know if I have ever been that scared, but if it were not for Wendell we all might have been “Toast”

We witnessed the Dodge “Brush Truck” from the Mission Volunteer Fire Company of Bordentown Township, traveling down a small, narrow sand road, near Leesville, loaded with firemen as the fire rolled over the truck and the men and the truck disappeared in to the smoke and flames, it was not until the next day when we were headed home that we found that everyone on that truck was OK.

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Years later I told Wendell how scared we were and what we had said under our breath and we all had a good laugh about it.

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One Tuesday morning, in 1986 there was a bunch of us standing around the fire house drinking coffee and “Fighting Old Fires” and the TV was on. We were all talking about the upcoming launch of the space shuttle, that morning. As the time grew near we all began to watch the launch preparation. We had all seen a few launches, because in 1986 there had only been a few. As the Challenger lifted off we watched in amazement, little comments like “If Wilbur and Orville Wright could see that” were heard. As it climbed higher and higher, we just watched, then the smoke and steam that followed the shuttle split into two columns and then one of those columns split again, no one said a word, even the TV fell silent, the commentator that had been speaking almost nonstop was quiet. Wendell was the first to speak an in a very serious tone he said “I don’t much about space travel, but I don’t think it’s supposed to do that, I think they have trouble up there.” As we all know now they did have trouble.

There was a time when one of our fire trucks was down with a warped cylinder head, the mechanic, Marty, Suggested we replace both heads. The heads for our Ward LaFrance and its Waukesha Engine were not available at your local Pep Boys, The closest place was the Ward LaFrance Factory in Elmira, New York and truck shipping could take over a week. There was no overnight shipping of heavy items back then, so Wendell, being a licensed Pilot volunteered to fly to Elmira, NY and bring back the heads.

Wendell and his friend, Wayne, who worked at Schroeder’s Esso in Yardville and their wives, flew out of Robbinsville Airport to Elmira, NY.

Wendell joked when the heads were loaded, the plane was near its maximum safe weight load, he and Wayne had a decision to make, Should they leave the wives behind or not, all made it home safely.

Wendell, like so many of the men and women of the fire company gave so much of their time, their families and themselves that I could write and entire blog on the selflessness of these people. Much like the people of the church and most times they were the same people, they gave so much to the community, in so many ways.