Blaze damages Deptford firehouse

Inquirer staff writer Sam Wood reports:

A blaze swept through a firehouse in Gloucester County last night forcing firefighters to take dramatic actions to save their equipment.

One of the pumpers was trapped inside the Battalion 4 Station on the Delsea Drive  in Deptford when flames broke out shortly after 10 p.m. The fire had knocked out the power to the electrically powered garage doors, a township fire official said.

A firefighter ran into the station, jumped behind the wheel, and crashed the pumper through the inoperative doors as the building burned around it. The pumper received some minor damage. The heroic firefighter was not immediately identified.

The department's prize possession, an oversized ladder truck, was not damaged because it was out for maintenance.

There were no firefighters in the building when the blaze was reported at 10:13 p.m.

Battalion 4, formerly known as the New Sharon Volunteer Company, is home to the township's paid professional firefighters.

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