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Photo Album: Fire Scene Photos

Click the "Photos" link above to see other photo pages. Click any of the links below to see a specific incident or scroll down to see photos of various incidents.

NEW: Friendly's Restaurant, Spring Township
Yarnell St. Structure Fire 01/05 | Wyomissing Garage Fire 01/05 | Rt. 422 Accident 11/04
Wyomissing TT Rollover w/Entrapment 06/04 | S. 5th Ave. MVA 03/04 | WR Diner Structure Fire 11/03

Here's a piece of history which comes to us thanks to our friends at the Liberty Fire Company of Sinking Spring! On November 20, 1967, the old Boscov's West store on Penn Avenue in Sinking Spring burned to the ground. West Reading's "new" 1966 ladder truck provided aerial support. Click on the photo to view larger size, then use your browser's "Back" button to return to this page.

On December 21, 2002, during our annual Kiddie's Christmas Party, WRFD was dispatched to this vehicle fire. The image to the left is what we saw upon arrival. Click here, or on the photo, to download a short video clip of our primary fire attack. Approximately 5 minutes to download at 56K.

In the photo to the right, West Reading firefighters can be seen opening the hood to extinguish the last of the fire. Click here or on the photo to download a short video of this scene. Approximately 2 minutes to download at 56K.

Our thanks go to Tony Miccicke: photographer, firefighter and dispatcher, for providing the photos from the 2nd Avenue and 3rd Avenue incidents below.

Our sincere thanks goes out to the dedicated volunteers from Shillington, Kenhorst, Wyomissing, Greenfields, West Lawn, West Wyomissing, Sinking Spring and Goodwill of Muhlenberg who assisted us on both of these devastating incidents. As you look at these pictures and consider their impact, please remember that the fire department which protects you, your family and your home is most likely a volunteer department. Support them in any way you can.

Firefighters from 10 companies battled a four-alarm fire in the early morning freezing hours of January 6, 1998, that heavily damaged three homes and left 14 people homeless. Volunteers from West Reading, Kenhorst, and Shillington Fire Companies were dispatched to 212 South 2nd Avenue at 5:34 A.M. for a reported smoke condition. Upon arrival, they found heavy smoke and fire coming from the first floor of the residence. Fire spread quickly throughout the structure to the adjoining residences at 214 and 216 South 2nd Avenue. All residents were accounted for by firefighters. A family of 3 living on the second floor of 212 South 2nd Avenue had to be treated at Reading Hospital for smoke inhalation. A smoke detector sounding awoke them to the fire and provided them time to escape. Battling not only the fast-spreading fire for over an hour, firefighters also fought below-freezing temperatures which caused another dangerous condition, ice. Several firefighters were treated at the scene and at Reading Hospital for falls related to the icy conditions. The fire was brought under control at 8:42 A.M.

Investigators have determined the cause of the fire to have been a malfunction in an electrical baseboard outlet. Damage to the residences at 212, 214 and 216 South 2nd Avenue is estimated at $215,000. The property at 212 South 2nd Avenue has been demolished due to the severity of the damage it received.

Firefighters are shown in these two photos preparing to attack the fire which had spread into the third and second floors of 216 South 2nd Ave.

Well over an hour into the incident, the fire continued to stubbornly burn under the rooftops of 212, 214 and 216 South Second Avenue, as these two photos show. If you look very closely, you might see the layer of ice that coated and hung from Truck 64.

After the fire on the first and second floors of 212 was blackened, smoke still poured from the windows and the fire still raged under the rooftops.

The time of the call combined with the cold conditions made it difficult for the volunteers to respond, and the head start the fire had inside the walls of 212 South 2nd Avenue made it necessary for 10 fire companies to eventually be dispatched.

At about 8:42 A.M., the fire was finally brought under control thanks to the teamwork of all the volunteer firefighters who assisted.

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On March 8, 1999, a natural gas explosion caused an apartment building to burn out of control during a 4-alarm fire. The explosion occurred at approximately 8:30 A.M. and when fire department personnel arrived, they found the building fully involved in fire. There were 7 people inside the 6-unit apartment building when the explosion occurred. All of the residents escaped except one on the second floor. This resident was the first fire fatality in the borough of West Reading in approximately 25 years. Two of the residents were treated at Reading Hospital, one for smoke inhalation and the other for burns and cuts.

The fatality was identified as Colleen Pinkerton, age 25. The cause of her death was smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire was determined to be a gas line being struck in the street and cracking inside the building. The natural gas built up inside the building until it found an ignition source being the heating system. Workers from Wexcon, Inc. were digging a trench in the street in front of the apartment building to replace a water main when their backhoe struck the gas main and the explosion followed a few minutes later. Firefighters had to fight the fire using three aerial ladders and several large volume ground monitors due to the instability of the building caused by the explosion and the intense fire. The fire was brought under control approximately three hours later.

Five other properties in the area were damaged as a result of the explosion and/or the fire. Total damage to all structures involved was $290,000. The apartment building was demolished four days later due to the instability caused by the explosion.

Shortly after dispatch, this column of smoke could be seen rising from the apartment building for miles around. This photo was taken from the Berks County Communications Center (911) on the top floor of the County Courthouse building, 18 stories up in downtown Reading.

At times, the smoke was so thick that firefighters could not even see the building.

Despite several brave attempts by firefighters, the heat from the raging fire inside was so intense that only an exterior attack was possible.

Long after the fire was blackened, firefighters extinguished "hot spots" which continued to smolder because of their position inside the building, where they were difficult to reach from the outside. Here you can see how the interior of the building collapsed due to the explosion and intense fire.

Investigators spent days examining the building and some of its contents, as well as interviewing fire officials and some of the residents of the building and the neighborhood.

The West Reading Fire Department mourns the loss of one of our Borough residents, Colleen Pinkerton, due to this tragic fire. We sincerely hope that her death will prove to be meaningful by heightening awareness of the necessity of fire safety.

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In early November, 1999, this truck accident occurred on one of the off-ramps leading off Route 422 (West Shore Bypass) in West Reading. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, although the ramp had to remain closed for a few hours while crews removed the rig and its spilled cargo.

Here, one of our firefighters can be seen checking to make sure our temporary plug on the truck's ruptured fuel tank is holding.

Part of the truck's cargo of lumber spilled over the embankment and off the roadway, although eventually all of it was recovered. We were just glad the truck was not carrying anything more hazardous!

This is a sight you don't see every day, and the less often we have to see it, the better!

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Fires and accidents are not the only incidents the fire department handles!
A vehicle in the drive-through lane of this local bank was leaking a large amount of gasoline. Before anyone knew the leak had occurred, the gas spread all over the area. Some of it evaporated, and some ran through a crack under the sidewalk and into the building, causing the building to be evacuated due to the accumulation of noxious fumes inside.
This photo shows how West Reading firefighters and bank officials determined the source of the odor in the building.

Due to the firefighters working in the area and the need for space in which to place apparatus, part of the parking lot around the bank had to be closed. Since parking lots like this one have few natural dividers, fire police and borough police had to use a combination of many traffic cones and even their vehicles to define a safe working area for the firefighters. (Right and below)

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	Firefighters are shown in these two photos preparing to attack the fire which had spread into the third and second floors of 216 South 2nd Ave.
	Well over an hour into the incident, the fire continued to stubbornly burn under the rooftops of 212, 214 and 216 South Second Avenue, as these two photos show. If you look very closely, you might see the layer of ice that coated and hung from Truck 64.
	After the fire on the first and second floors of 212 was blackened, smoke still poured from the windows and the fire still raged under the rooftops.
	The time of the call combined with the cold conditions made it difficult for the volunteers to respond, and the head start the fire had inside the walls of 212 South 2nd Avenue made it necessary for 10 fire companies to eventually be dispatched.
	At about 8:42 A.M., the fire was finally brought under control thanks to the teamwork of all the volunteer firefighters who assisted.

	Shortly after dispatch, this column of smoke could be seen rising from the apartment building for miles around. This photo was taken from the Berks County Communications Center (911) on the top floor of the County Courthouse building, 18 stories up in downtown Reading.
	At times, the smoke was so thick that firefighters could not even see the building.
	Despite several brave attempts by firefighters, the heat from the raging fire inside was so intense that only an exterior attack was possible.
	Long after the fire was blackened, firefighters extinguished "hot spots" which continued to smolder because of their position inside the building, where they were difficult to reach from the outside. Here you can see how the interior of the building collapsed due to the explosion and intense fire.
	Investigators spent days examining the building and some of its contents, as well as interviewing fire officials and some of the residents of the building and the neighborhood.

	Here, one of our firefighters can be seen checking to make sure our temporary plug on the truck's ruptured fuel tank is holding.
	Part of the truck's cargo of lumber spilled over the embankment and off the roadway, although eventually all of it was recovered. We were just glad the truck was not carrying anything more hazardous!
	This is a sight you don't see every day, and the less often we have to see it, the better!