THE FIRE

When I was 7 or 8 years old there was fire in the parsonage of the Baptist church on Mercer Avenue. This happened only a year or two after Pastor Price and his family moved to Wilmington to minister at East Wilmington Baptist Church. The thing I remember about this was it being a summer afternoon. When the alarm was sounded in the neighborhood that there was a fire, everyone ran to the fire to do what ever they could to help. As was the custom in those days the people of the community were busy getting what ever they could carry out of the house to save it from the fire. This was done because most of the neighbors were from the country where there were no organized fire departments, so fires went unchecked. Luckily Mercer was in the city, even if it was the last street in the city in those days. The fire truck had to come from 17th and Dock Street, which was 14 blocks away. By the time the Fire Department arrived most of the living room and dining room furniture was in the front yard. It was a lucky day for everyone, no one was hurt and the fire was quickly extinguished by the fireman with only minor damage to the house.

Now move forward about 15 years the same truck is responding to a furniture store in downtown Wilmington and on this day I was the driver/operator. This was the first fire that I would pump the truck. This old 1939 Seagrave would go on to serve the city for about 40 years.