Fire in Hamburg Destroys Businesses and Apartments
By: Jason A Kahl - 03/6/2007

More than 200 firefighters from 14 companies battle a four-alarm blaze that officials say was started by workers using a blow torch to fix a leaky roof. No one is injured. Workers using a blowtorch to fix a leaky roof accidentally ignited a fire Monday afternoon that destroyed three businesses and an apartment building in downtown Hamburg, police and fire officials said. More than 200 firefighters from 14 companies in Berks and Schuylkill counties fought the four-alarm blaze, which started about 4 and displaced eight families. No one was injured, officials said. Downtown Hamburg essentially was shut down by the blaze, which sent flames 15 feet above the historic five-story Burkey & Driscoll Furniture showroom at 40 S. Fourth St. The fire also destroyed the Burkey & Driscoll Funeral Home, which is in the same building as the furniture store; the Curves fitness center at 36 S. Fourth; and apartments on the second and third floors above Curves, fire officials said. The fire was stoked by strong winds that blew black smoke over the borough and sent ashes and burning embers over several blocks. No damage estimate was available. Firefighters controlled the blaze by about 8 p.m. but remained on the scene late Monday. Sherry Delp, who lives in an apartment above Curves, said she was home cleaning with her three children when they realized the building was on fire. “It was getting really hot in the apartment so we opened the window and there was a lot of smoke,” Delp said. “I went and knocked on the doors of the other apartments and yelled for everyone to get out and then we all ran out. “Everyone who was in the building got out. Me and another woman made sure of that.” Police Chief Michael C. Painter said workers who were installing a rubber roof at the back of Curves accidentally ignited the blaze. “The roofers were putting down a rubber roof and soldering the corners and it got away from them,” Painter said. “It got up under the siding. They have fire extinguishers, but it got away from them.”
Painter did not identify the workers or their company, but said they have insurance and are from the Bensalem area in Bucks County. Kathy A. Wagner, who lives about two blocks away, said she could see the flames from her house.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in the 10 years I’ve lived here,” she said. Brian J. Schlachter was one of hundreds of residents who came to watch firefighters battle the blaze and got caught in a thick black cloud of ash and embers.
“I don’t know if the roof collapsed or what, but we saw flames shooting 10 or 15 feet in the air from the furniture store, and all of a sudden it just lit up like someone dumped gas on it,” Schlachter said. “Everything went black in town and ash and embers blew into our faces. It was like it went from day to night in an instant.” Firefighters used engines with towers more than four stories high to dump water onto the blaze. Mayor Roy C. DelRosario, a volunteer paramedic with Hamburg Ambulance, responded to the fire in uniform and was helping oversee operations. “It’s hard to fight a fire in the wind,” DelRosario said. “Considering the size of the fire and the amount of fire, they got it under control pretty quickly.” Officials initially were concerned the fire might burn out of control and destroy the whole block. Firefighters managed to put a lot of water onto the fire quickly from nearby hydrants and two tanker task forces shuttled more water to the scene. Officials said they had to balance the water supply so they would not lose pressure from the hydrants. The mayor said the police chief got one person out of one of the burning buildings. Everyone else got out by themselves, he said. Domer Leibensperger, who runs a funeral home across the street from the fire, said he went with a van to help John C. Driscoll and Steve Burkey remove three corpses from their funeral home.
Leibensperger said he offered to help them in any way he can in the coming days and weeks.Two of the three funeral services have been moved to nearby churches, Driscoll said. He was working on an alternate site for the third service.
“We are open,” he said of the funeral home. “We won’t miss a beat here.”A lot of people were pitching in to help. The Salvation Army sent a truck to help rescue workers and victims. The Berks County Chapter, American Red Cross, is providing housing for the apartment residents.Lowell A. Thomas, the borough emergency management director, said he did not know how many people were displaced by the blaze. Fire police were redirecting traffic through the borough. Michael Heckart, co-owner of Miller’s 5 & 10 across the street from the fire, said he decided to stay open to serve firefighters and others with free water, coffee and snacks. “It got so dark here during the fire you couldn’t see across the street,” Heckart said. “We’ll be here until they’re all done. They’re all volunteers and are putting their lives at risk for the business district.” Leibensperger said he was shaken by the fire, even though his business was not harmed. “I never thought I would live to see something like this,” he said. “And on Fourth Street.” Others also were in shock. A number of people watched firefighters battle the blaze with tears in their eyes. Driscoll owns the five-story furniture store built in 1852. He is a partner with Burkey at the adjacent funeral home. Driscoll said he left the funeral home and went into the furniture store office just before 3:30 p.m. A secretary told him that she smelled smoke.
After spotting light haze in the basement, Driscoll said he went to check the upper floors. By the time he reached the third floor, Driscoll said the smoke was fairly heavy. After asking the secretary to phone 9-1-1, Driscoll went outside to the rear of the store. He could see flames shooting out from the southwest corner of Curves and blowing onto the northwest corner of the furniture store. “We knew in our minds that if anything ever happened in that building (the former hardware store) ... the outcome would not be good,” Driscoll said. “It’s just a very old building. “I’ve been here (in the borough) for 28 years ... and it’s all gone.” Both the furniture and funeral home businesses have been in continuous operation since 1852. Millard Fillmore was president of the United States when Peter Burkey founded a cabinetmaking business and funeral home in the first block of South Fourth Street.

(Reporters Kori Walter and Adam Wilson contributed to this article.)
•Contact reporter Jason A. Kahl at 610-371-5024 or jkahl@readingeagle.com.

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