Incident Name: Bass River Fire
Date: 07/22/1977, bewteen 1600 and 1800 hrs
Personnel: 4 Lives Lost
Age: Unknown
Agency/Organization: Eagleswood Volunteer Fire Department
Position: Volunteer
Summary:
Harold “Skip” Cranmer, 32, Chief
Marcus Cullen, 28, Assistant Chief
John “Reds” Baker, 52, Fireman
Herbert Blackwell, 23, Fireman
A fire started in the Bass River State Forest around 1500 hours; this was in an area of Pine Barrens and had a history of large, fast moving wildfires. Nine units had responded with the Initial Attack and had disengaged the fire at 1545 hrs. A brush truck from the Eagleswood Fire Company with four men aboard was responding to the incident after being called at 1600 hrs. It is not clear why, but this unit mistakenly proceeded into the fire area. At 1800 hrs, a reconnaissance helicopter spotted the charred truck on a narrow, dirt road.
Fuels of the NJ Pine Barrens
Maps
1977 fatality location from the report: N39,37’, 16.8” by W74, 26’, 21.7”. East of Allen Rd. near the intersection of Oswego Rd.
{mosmap lat=’ 39.666071’|lon=’-74.441326’|marker=’0’|text=’1977 Fatality Location’}
LLC database has the location as (39.645131, -74.440627)
Reports, Documentation, Lessons Learned
- Fire Behavior Case Studies and Analysis- 2003; Bass River Fire, pages 25-28: Fire Management Today (1.2 MB pdf)
- Bass River Gazette: Memorial rededication issue October 2006 (681 K pdf); Second part includes news articles and accounts.
- Bass River Fatality Fire Case Study, (10:49 min) Wildlandfire Lessons Learned Center YouTube, Published April 20, 2012
- Martin Alexander & Miguel Cruz, 2011: What are the Safety Implications of Crown Fires?
- US Social Security Death Index: Harold Cranmer | Marcus Cullen | Herbert Blackwell | John Baker
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Wildlandfire.com Links:
Media Articles and Reports.
Photos, Videos, & Tributes
Fire Fighter Memorial at Bass River State Forest. Memorial location: N39, 40’, 06.3” by W74, 26’, 27.4”. Greenbush Rd. near the intersection of Stage Rd.;
{mosmap lat=’ 39.622057’|lon=’-74.439644’|marker=’0’|text=’Bass River Memorial Location’}
The Bass River Memorial was originally dedicated on May 25, 1976 to commemorate the 40th Anniversary loss of 5 fire fighters (two State Fire Wardens and three Civilian Conservation Corps fire fighters) who were burned over while fighting a forest fire near the Town of Warren Grove in 1936.
On July 22, 1977 four Volunteer Fire Fighters from the Eagleswood Fire Company were killed when their engine was burned over on a fire several miles from this memorial. In 1982 a plaque remembering these fire fighters was added to the existing memorial.
Another memorial stone was placed by the fire company in front of the Bass River Forest Office.
{mosmap lat=’ 39.621037’|lon=’-74.423070’|marker=’0’|text=’Memorial at Bass River Forest Office’}
Map from the NJFS
Contributors to this article: Bill Edwards, Section Forest Fire Warden, NJ Forest Fire Service, Mellie, Aaron Small
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I was 11yrs old at the time, camping with my family at Bass River State Park. Luckily we were out in Atlantic City for the day while the fire started. We saw the smoke from the boardwalk and we were all trying to guess where it was from. One guess was the Oyster Pt Power Plant in Lacey Twp. We returned to the campground only to be turned away down the road by the police who informed us the campground was on fire. At 11 yrs old the tears rolled down my face because mine and my sister’s brand new 10 speed bicycles were at our site. I can still remember learning of the death of the firemen. I still camp at Bass River and I will never forget this day.