Brethren Home Destroyed, 30 Rescued

On January 27, 1951 at 2:30 a.m. firemen were sent to the Huntsdale Church of the Brethren Home for the Aged for a building fire. A passing motorist spotted flames shooting from a burning wash house 25 feet from the home, he quickly alerted the employees and residents and began assisting with their removal some of whom were invalids and had to be carried from the home. A call was placed to the Mt. Holly telephone operator who sent the Mt. Holly Springs Fire Company (they were responsible for this area at the time). The washhouse was being used to heat water when the stove overheated causing the blaze. The wind quickly carried the flames and sparks to the main house. The fire spread so rapidly that none of the contents could be saved and had it not been for the quick work of the motorist some of the occupants would have been lost. Firemen from Mt. Holly, Newville, Carlisle, the Carlisle Barracks and Vigilant Hose companies battled the blaze for over 3 ½ hours using more than 4,000 feet of hose in the sub-freezing weather. The 2-½-story brick building and all its contents were a total loss; damages were estimated at $75,000.

A few months later at the Cumberland County Volunteer Firemen’s meeting Vigilant Hose Company President and Fire Chief M. Garfield Barbour had some pretty harsh words about the incident. “It was a poor job,” he said, adding, “I feel that the fire departments were responsible for the loss of the building. It never should have burned as it did.” Mr. Barbour’s remarks evoked no discussion.