Fire Threatens Village Of Big Spring

On August 4, 1930 around noon firemen were sent to the village of Big Spring for a field fire that was threatening to destroy the village. Flames spread across a wheat field to a grove of cedar trees above the town where a brisk wind fanned the flames across a pond to another field and onto the property of William Johnston. On this property two stables were burned to the ground. Telephone calls were made to Shippensburg and Newville requesting assistance from their fore companies. Newville arrived first and obtained water from the Big Spring that was surrounded by fire, five minutes later the pumper from the Cumberland Valley Hose Company arrived. The blaze began when a pile of burning brush got away from one of the residents. Newville Chief Boyles said that his fire company used 900 feet of hose in battling the blaze (allot at this time). Firemen from the Cumberland Valley Hose responded to one other field fire during the day and assistance was requested from Chambersburg when a large field fire burned out of control destroying numerous bungalows, they gained the upper hand and before units from Shippensburg could respond.