Another video from a series of massive fires in Camden, NJ – Related Article Below:

CAMDEN, N.J — Camden\’s mayor has asked the state to investigate fires two days apart that red uced two abandoned warehouses and a score of other buildings to rubble.

Mayor Dana Redd said Monday she\’s asked the state Attorney General\’s Office to help because the similar blazes broke out within 36 hours. One was Thursday afternoon, the other started early Saturday morning.

Redd did not say whether there is any evidence that the fires are suspicious.

The attorney general\’s role in determining the cause is not exactly clear. The city and Camden County fire marshals already are working on the investigations, as is the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Camden Fire Chief Michael Harper said Monday that it could take weeks to determine a cause for any fire so big. Investigating two at the same time could take even longer.

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June 13, 2011|By Darran Simon, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Redd said she wanted to \”dispel any misinformation\” about the need for manpower from other towns to help Camden firefighters on Thursday and Saturday. Camden\’s Fire Department is down by 29 positions after layoffs by the cash-strapped city in January.

Camden relies on assistance from suburban companies, most of them staffed by volunteers, when the city\’s eight companies are all deployed.

On Friday, Kenny Chambers, the union president for Camden\’s firefighters, said the response by fire departments from more than three dozen towns in Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester Counties that night left those towns vulnerable had a fire broken out in any of them.

A coordinator oversees delivery of mutual aid within the county, and Camden has given the same assistance to its neighbors, Redd said.

\”Never has mutual aid in responding to the city of Camden depleted the resources of our surrounding towns,\” Redd said.

Redd also disputed an assertion by Chambers that there might have been less property damage had more Camden firefighters been on the payroll. Redd, who has found funds to rehire 31 of the 60 firefighters laid off, said ….

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first published in the Gloucester City News June 9 issue

THANKS MAYOR AND COUNCIL

We would like to take this time to publicly thank Mayor and Council, especially Nick Marchese and Bruce Parry, for honoring Big Jim at the Gloucester City Memorial Service Monday, May 30.

Several local organizations and politicians chipped in Saturday to transform a vacant lot into a healthier food source for Point Breeze residents.

By Alexis Abate

Posted Jun. 9, 2011

Grays Ferry’s Tyesha Barnes, right, an employee at the South Philly Walmart rakes freshly cut grass and weeds at a vacant lot on Point Breeze Avenue last weekend as Krista Still, of the Boothwyn store, helps to bag.

Photo by Amanda L. Snyder

Weed-whacking a foot of grass and raking the remains were just the first steps to creating more aesthetically pleasing vacant lots along the 1600 block of Point Breeze Avenue. More than 20 volunteers including a half dozen Walmart employees from two locations, 1675 S. Columbus Blvd., and the Boothwyn site, along with state Rep. Kenyatta Johnson, among others, gathered for five hours Saturday afternoon ready to work. This community cleanup was Phase II of the nonprofit Stars Within Reach’s \”A Healthy Future Within Reach\” initiative to provide low-income households with healthier food options. The campaign began a month ago to promote healthy eating habits and a change in overall lifestyle in children and adults alike, Nichole Badger, Stars’ founder and president, said. \”We want to help raise awareness about childhood obesity and its long-term health effects in lower-income areas,\” she said.

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