Eagleswood Fire Company Has Never Forgotten Their Four Brothers Who Perished In A Forest Fire 40 Summers Ago

EAGLESWOOD TOWNSHIP, NJ - It's been more than 40 years since four Eagleswood Township firefighters answered the call of duty on July 22, 1977. It was a fatal trip. They all had their lives snuffed out in a massive Pinelands wildfire in Bass River State Forest.

And the families, firefighters and friends have never forgotten them. Every year, on the anniversary of the tragic event, they visit the firefighters' graves, then head to Bass River State Forest to pay their respects at the monument erected in their memory.

“The fire company and the families commemorate this event annually because we feel it’s important to remember this history so it is not repeated.” said John Headley, past chief, Eagleswood Volunteer Fire Company.

The fact that the men have never been forgotten means a lot to Jack Baker, the son of John Baker, who died at 52.

"This shows the high moral caliber, class and dedication of the members of the members of the Eagleswood Fire company," he wrote on his Facebook page. "God bless these four men and their families. I miss you all, especially you, Dad. I am proud to be a life member of the most dedicated fire company in the world."

Fire Chief Harold E. "Skip" Cranmer Jr., 32, Assistant Chief, Marcus Cullen, 28, and two firemen, John "Red" Baker, 52, and Herbert Blackwell, 23, died when they became trapped in the blaze, which may have been set by arsonists.

The firefighters died when they drove a converted six‐ton Army truck off a dirt road almost a mile into the woods, close to the raging flames, according to an account in the New York Times. The winds suddenly shifted, turning treetops into flames.

The charred truck's tank still held 1,900 gallons of water.

That week in July 1977 had been a busy week for the firefighters. Five fires had been set the previous week.

Then Governor Brendan Byrne and 1,000 firefighters from around the state attended the men's funerals. All four were taken to Eagleswood's only cemetery on the town's three fire trucks. The fire engines lead a procession of 387 fire trucks and emergency vehicles, according to another New York Times account.

The monument is near the entrance to Bass River State Forest. The firefighters died on a Friday afternoon—one day before their company's 50th anniversary

Photo: New Jersey State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites Facebook page.