May 30--A fire that broke out during an annual Memorial Day banquet at an American Legion post in the city's Bridesburg neighborhood Monday reached four alarms before it was put under control.
One firefighter sustained a minor injury and was taken to the hospital, but no one inside at the time the fire broke out was hurt, officials said.
George Mondschein, 55, said attendees were seated and finishing up dinner when the commander of the Boleslaw Grochowski American Legion Post 396 asked everyone to evacuate, saying there was a fire in the dumbwaiter. Mondschein said he assumed it was minor, since the smoke didn't become visible from the street until 10 to 15 minutes later.
"We're just watching and watching," he said as firefighters doused the two-story brick building with water. "And then it turned into what it is."
Responders were called to the hall on the 2300 block of Orthodox Street at about 2:00 p.m., according to newly-appointed Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel.
He said it took more than 100 firefighters 21/2 hours to contain the blaze. More than an hour after the fire was deemed under control, smoke still poured from the broken windows.
"There's still active fire in there," Thiel said at a news conference held just before 6 p.m. "We're calling this fire under control. But we're going to be here for a while."
Thiel said crews were able to keep the fire from spreading to two adjacent residences. He said the cause is still under investigation, and firefighters have not been able to enter the building.
Hubert Huntzberry, 56, has lived less than a block from the American Legion post for more than a decade and said he plays cards there on Tuesday nights.
"You can rebuild the building, which I hope they're going to do." he said. "But you're not going to get the mementos back.
Thinking of the memorabilia inside, Mondeschein said he wished he and the others had each grabbed one item on their way out.
Mondschein, who also lives about a block from the building, counts himself a member of the American Legion post since his days as a Boy Scout, when his troop held its meetings there.
"It kept me off the streets," he said of his time as a scout. "Now it's burned up."
His wife, Geina Mondschein, 57, called the building a "cherished piece of history."
"They have to rebuild," she said. "No matter what fund-raising we have to do we have to rebuild the legion."
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