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THERE WERE FIRES EVERYWHERE, SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1963, by Joseph B. Ross Jr.  (Copyright © 2022 by Joseph B. Ross Jr.) Chapter 11 - Dorsey Road – Scouts Looked Like A Retreating Army In 1963 there were only a few fire hydrants accessible to the Harmans-Dorsey-Hanover areas. There was a hydrant on Dorsey Road west of the B&O railroad tracks on the Howard County water system. Seven miles to the east, a hydrant was located on the south side of Dorsey Road near the grounds of the old Barrett’s School for Girls facility. A third hydrant was located on Camp...

THERE WERE FIRES EVERYWHERE, SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1963, by Joseph B. Ross Jr.  (Copyright © 2022 by Joseph B. Ross Jr.) Aftermath and Acknowledgements   After about forty-five minutes on Old Telegraph Road now surrounded by dozens of fire engines, and since at this point there was really nothing they could do that the engines couldn’t, Jeep 324 and crew decided to return to Linthicum. Just before they arrived at the station around 5 p.m., now being staffed by out of county units, the jeep was dispatched to a brush fire along the Pennsylvania railroad tracks near the concrete bridge...

On the Corner – Ritchie & 11th   Eighty Years of Fire Fighting in Brooklyn Park, Maryland  by Joseph B. Ross Jr. This story is based on a presentation I conducted for the Brooklyn Park Community Association at the Elementary School in April, 2017. There are not enough words or space to discuss and describe the progress, successes and unfortunately, the tragedies, experienced by the career and volunteer members who staffed and supported the Brooklyn Park Fire Station, located on the corner of Ritchie Highway and 11th Avenue in Brooklyn Park, Maryland. There have been many changes over the past...

HARRY W. KLASMEIER WAS ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY'S first and longest serving Fire Chief. Born in Baltimore in 1923 and growing up in the city, he would spend his summers at Lombardee Beach on Stoney Creek in the county and later join the Lombardee Beach VFD.  In 1943, he signed on with the U.S. Army Air Corps and was trained as a radar specialist on B-29 “Superfortress” bombers. Fortunately, the war ended before Harry saw combat. He returned to school and concentrated on his career in fire protection.  After graduating from the Johns Hopkins University in 1949, with a degree in...