Documenting June 21, 1982
This site documents the sheer scale of the June 21, 1982 warehouse fire: a blaze that consumed a 1.2 million square foot distribution center, roughly 27 acres under one roof, and became one of the most significant industrial fires in Pennsylvania history.
Time Since
Counter base time: June 21, 1982 at 12:00 PM Eastern.
Scale
Contemporary coverage described the building as 1.2 million square feet, approximately 1,000 by 1,200 feet, and about 27 acres under one roof. It supplied hundreds of stores across multiple states. When the fire outran suppression, the loss was not a single room or wing. It was the loss of an entire logistics complex.
Speed
Fire Engineering reported that a third alarm was requested within minutes, water supply problems quickly became decisive, and the fire moved about 1,200 feet in 18 minutes. The result was a defensive battle against a fire that had already outscaled the building’s protection systems.
Impact
The article placed the total loss at $113 million in 1982, including the building, equipment, and merchandise. This site exists to keep the scale of that event legible: not just that a warehouse burned, but that an enormous regional distribution hub was gutted.
Source Note
This page currently draws its scale language from Fire Engineering’s August 1, 1982 historical archive article, “Not Enough Water, So Fire Guts 1.2-Million-Square-Foot Warehouse.” Additional primary sources can be added later.
Anniversary Record
Based on Burlington County Times' June 22, 2012 article “Remembering one of the largest fires in history,” the alarm sequence escalated almost immediately: first alarm at 12:38 p.m., second at 12:41, third four minutes later, fourth at 1:01, and a fifth and final alarm at 1:22. Deputy chief Marv Roberts said the fire was already through the roof when he arrived.
The article describes a loss of roughly $110 million in 1982 dollars, more than 300 firefighters on the scene, a roof collapse about 90 minutes into the fire, and flames still visible eight hours later even after the fire was under control. It also records the human scale of the aftermath: about 375 employees out of work and mutual-aid crews from 56 Bucks County companies plus eight from New Jersey working the site over the next week.
Interview
"i don't remember much about it. i wasn't there" -- C. D.
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Why It Spread
The Burlington County Times account says the fire began after a can of carburetor cleaner was knocked from a shelf and struck by an operating forklift. Roberts recalled that the building had fire walls but no fire doors, that a water main break limited supply to nearly 40 trucks, and that even more than 10,000 sprinkler heads could not control a fire of that scale once it took hold.
Aftermath
The article notes that construction on a replacement distribution center began about a month later, eventually growing to roughly double the size of the original 1.2-million-square-foot facility. Fire doors, a more sophisticated alarm system, and quadrant-style divisions replaced the earlier open layout that had allowed the 1982 blaze to race through the building.
Pictures
Historical content in this section is credited to Burlington County Times, George Mattar, “Remembering one of the largest fires in history,” June 22, 2012.
Support Group
A group meets bi-annually in June and October in site O-13.
Contact
Our historian is Robert Bologna.
This website is an independent historical project—and a semi-satirical one—and it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Kmart or any related brand owner. No one was seriously hurt or killed in this fire.