Through his research, Robert Bartosz, the official fire photographer for Camden County and the Camden City Fire Department, has been able to tie the deaths of the three firefighters together with a postcard, an identity tag, a prediction and the search for the firemen's graves.

He said that over the years, the incident had faded into time and that, until he began his research, neither he nor the city fire department had ever heard of the tragic blaze.

"Understanding little of the postcard's significance because the fire was unknown, Marini filed it away in his desk drawer and it was forgotten," Bartosz said.

"They knew there were a few members killed, but no one knew any particulars or details about what occurred. Then, when we started to do historical research on the yearbook for the fire department's 125th anniversary, some very interesting things about that fire came to light." Eerie reminder

The house, he explains, was destroyed, and while the firefighters were pulling debris down and extinguishing hot spots, a fireman found a small, oval ID dog tag, similar to those worn by Civil War soldiers.

The tag was given to Marini, who thought it was a great coincidence that a fireman from the same fire company as Shields should find a fellow fireman's dog tag 80 years after it had been lost. Shields' father, it was later discovered, had given the tag to Shields in 1895.

When Bartosz and Camden fire officials started to put together the department's 125th anniversary book in 1991, they decided to research the connection between the dog tag and the postcard. The remarkable link nagged at Bartosz, causing him to spend sleepless nights wondering about the tie between the two items.

Bartosz explained that the armory, which took up half a city block, was built in 1872 at a cost of $75,000 and had not always been an armory. Originally, it was a marketplace, but in the 1890s the Army took over the building and turned it into the Sixth Regimental Armory.

In that era, Bartosz explained, firemen earned approximately $600 a year. When Shields, a former factory worker, joined the department, that was his salary.

"They were allowed to go home on certain days for three hours and were allowed to go home each night for one hour for dinner, but their families would bring breakfast and lunch to the men every day."

As industry increased in Camden, according to an 1899 Courier-Post story, the city decided to increase the number of fire stations. When it opted to build a firehouse at 6th Street and Kaighn Avenue, Shields jumped at the opportunity for a transfer.

Hillman was also a member of that company, and he brought another eerie dimension to the story.

According to reports in the Inquirer, the captain noticed Hillman was still concerned two hours before the call would come in and said to him, "Bill, can't I talk you out of what you are thinking?"

"At 5 p.m. that same day, Shields leaves to go home for dinner and, reaching home, he apparently hung his coat in a closet near the kitchen and sits down to dinner with his family," Bartosz surmises.

"Shields, hearing the alarm, runs to the closet, grabs his coat, and the dog tag apparently falls out and into a crack in the floor and lays there until it is found after the 1986 fire in the house," Bartosz says.

"He hears the alarm and walks back to the fire station to get his fire coat and hat and runs to the fire," Bartosz says. Warning ignored

Despite the warning, the 11 firemen, including Hillman, Jobes and Shields, went into the burning building.

According to reports, eight of the firemen were able to find the hose line and pull themselves out of the rubble, suffering broken bones, burns and other injuries. Hillman, Jobes and Shields were trapped under the debris and crushed to death.

They thought he was at home eating dinner and were not aware of him being at the scene. When officials worked their way into the smoldering building, they came upon the three bodies.

The Courier-Post reported that "there were thousands of people from all over Camden lined up for hours. Both black and white, women, children and men turned out to honor these men."

During his research, Bartosz found that Jobes' grave was marked by a large monument, but Hillman and Shields had no headstones at the time of their burials. Later, a marker was placed on Shields' grave.

"We had these T-shirts made up with the Camden Fire Department logo on the front and the portraits of the three firemen on the back, with the inscription: "Heroes of Yesteryear.' The profit will be used to buy Hillman's grave a marker and to fix up the other two grave sites," Bartosz said.

"We feel that once Hillman gets his tombstone, all three will be able to rest in peace and that all three will be recognized as Camden firemen who died in the line of duty, serving the people of the city."

WHERE TO CALL

To commemorate the anniversary of the armory fire and to raise funds to erect a marker on the grave of one of the firemen killed in the 1906 fire, T-shirts are being sold by Robert Bartosz and James Alexander. They can be purchased by sending a check for $20, made payable to Camden Armory Fire, to P.O. Box 239, Haddon Heights, N.J. 08035. Specify your choice of size (M, L, XL, XXL).