Firefighters

A Bellmawr firefighter pleaded guilty Wednesday to third-degree theft for stealing $41,159.50 from the Bellmawr Park Fire Company while its treasurer. Chad Jurman, 22, who became treasurer in January 2012, admitted taking the money on several occasions. According to the charges, the thefts began in April and were discovered in January. Jurman has repaid the fire company, said a spokesman for the Camden County prosecutor. Under the plea agreement, he can no longer volunteer as a firefighter.

There typically comes a time when little boys declare they want to be firemen. For Paul E. Hartstein III, it went without saying. Growing up in a firefighting family in Audubon, Camden County, he was chief of his own make-believe company, racing to imaginary infernos. Soon enough, he was doing it for real. Starting as a teen working heavy rescue, he moved up the ranks to be both chief of the volunteer Audubon Fire Department and Camden County chief fire marshal. For more than a decade, he served on the New Jersey Fire Safety Commission.

A late-night fire Wednesday on McKean Street in South Philadelphia heavily damaged two houses, displaced nine people, and left a young girl with serious injuries, officials said. The child was in critical condition in the intensive-care unit of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, according to fire officials. Neighbors in the 700 block of McKean, where the fire occurred, said the girl is 10. Officials did not release her name. Firefighters evacuated both homes during the blaze, which began about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday in the first floor of the residence where the child lived with six other people.

A late-night fire Wednesday on McKean Street in South Philadelphia heavily damaged two houses, displaced nine people, and left a young girl with serious injuries, officials said. The child was in critical condition in the intensive-care unit of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, according to fire officials. Neighbors in the 700 block of McKean, where the fire occurred, said the girl is 10. Officials did not release her name. Firefighters evacuated both homes during the blaze, which began about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday in the first floor of the residence where the child lived with six other people.

LANCASTER - A woman and a 6-year-old girl died in a four-alarm fire early Monday that also injured three firefighters, one critically, authorities said. Emergency dispatchers said the blaze in Lancaster was reported shortly before 4:30 a.m. Lancaster Fire Chief Tim Gregg told reporters that the woman, who was 38, and the girl were on the second floor and unable to escape the blaze. - AP

A fire that swept through an Eddystone, Delaware County apartment complex early this morning has left eight families homeless for now, according to authorities. The fire on the 1000 block of Eddystone Ave. reached through the third floor of the brick complex. Firefighters were able to rescue all those trapped. But Dave Schrader of The American Red Cross Southeastern PA chapter said about eight families are impacted. Red Cross volunteers are heading to the scene.

A state court ruled Tuesday that an arbitrator cannot force New Jersey taxpayers to pay for raises he awarded to firefighters in Camden. A three-judge appellate panel threw out a 2011 arbitrator's award giving the firefighters raises totaling more than $1 million from 2009 through last year. The decision shows just how complicated it is to pay for services in Camden, a city that ranks among the nation's most impoverished and that has a tiny tax base. About 70 percent of the city's $150 million budget is funded by state aid. When contract talks between the city's firefighters and government could not be settled, the case was sent to an arbitrator.

Nine new firefighters for the City of Chester will be sworn in Wednesday night during the regular public council meeting, officials announced. The apprentices graduated from the Philadelphia Fire Academy along with the 165 new firefighters and paramedics. The graduation ceremony was held at the University of Pennsylvania. The new Chester recruits will join 64 firefighters working for the city. Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-892-9149, mschaefer@phillynews.com or @MariSchaefer on Twitter.

Family, friends, and colleagues packed into Irvine Auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania Wednesday to watch graduating classes of the Philadelphia Fire Academy take their oath of office. It was the first new class of fire recruits in five years in Philadelphia. Mayor Nutter congratulated the 181 fire and paramedic cadets as the first classes to pass through a CrossFit strength and conditioning program as well. "So this will also be the fittest class so far in the Philadelphia Fire Department," Nutter said.