Police Officer John T. "Jack" Lewis

John T. "Jack" Lewis

Police Officer Jack Lewis died as a result of complications from cancer that developed after responding to the Wade Dump Fire on February 2, 1978.

Officer Lewis was assigned to secure the scene the night of the fire. He returned to the site for foot patrol during clean-up and the investigation. Without safety gear, Officer Lewis' uniform smelled of chemicals each time he returned home from his shift.

He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 1985 and died as a result on July 1, 1986.

Officer Lewis served with the Chester Police Department for eight years. He was survived by his wife.

At 3:44 pm, members of the Chester Fire Department responded to 1 Flower Street for a fire at a rubber recycling facility directly below the Commodore Barry Bridge. It was unknown to first responders that more than 3,000,000 gallons of toxic chemical waste were being stored on the site. At least 230 first responders responded to the fire that took firefighters 10 hours to get under control. During the response, firefighters were driven back due to exploding 55-gallon drums. One warehouse was destroyed, and two other warehouses were damaged in the fire.

Investigators discovered more than 18,000 drums of toxic chemicals, tanker trucks leaking chemical waste into the ground, and ditches that had been dug to dump chemicals into the Delaware River.

In August 1980, the owner of the property was convicted of risking a catastrophe, failing to prevent a catastrophe, and for violating the Clean Water Act. He was fined $30,000 and sentenced to one to two years in the county prison.