Untitled (Police Watch The Fire From The Rooftops)

Untitled (Police Watch The Fire From The Rooftops)

The fire that spread as a result of the bombing

As the fire spread to the entire block, police and fire crews watched it burn. Here, a police officer watches the fire from a nearby rooftop. While a later investigation would reveal that Police Commissioner Gregore Sambor and Fire Commissioner William Richmond agreed to let the bunker burn as a tactic to get MOVE members out of the compound, there are conflicting reports as to why no effort was made to put out the fire once it spread to surrounding homes until the damage was already done. Before the MOVE compound burned entirely, Ramona Africa and nine-year-old Birdie Africa were able to escape and were taken into police custody.

George Widman

Alex Q. Arbuckle, "May 13, 1985: The Bombing of MOVE"

https://mashable.com/2016/01/10/1985-move-bombing/

Associated Press

May 13, 1985

Public Domain

JPEG

Photograph

Photograph