200 Firefighters fight fire in downtown Carlisle

One of the more destructive fires in Carlisle's history took place late in the evening on December 12, 1962. 200 firemen eventually responded to put out the blaze, which was three blocks from the Benjamin Rush Campus, and occurred on a night in which the temperature dropped to 15 degrees. Many Dickinson students aided the firefighters and citizens by saving valuables from endangered buildings and deicing fire hoses. Two department stores, including the Bowman and Company department store on South Hanover Street, were completely destroyed and total losses were estimated at over one million dollars.