William H. Rehr III, longtime Reading fire chief and historian, dies at 84

As he had done countless times over a more than 50‑year career with the Reading Fire Department, William H. Rehr III, co‑presenter of a 40th‑anniversary program on the tragic 1985 YMCA fire, meticulously chronicled the event etched into the memories of a generation of city firefighters.

The presentation, “Remembering the Reading Central YMCA Fire,” hosted by the Reading Area Firefighters Museum, drew 175 people to Reading Area Community College’s Schmidt Technology and Training Center on Jan. 15, 2025.

Rehr, who retired as Reading’s fire chief in 2010, blended a lifetime of fire service with a deep interest in history, often weaving historical context into his accounts — whether speaking to a reporter or a roomful of firefighters.

“He was always a history buff,” said Richard Boyer, whose career and retirement closely paralleled Rehr’s. “He really did extensive research when he was giving talks.”

Rehr, who served as president of the nonprofit fire museum, died Sunday at age 84 after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife, Patricia.

City Council President Donna Reed marveled at her longtime Glenside neighbor’s encyclopedic knowledge about Reading and Berks County history.

Besides his involvement in the fire museum, Rehr volunteered every Wednesday in the Berk History Center library, working to catalogue old Reading Eagle photos preserved from negatives rescued by city historian Tony Micicke.

On short notice Rehr helped Reed, a board member of the History Center, put together a 50th anniversary program hosted in June 2022 by the Berks History Center and the Reading Area Fire Museum at RACC’s Yocum Library.

“Chief Rehr was absolutely critical to preserving Berks County history,” she said. “Overall, just a good and decent guy.”

Boyer said Monday that he was still trying to absorb the loss of his longtime friend and colleague.

Rehr’s death prompted Boyer to reflect on their parallel paths.

Boyer, 82, joined Oakbrook Fire Company in 1961 as a volunteer, two years after Rehr. Boyer later became the city’s 14th fire chief, and Rehr succeeded him in 1996 as the 15th chief, serving 15 years in the role.

“I started to think, how did we make it this far together,” he said, recalling both had a close brush with death more than 65 years ago.

“It was the winter of ’63,” Boyer said. “We were young volunteers. I was 19 and Bill was 21. We responded to a box alarm at Pomeroy’s at Sixth and Penn. It turned out to be nothing — a frozen alarm — but at the same time there was a gas explosion one block from the Oakbrook station.”

Their chief ordered them to climb a ground ladder to the second floor of a nearby home.

“We broke out the window, opened the door and went in,” Boyer said. “There was light smoke. We started toward the front bedrooms when all of a sudden there was an explosion. We ran to the door and slid down the ladder, and we didn’t have a scratch on us.”

The blast blew out the entire side wall and injured several firefighters, he said.

“We were bonded from the very beginning,” Boyer said. “We were friends with Russ Mogel, and we slept at the Rainbow station before we were married. Then we moved to the Schuylkill station, and we moved on through those 60 years or so.”

Both men were serving as deputy chiefs in 1985 and responded to the Jan. 28 YMCA fire.

Former Reading Fire Chief William H. Rehr III, front and center, was the main presenter of “The Reading Central YMCA Fire – 40th Anniversary” slide show presentation Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in RACC’s Schmidt Technology and Training Center. The presentation brought together people who played a role in the fire or its aftermath including, clockwise from front row: Julia Brownholtz, niece of firefighter Donald Jacobs, who died in the fire; Donna Brownholtz, Jacobs’ sister; Kirsten Hoagland, Jacobs niece; Reading firefighter Terry Royce, who was badly burned in the fire; Michael Brownholtz, Jacobs’ brother-in-law; former Reading police officers Bill Ulrich and Kevin Rudy, who were among the first responders who guided residents down the fire escape; former Reading firefighter Keith Eschleman, who responded as a volunteer firefighter white home on leave from the military; former Fire Chief Kevin Kulp, who drove the ladder truck on which Jacobs rode to the fire; former Fire Chief Richard Boyer and former Reading Mayor Karen Miller. The Jan. 28, 1985 blaze also killed three residents of the YMCA at Reed and Washington streets.
(BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE).

In the anniversary presentation, Rehr explained how the YMCA fire — set in a pantry by an emotionally distraught teenager — took an unexpected path through the building. Instead of moving through the main stairwell, the fire climbed a short, seldom‑used stairway, then blew through a transom into the north–south hallway.

From there, he said, the blaze accelerated rapidly. The corridor’s combustible finishes fueled its advance, and an open stairwell door in the lobby, combined with fire escape doors being opened by fleeing residents, created a wind‑tunnel effect that drove flames toward the lobby.

As firefighter Donald Jacobs carried a resident down the stairs, a flashover erupted, killing Jacobs, the man he was carrying and two other residents. More than 50 people were injured and over 100 were left homeless. Damage exceeded $1.2 million.

Boyer said he and Rehr spent a couple of years preparing the anniversary program and was grateful they completed it.

“People, especially firemen, learned things they never anticipated,” he said. “About 175 people attended, and later about 5,000 viewed it on their phones. The fact that we were able to tell the whole story was gratifying to me and Bill.”