Firefighter Close Calls

ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orange County Fire Rescue (OCFR) battalion chief was fired after officials say he failed to follow a direct order. His attorney says the decision has to do with the county’s rule to reprimand employees who don’t get the COVID-19 vaccine. Stephen Davis had been with the department since 2007 and had command of […]

10/20/1944 “a natural gas “spill” and fire in Cleveland, Ohio around 2:15 p.m. killed 130 and injured 225 when a cylindrical tank failed and released the contents into the nearby streets and sewers that promptly ignited. A second tank toppled over after about 20 minutes later releasing 9,400 gallons of LNG that ignited; the accident […]

FARMINGTON, Maine — A lawsuit on behalf of firefighters involved in the deadly Farmington explosion has been settled two years after the incident, according to an attorney. Six firefighters and the estate of Captain Michael Bell settled with C.N. Brown Company of South Paris and Techno Metal Post Maine of Manchester. No other details about the settlement […]

ALEXANDER, Ark — A firefighter is recovering Tuesday morning after getting burned while responding to a mobile home fire in Alexander. The Collegeville and Crystal Fire Departments were among the crews that responded just before 11 p.m. at 4th and Alexander Road. Fire crews say two mobile homes were fully engulfed when they arrived. The […]

10/19/1857 “Chicago experienced one of its first fire disasters at a five-story brick building at 109-11 South Water St., between Clark and Dearborn Streets. The building housed a brothel, and according to most accounts, the fire began after someone knocked over a lamp. No lives were lost in this building, but the flames spread rapidly […]

Montreal fire chief Richard Liebmann confirmed Monday morning that search and rescue crews have spotted the body of the missing firefighter in the Saint Lawrence River among the wreckage of the boat that sunk. The firefighter from the Montreal Fire Department (SSIM) went under the water of the St. Lawrence River on Sunday, in Montreal, […]

10/18/1984 the Alexander Hamilton Hotel fire killed fifteen and injured over fifty in Paterson, NJ. located at the corner of Market and Church Streets. The fire started at 12:14 a.m. and went to three alarms in the eight-story building, trapping some victims and forcing others to jump. The fire was deliberately set by Russell Conklin […]

MONTREAL — Rescue workers are looking for a firefighter fell into the St. Lawrence river after a boat carrying people from a previous rescue mission capsized near the Lachine Rapids. The boat reportedly sank shortly after 7:10 p.m. According to Longueuil Fire Division Chief Stéphane Difruscia, Montreal firefighters responded to a distress signal from another […]

10/17/1966 the Wonder Drugs on East 23rd St New York, NY a mercantile building fire killed twelve firefighters at 9:36 p.m. E-18 and L-7 responded to fire in the store’s basement. A five-inch insulated concrete floor collapsed sending ten men into the inferno, two were killed when a fireball exploded from the basement. “A raging […]

DAYTON, Md. — Two people, including a firefighter, were injured in a basement fire in western Howard County on Thursday evening, the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services said. The department responded to a report of a basement fire at the 6500 block of Mare Court in Dayton near the Montgomery County line just before 6 p.m. Firefighters and paramedics worked for […]

10/16/1967 the Cardinal Lanes Bowling Alley, located at 515 Anderson Ave. in Cliffside Park, N.J., was involved in a fire that left five firefighters dead. “Several crews from neighboring towns responded to the blaze, including five firefighters from the Ridgefield Fire Department, which was called on mutual aid. Several firefighters entered the building that day; […]

10/15/1951 “a Hampton Avenue resident had written the Milwaukee (WI) County Journal complaining about the “oil-saturated, open-air cesspool” conditions of Lincoln Creek on the City’s far north side, deserted even by turtles. The pollution there was real, and was not a novelty… First one agency, then another shrugged and turned away from the problem. That’s […]

PINE PLAINS — “It looked like a bomb went off.” That’s how Richard Wager described the scene on Hoffman Road on Wednesday night, when an explosion leveled a house and killed a volunteer firefighter who lived in the home. Wager, who lives down the street from where the explosion took place, and a firefighter saved a woman from […]

10/14/1973 the second Great Chelsea Massachusetts conflagration started in part of the city that was known as the “Rag Shop District.” Eighteen blocks of the city were destroyed. At 3:56 p.m. a fire alarm was sounded at Third and Arlington Streets. Winds were gusting up to 35 mph and the fire quickly spread. “The fire […]

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – Phoenix first responders are some of the first in the country to get a brand-new type of cancer screening, and it’s as easy as a blood test. The Galleri test is a game changer that screens for 50 different types of cancers at the same time and can find them in […]

Statement from Mayor Jason F. Cilento Dunellen Fire Department Fire October 12, 2021 It is with sadness that I write this notification to inform you that this afternoon the Dunellen Fire Department suffered significant loss to their Fire House. The Borough is still assessing the damage and an investigation by the Middlesex County Fire Marshall’s […]

10/13/1889 a Middletown, CT firefighter “died from the injuries he sustained while he was entering a building.” 10/13/1916 a Philadelphia, PA firefighter “died of the injuries he sustained after he was caught in a roof collapse at 913-919 W. York Street.” 10/13/1930 a Norwich, CT firefighter “died after suffering CO poisoning while operating at a […]

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — The firefighter who suffered cardiac arrest in Monday’s Escambia County Fire and Rescue training exercise is conscious and awake in his bed, according to Escambia County Professional Firefighters. ECPF says the firefighter will remain in ICU for observation. ECPF thanks everyone who sent well wishes to the firefighter. On Monday, a […]

DUNELLEN – Police and the Middlesex County Fire Marshal are investigating after a multi-alarm fire was reported at the borough’s fire headquarters Tuesday afternoon. About 12:20 p.m. Tuesday a police officer spotted smoke coming from the unattended firehouse at 231 South Madison Ave., according to Police Chief Dan Smith. Police reports indicated a truck was […]

10/12/1904 a Denver, CO firefighter “became the third firefighter to die as a result of the nitric acid spill and fire at the Denver Post etching room on September 20th. The firefighter was one of the first on scene and he and the second firefighter to die entered the room with an extinguisher in an […]