Firefighter Close Calls

On 6/5/1946 sixty-one people died and over 200 were injured at the LaSalle Hotel, located at the intersection of LaSalle and Madison Streets in downtown Chicago, Illinois as fire swept through the 22-story, 1,000 room, “largest, safest and most modern hotel west of New York City” built-in 1909. Many of the victims suffocated, and some […]

On 6/4/1904 fifteen people were killed and six injured in a fire after an explosion occurred in the eleven-story Corning Distillery (Mammoth Distillery) whiskey warehouse in Peoria, Illinois. “The fire spread quickly to nearby cattle pens in the stockyards. Fifteen lives were lost and three thousand heads of cattle were burned to death. The distillery […]

On 6/3/1999 at 6:55 p.m., FDNY Ladder 173 and Engine 331 received a phone alarm for a fire at 150-28 127th Street in Howard Beach, Queens, New York. “Upon entering the block, Engine 331 transmitted a 10-75 for a fire in a 20- x 40-foot, one-story private dwelling with a heavy smoke condition coming from […]

On 6/2/1992 at approximately 2:15 a.m. fire in an adult foster care facility in Detroit, Michigan killed ten occupants of the sixteen predominantly elderly individuals that lived in the facility with one night supervisor. The renovated three-story two-family dwelling had been converted into an adult foster care facility. The fire started from smoking materials discarded […]

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A total of 29 Las Cruces firefighters responded to a mobile home fire on Wednesday, May 31 at the 1400 block of Branding Iron Circle. Officials say they were dispatched to a report of a fire at around 10:50 a.m. including a possible trapped occupant inside the mobile home. Officials […]

NATCHEZ — A Memorial Day house fire on Saragossa Road in Adams County ended in the total loss of the home and the injury of at least one firefighter when the roof of the structure collapsed. Natchez Fire Chief Robert Arrington said the firefighter was taken to the emergency room by ambulance but appears to […]

By WGGB/WSHM: A three-alarm fire on Oak Street in Springfield nearly turned deadly when two firefighters were pinned underneath a ceiling that collapsed, pinning them to the ground. We’re getting answers from the experts on how they train for these situations before the heat is on. Fire Commissioner B.J. Calvi said they train around the […]

On 6/1/ 2008 a “massive, early morning fire at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and studio backlot in Universal City, California destroys a trove of irreplaceable recordings by some of the greatest musical artists in American history, thousands of archived digital and video film copies and King Kong Encounter, one of the park’s most […]

Kara Fohner The Gaston Gazette The city of Mount Holly plans to hire a dozen new firefighters and has raised the starting pay for firefighters who complete the probationary period. The Mount Holly Fire Department currently has 25 full-time positions and 16 part-time positions. According to minutes from a town meeting, Fire Chief Ryan Baker […]

On 5/31/1890 a Louisville, Kentucky firefighter died “while fighting a fire at the DuPont Paper Company. He was overcome by heat and smoke. He was carried out of the building by other members of Engine Company 9 but died about 15 minutes later.” On 5/31/1908 a London, Ontario, Canada firefighter was “overcome by smoke during […]

By News 12: Four firefighters were hurt fighting a multialarm fire in Jersey City, according to city officials. Fire officials say that a rubbish fire started in the back of 234 Montgomery St. Tuesday afternoon. The building is vacant and under construction. That fire then spread to 236 Montgomery St. The firefighters were taken to […]

All, Today marks the 24th anniversary of the Cherry Rd fire in Washington DC Box 6178,  that took the life of DCFD Firefighters Anthony Phillips and Louis Matthews, and severely burned Lieutenant Joe Morgan. Joe is the guest tonight on Sons of The Flag Radio and he will talk about the fire and his road to recovery. […]

By WAND: Three Decatur firefighters were hurt while battling two separate house fires. One firefighter hurt his shoulder while fighting a fire in the 2100 block of Longwood Cr. Monday night. He was evaluated at the hospital and released. Firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the attached garage. They tried to get the overhead garage […]

A firefighter was injured as crews worked to put out a house fire in Birmingham Monday morning. It happened at an unoccupied house and in the 1700 block of 26th Avenue North just after 10:30 a.m. Another home damaged from heat and smoke exposure to the fire. Two people were displaced from that home. When […]

CLEVELAND (WJW) — A firefighter was injured while battling a blaze at a vacant home Sunday evening. Firefighters were called to a house on East 125th Street near Superior Avenue just after 5 p.m. for reports a fire had broken out. Fire officials said that when crews entered the structure, the floor collapsed and one firefighter fell […]

On 5/30/2002 after eight months and nineteen days, the recovery and cleanup efforts at Ground Zero of the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center officially ended. The buildings were destroyed by hijacked airliners on 9/11/2001. “Authorities put the final death toll from the towers’ destruction at 2,823. The remains of 1,102 victims were […]

Honor Memorial Day, a day in the United States to remember the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces. Memorial Day is observed every year on the last Monday of May. Originally known as Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868. Union Veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, […]

On  5/28/1977 the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire killed 165 and over 200 were injured in Southgate, Kentucky six miles outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Constructed in 1937 and modified several times by 1976, the building created a sprawling complex. Around 3,000 patrons and 182 employees were inside the club when the fire erupted in the […]

On May 8th 2023 we were dispatched for a residential structure fire our dispatch center was receiving multiple calls and upgraded to working fire. Due to the knowledge of the area our battalion chief for 2 additional engine companies and one additional ladder our first due engine arrived on the scene and confirmed working fire […]

On 5/27/1875 a fire “at the Precious Blood Church in Holyoke Massachusetts trapped dozens of parishioners trying to escape from a second-floor balcony of the church. Egress was hampered due to the exterior doors opening inward. Seventy-eight people died and thirty-four were injured after a breeze through an opened window blew a curtain into a […]