Firefighter Close Calls

Nearly 18 months ago, an explosion at the Haywood Community College fire and rescue training tower injured an instructor. Now, that instructor has filed a civil lawsuit against the company behind the equipment in the building. The three-story burn tower simulates training exercise for firefighters, including real fires they have to put out. It is […]

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will conduct its own investigation after a house explosion in Sterling killed a Firefighter. Trevor Brown, 45, was one of the Loudoun County Firefighters who responded to a home on Silver Ridge Drive Friday after neighbors reported a strong smell. Brown was outside of the house and […]

PITTSBURGH — At least one person was taken to a local hospital after an ambulance crash in a Pittsburgh neighborhood early Wednesday morning. The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on Freeport Road near Walnut Grill. A Lower Kiski ambulance, out of Armstrong County, was taking a woman to nearby St. Margaret Hospital when it crossed […]

On 2/21/1897 a Hartford, Connecticut firefighter “died of the injuries he sustained while operating at Box 26.” On 2/21/1899 a Milwaukee, Wisconsin firefighter was killed at the Wisconsin Chair Company fire, in Port Washington. “The entire Wisconsin Chair Company’s Plant and six business and residence blocks were totally destroyed; thirty families were made homeless and […]

As you know, last week a CNG vehicle explosion occurred in Los Angeles, injuring nine Firefighters. An FDNY tip has been developed on CNG vehicle fires. An additional FDNY tip has also been developed that discusses fighting fires in an LPG-fueled vehicle vs. a CNG-fueled vehicle. It is vitally important for every Firefighter and Fire Officer to recognize the difference […]

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — An SUV driver who hit a fire truck and a parked car Saturday night was accused of driving under the influence, Yolanda Fernandez, community awareness division manager with the St. Petersburg Police Department, told Patch. Tammy Austin, 54, ran a red light on 22nd Street S. around 8 p.m. and hit […]

A severely injured firefighter, who was among several injured when a compressed natural gas tank on a semi-truck tractor exploded last week in Wilmington, was extubated over the weekend and later was alert and able to talk, authorities said. Eight other firefighters injured in the blast were released from the hospital Friday. The lone remaining hospitalized […]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – A Florida man was arrested in Louisville Saturday after police say he crashed into the back of an occupied ambulance while he was high on drugs. According to arrest documents, Darrin Cobb, 54, from Port Saint Lucie, Florida, was charged with wanton endangerment, operating while intoxicated, possession of drug paraphernalia and […]

A search is underway for a man who survived a major crash, left treatment in a hospital gown with an IV in his arm and stole an ambulance from Inova Fairfax on Monday, police say. Earlier in the day, the suspect was a passenger in a stolen car that raced away from police before crashing […]

All,  Here are some updates on the Silver Ridge Incident in Sterling, Virginia. While some members have been released from the hospital, some remain in hospitals, and have a long way to go in their recovery from their injuries.  Loudoun County Fire and Rescue (LCFR) and the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company are announcing processional and funeral […]

On 2/20/2003 The Station Nightclub fire at 211 Cowesett Avenue, Warwick, Rhode Island left over one hundred dead and more than two hundred injured. The fire started at 11:08 p.m. while the band Great White opened with the song “Desert Moon” using pyrotechnics devices as part of their act that ignited flammable soundproofing foam. A […]

On 2/19/1919 A small fire started in the acid storage room of the huge Cove Mills, Stamford Manufacturing Company, a dye extracting facility, a complex of about 25 “fireproof” buildings sprawled over western Cove Island and well up Cove Road in Stamford, Connecticut. “It rapidly became the most spectacular, most destructive fire in Stamford history. […]

On 2/18/1889 the Park Central Hotel, 54 High Street Hartford, Connecticut was heavily damaged by a steam boiler explosion. Twenty-two people lost their lives, and many more were severely injured. “The hotel was at full occupancy. The 15-year-old hotel, 5 stories high, initially measured 125 feet long and 40 feet wide and contained 40 rooms. […]

On 2/17/1957 the Katie Jane Nursing Home for the Aged fire killed seventy-two of the 155 residences in Warrenton, Missouri. The fire started in the first-floor annex, attached to the back of the home’s main building, in a linen closet in the two-and-a-half-story facility at approximately 2:40 p.m. “During the five minutes, it took for […]

On 2/16/1968 Representative Rankin Fite, the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives completed the first 9-1-1 call in the United States in Haleyville, Alabama. The Alabama Telephone Company was the service provider, and this Haleyville 9-1-1 system is still in service today. On February 22, 1968, Nome, Alaska implemented the second 9-1-1 service. “As […]

On 2/15/2013 two Bryan, Texas firefighters died while fighting a fire at the Knights of Columbus Hall. “At approximately 11:20 p.m. a passerby reported a structure fire on Groesbeck Street. The hall was not occupied at the time of the fire discovery. Bryan firefighters responded and initiated interior firefighting operations. During interior operations, one firefighter […]

DORCHESTER – A Boston Fire truck hit a person in Dorchester Wednesday afternoon. It happened on Bowdoin Street around 12:30 p.m. A spokesperson for Boston EMS said the person was rushed to a hospital in an “advanced life support ambulance.” Police said the victim has life-threatening injuries. The Suffolk County District Attorney identified the victim […]

On 2/14/1958 six Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighters died at the Wooster Street Collapse, Box 55-334, 137-9 Wooster Street, between West Houston and Prince Street. “Two FDNY firefighters venting the roof, and four members of Fire Patrol # 1 placing salvage covers were buried alive when all floors and the roof suddenly collapsed in a […]

On 2/13/1909 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin the Johns Manville Manufacturing Company fire killed five firefighters and injured about a dozen more when the rear brick wall collapsed without warning at 225 Clybourne Street. “On arrival, firefighters found heavy fire showing from the first and second floors of a six-story brick asbestos factory. The building became fully […]

GRIFFIN, Ga. (Feb. 10, 2024) – At approximately 2:49 am on Saturday, February 10, firefighters at Spalding County Fire Department Station 6 (Reid Station), located at 1843 North Hill Street Extension, were alerted to the smell of smoke within the station premises. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the fire truck housed in the station […]