Firefighter Close Calls

UNION, N.J. — It has been more than six months since a cargo ship fire left two Newark firefighters dead. Wednesday, the United States Coast Guard continued a hearing where workers and officials, including Newark’s former fire chief, spoke about what they knew. The family of the fallen firefighters spoke after listening to the emotional testimony. Rufus Jackson, Newark’s […]

On 1/18/1938 a fire at the Sacred Heart College in Saint Hyacinthe, Quebec, a small manufacturing city about 30 miles from Montreal, killed Forty-one boys and five priests around 2:00 a.m. The blaze spread rapidly trapping up to 100 occupants, several were injured. Fire operations lasted over 3 hours in near-zero temperatures. “The fire followed […]

Today is Benjamin Franklin’s birthday, he was born on January 17, 1706; happy birthday Mr. Franklin, and thank you! The Father of the American Fire Service was born in Boston, Massachusetts. “The man who established the first community volunteer fire department also invented bifocals, wrote and printed Poor Richard’s Almanac, studied electricity, and helped draft […]

Good Morning, If you are in Phoenix for FDSOA, we’d like to please encourage you to attend tomorrow mornings presentation by Kristina Moon, wife of the late FDNY Firefighter Billy Moon. She has a life changing message for every Firefighter that is well worth getting up a little early for. Secondly, this is the final […]

On 1/16/1967 the McCormick Place Hall in Chicago, Illinois was destroyed by a fire, and a security guard was killed during the National Housewares Manufacturers Association Exhibit. “McCormick Place was the largest convention center in North America consisting of four interconnected buildings and one indoor arena sited on and near Lake Michigan, about 2 miles […]

FORT WORTH, Texas (CBS NEWS TEXAS) – A Fort Worth Fire captain had to escape through a window when flames engulfed the room where he battled a fire Sunday night. Just before midnight, as snow began to fall, Station 16 firefighters were called to a one-story house fire in the 5600 block of Shiloh Drive. […]

The following is a statement from the West Grove Fire Company: A West Grove Fire Company (WGFC) fire police officer was injured while performing fire police traffic control on State Route 896 in Franklin Township on Friday January 12, 2024. The WGFC Fire Police were dispatched on Friday afternoon January 12 to assist PECO utility […]

Story by Caleb Lunetta, The San Diego Union-Tribune One of San Diego’s oldest, and busiest, fire stations got a little bit more help this week after city officials announced an additional engine will be stationed at Fire Station No. 4 in East Village. Station No. 4, located on 8th Avenue and J Street, has only […]

On 1/15/1919 the Boston (Massachusetts) Molasses Disaster or Great Molasses Flood killed twenty-one and injured 150 when a large wave of molasses over 8’ tall rushed through the streets at 35 mph after a 2,300,000 gallons storage tank burst in the North End neighborhood at the Purity Distilling Company. A Boston firefighter was fatally injured […]

According to a report from the Kherson Oblast Military Administration published by Yahoo News, the Russians attacked a local fire brigade unit in the village of Stanislav with a kamikaze drone on the afternoon of  January 14, injuring several firefighters. They were diagnosed with contusions, explosive and head injuries. Having received medical care, the injured […]

By Fox 23: A Coffeyville firefighter was injured on Saturday after battling a house fire, the fire department said. Firefighters were called to a house engulfed in fire on East 7th Street just after 7 p.m. Saturday, the Coffeyville Fire Department said in a social media post. A Coffeyville firefighter was injured at the scene and […]

Joseph Zadroga — a fierce advocate for first responders who suffered illness after the 9/11 attacks — died in a freak accident yesterday when he was struck by an elderly driver who mistakenly hit the gas in a New Jersey parking lot. Mr. Zadroga — the father of late 9/11 first responder James Zadroga — […]

On 1/14/2022 a fire “erupted at a Qualco plant in Passaic, New Jersey, and the roof and walls of the main structure went up in flames. Part of the building where the fire originated later collapsed in on itself. The building was mostly vacant at the time and was being used to store plastics and […]

Firefighters are working to extinguish a structure fire in Glenburn Township. WBRE News crews say a storage unit ignited in flames around 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. during a lunch rush at the Glenburn Grill and Bakery, located at 1144 Lackawanna Trail, Clarks Summit, Lackawanna County. One firefighter was injured battling the fire as the floor […]

On 1/13/1908 the Rhodes Opera House in Boyertown, Pennsylvania fire killed 171 including a firefighter during a church-sponsored play in the 2nd-floor auditorium when a kerosene lamp was knocked over and extended to a stereoscopic machine fueled by gasoline. Actors hearing the commotion lifted the curtain to investigate and the heavy pole at the bottom […]

GOSHEN – Three firefighters had to be rescued from a burning house Thursday night after the interior stairway collapsed into the basement. The fire at a home on Middle Street in the village of Goshen was reported just before 9 p.m. Thursday. Goshen Fire Chief Peter Easop Sr. said in a news release that about […]

GLENURN TWP., LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Firefighters are working to extinguish a structure fire in Glenburn Township. WBRE News crews say a storage unit ignited in flames around 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. during a lunch rush at the Glenburn Grill and Bakery, located at 1144 Lackawanna Trail, Clarks Summit, Lackawanna County. One firefighter was injured battling the […]

On 1/12/1951 four Chicago, Illinois firefighters were “fatally injured in an explosion and subsequent structural collapse while fighting a fire in a four-story office and warehouse building at 320 North LaSalle Street. Seven other firefighters and two civilians were injured by the blast. The fire began in the lower levels of the 75-year-old building, before […]

On 1/11/1988 a five-alarm building fire involving several first-floor rooms trapped occupants on the floors above the fire around 8:19 p.m. on East 50th Street, Manhattan, New York. The fire killed four residents, injured nine, and resulted in 70 people being rescued. Additionally, thirteen firefighters were injured in the 115’ X 100’ ten-story fire-resistive high-rise […]

ALBANY — A new bill to provide annual cancer screenings to volunteer firefighters has been introduced to the state legislature by Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon. According to the Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY), firefighters have a 9% higher risk of developing cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying of cancer compared […]