Firefighter Close Calls

From Firehouse Magazine: Frank Leeb explains how he is able to weave messages about firefighter cancer into the more popular tactical and leadership classes to make them more impactful. Last week at the Science to the Station Conference in Tucson, AZ, I had the privilege of delivering the keynote address. The focus of my keynote was on […]

On 11/15/1942 six firefighters were killed and forty-three injured in the Luongo Restaurant fire, in East Boston, Massachusetts. Many were trapped under debris for hours after a wall collapsed without warning and after the fire was declared under control. The “Old Armory” building stood in Maverick Square on Henry Street, near the subway station. “On […]

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Cancer is a leading cause of death amongst firefighters nationwide, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control (CDC). But a new piece of equipment being used by the Cobb County Fire Department may help their firefighters avoid dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals. It’s called a Storm Stick. Dozens of Cobb Fire […]

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The most dangerous part about firefighting isn’t fire itself, “Cancer is now the number one killer of firefighters, occupational cancer,” Captain with Greensboro Fire Department, Vinnie Messina said. Messina knows that all to well. The fire captain’s brother, Mauro Messina, was one of those firefighters. He was diagnosed two years ago with a […]

On 11/14/1921 near Sacramento, California the United States Forest Service held the first National Fire Control Conference. “William Greeley, chief of the US Forest Service, invited the 45 attendees to discuss the inconsistencies in fire control around the country. The overarching question, and the key reason for the inconsistencies from district to district, was whether […]

On 11/13/1877 the National Fireman’s Journal published the first issue with the mission to be “devoted to the interests of the firemen of the country.” Under the name Fire Engineering, the mission has only broadened and is now devoted to the interests of firefighters worldwide. On 11/13/1997 around 6:00 a.m. fire in an occupied, four-story […]

On 11/12/1889 the Miami Hotel a wooden 100-room building was destroyed by a fire that started from a gas stove and extended to Mrs. Maggie Knapp’s restaurant, the Greet store, a boarding house, the Miami Metropolis Building, and Joseph McDonald’s machine shops and stables in Miami, Florida.  On 11/12/1890 a Tampa, Florida firefighter died in […]

On 11/11/1918 at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 World War I ended, with the Treaty of Versailles of 1919; a war that left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded. The war started on June 28, 1914, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, […]

On 11/10/1898 two Cambridge, Massachusetts firefighters died “while operating at a fire in a meat company icehouse, he climbed a ladder and attempted to open a door. As he opened the door a blast of fire knocked him from the ladder to the pavement, where he died 15 minutes later. Another member of the Ladder […]

LARCHMONT, NY — A fire in the basement of a bagel shop popular with commuters, left two people with minor injuries and sent a firefighter to the hospital. The Village of Larchmont Fire Department says that on Wednesday, shortly after 10 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to Bagels by Sofia, on Chatsworth Ave., after reports of […]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A second lawsuit has been filed in the death of Buffalo firefighter Jason Arno, who was killed battling a four-alarm fire on Main Street in downtown Buffalo in March. Arno’s widow, Sarah Tierney, filed the wrongful death lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court on Wednesday. It alleges negligence on the part […]

MOUNT CARMEL – Three people were displaced after flames wrecked a home in this Northumberland County borough around midday Wednesday. The fire broke out at 150 South Hickory Street around 11:30am. Mount Carmel Township Police Chief Brian Hollenbush, who is also a township fire chief and led the firefight, said crews arrived to find heavy fire […]

A city firefighter was injured after crews responded to the same house twice early Wednesday. Pittsburgh Public Safety said the first fire was reported about 3 a.m. at a home in the 4700 block of Interboro Avenue in Lincoln Place. Firefighters found a couch that had caught fire. Public Safety said it was believed the […]

CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Two firefighters with the Mont Belvieu Fire Department were injured Wednesday morning during a floor collapse at a scene, according to officials. At about 5:15 a.m., crews responded to a two-story house fire in the Hunter’s Chase Subdivision, where they were joined by the Baytown Fire Department Engine 6. The video […]

On 11/9/1872 eleven firefighters died during the Boston (Massachusetts) Conflagration that burned for 15 hours destroying around 800 buildings, and extended over 65 acres, from the Common, north from Summer Street to the waterfront. The fire began in the basement of a five-story dry goods store just after 7:00 p.m. A lack of water pressure […]

FAIRFAX, Va. — Fairfax County Fire shared a video of a fiery explosion that erupted after a firefighter opened a building door Tuesday evening. According to a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, crews were called to the 3800 block of S George Mason Drive in Bailey’s Crossroads for a […]

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. – A North Collier firefighter was seriously injured while working to put out a house fire Monday morning. On Nov. 6, North Collier Fire Rescue District (NCF) crews responded to a house fire on 97th Avenue North at around 7:00 a.m. According to officials, NCF Firefighter Susana Webb was severely injured while […]

On 11/8/1879 the first mechanical water tower in New York, New York was recorded. John Logan and Abner Greenleaf developed a 50-foot mast water tower consisting of pipe sections raised manually by cranks capable of delivering a large-capacity elevated stream. On 11/7/1882 the Halifax,  Nova Scotia “Poor House” fire killed thirty-one around midnight while the […]

From the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department Facebook Page: Earlier this evening, #FCFRD responded to a utility emergency in the 3800 blk of South George Mason Drive in Baileys Crossroads. An explosion occurred while our firefighters were working that was captured on video. Thankfully, our firefighters are okay. FCFRD firefighters put their lives on […]

A firefighter is recovering in the hospital after colliding with a fire hydrant that broke off while responding to a house fire in Naples. The North Collier Fire Department was dispatched to a two-alarm fire in Naples Park near Vanderbilt Drive on Monday where the firefighter received injuries from a fire hydrant that had snapped off during […]