Firefighter Close Calls

On 3/2/1953 a nursing home fire in Largo, Florida claimed thirty-three lives; only twenty-five of the fifty-seven patients escaped the fire that destroyed the 185-foot long white one-story wood frame Littlefield Nursing Home at about 3:15 a.m. “Thirty-two elderly people and a heroic nurse were killed when a wind-driven fire swept rapidly through a rambling, […]

On 3/1/1971 The United States Capitol building in Washington D.C. was bombed by a group calling itself the “Weather Underground” a radical faction of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) that advocated violent means to transform American society; the explosion caused an estimated $300,000 in damage, no one was injured. “Other targets of Weathermen […]

On 2/28/1918 The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) was chartered. The IAFF is a labor union representing firefighters and emergency medical services personnel in the United States and Canada and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO in the United States and the Canadian Labour Congress in Canada. The IAFF has more than 300,000 members in […]

A firefighter killed in the line of duty last week will be laid to rest this weekend. A public visitation, private memorial service and funeral procession for fallen Paw Paw firefighter Lt. Ethan Quillen will be held this Saturday. Quillen died in the line of duty last Wednesday when he was hit by a fallen power line […]

MINNEAPOLIS — One person is dead and two more are without a home after an early-morning fire left a Minneapolis family without a home. Around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, crews were called to the 3200 block of 5th Avenue South in Minneapolis’ Central neighborhood for a fire at a two-and-a-half-story home. Crews worked quickly, bringing the […]

When a house in Pompton Lakes exploded while firefighters were inside, officials were relieved that no one was killed. “We were blessed,” borough fire official John Keating said at the time, after being asked how nobody died. Police body camera footage recently obtained by The Record and NorthJersey.com through an Open Public Records Act request provides […]

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A Philadelphia firefighter who suffered multiple injuries while battling a fire on Saturday morning remains hospitalized. Randy Ballinger, with Ladder 13 of the Philadelphia Fire Department, fell nearly 25 feet from a roof at a two-story row home on the 1100 block of South Paxon Street in the city’s Kingsessing neighborhood. A GoFundMe has been […]

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo firefighter suffered injuries while battling a one-alarm fire in a vacant structure Sunday morning. Crews were called to 401 Germania Street around 7:40 a.m. Sunday. Investigators say the fire started in the garage and caused an estimated $50,000 in damages. According to officials, one Buffalo firefighter suffered injuries and […]

BOSTON — Fifteen residents, including two children, are displaced after a massive fire at a Roxbury triple-decker Sunday night. A heavy fire engulfed all three floors of the building on Quincy Street. As many as 100 Boston firefighters descended on the triple-decker to extinguish the roaring flames. The flames leaped to a neighboring duplex before […]

On 2/27/1975 the New York Telephone exchange fire was the largest loss of telephone service in the United States until 9/11/01 when the main distribution frame was destroyed at the telephone building at 204 Second Ave & East 13th  Street. The building was erected in two phases: The first three floors were completed in 1923 […]

PAW PAW, Mich. (WOOD) — The firefighter who was killed when a power line fell on him was “the example of the Paw Paw Volunteer Fire Department,” his fire chief said. The firefighter was identified Thursday morning as 28-year-old Lt. Ethan Quillen. He joined the department in 2019. “He was a great guy. Father, husband, […]

FLINT, MI – A member of the Flint Fire Department was killed during a fire operation Saturday afternoon, officials said. The fatal fire happened about 2:33 p.m. Feb. 25 in a residential unit at the Elms Mobile Home Park off South Dort Highway, officials said. “This is a tremendous loss for the Flint Fire Department […]

On 2/26/1993 the World Trade Center (WTC) was bombed. The extremist attack killed six people and injured 1,165; over 50,000 people were evacuated in New York after terrorists planted over 1,000 pounds nitrourea bomb, with hydrogen cylinders in a Ryder Econoline van on the B-2 level parking garage beneath the northeast corner of the Vista […]

INDIANAPOLIS — A 10-month-old boy and a firefighter were injured Friday afternoon in a house fire on the city’s east side. The boy is in critical condition and had CPR performed on him before being taken to the hospital. The firefighter was slightly injured. According to IFD, crews were called to a home in the […]

DOVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Three firefighters were injured while battling a house fire in Dover Township, York County. The fire chief said the firefighters are being treated for superficial burns. The homeowners called 911 around 2:30 p.m. Friday to report smoke in the home in the 3200 block of Partridge Drive. The residents and two […]

On 2/25/1882 a Corvallis, Oregon firefighter died at a grain mill fire when a wall of the structure collapsed and fell on him. On 2/25/1900 a Detroit, Michigan firefighter died of the injuries he sustained after being caught under a falling smokestack. On 2/25/1904 a Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighter “died of pneumonia, which was […]

BALTIMORE — A firefighter was injured Friday morning while fighting one of three fires across west Baltimore. Crews were called to the fire at the abandoned Sellers Mansion on Arlington Avenue in west Baltimore. A portion of the interior has collapsed, 11 News has learned. Around 11:45 a.m., city fire officials said the fire was […]

Three people— including a firefighter— were injured in an early morning fire at a hotel in Lancaster County on Thursday, February 23, 2023, authorities say. Sheets were quickly tied together and used as ladders as guests climb out of the Amish View Inn and Suites in the 3100 block of Philadelphia Pike in Leacock Township, […]

FRONT ROYAL, Va. (DC News Now) — Four people, including a firefighter and a law enforcement officer, were injured in an early-morning house fire in Front Royal on Thursday. Warren County Fire and Rescue were called to the 300 block of Loop Road for a fire with occupants trapped inside just before 5 a.m. Because […]

On 2/24/1857 a Springfield, Ohio firefighter was “killed from the crushing injuries he sustained while operating at a house fire when a portico fell on him.” On 2/24/1862 a Boston, Massachusetts firefighter “suffocated from heavy smoke, during a four-alarm fire in the building at North & Commercial Street, District 1, Station 4, at the Eastern […]