Firefighter Close Calls

On 8/11/1874 the first sprinkler head was patented by Henry S. Parmalee of New Haven, Connecticut who is considered the inventor of the first practical automatic sprinkler head. Parmalee improved upon the Pratt patent and created a better sprinkler system. In 1874, he installed his fire “modern” sprinkler system in the piano factory that he […]

CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. – A fire department vehicle that was stolen from the Ritchie Volunteer Fire Department in Capitol Heights has been found. The vehicle vanished Thursday morning and was found on a neighborhood street about five miles away later in the afternoon. A Capitol Heights resident recognized the stolen vehicle, which was a 2011 Chevy Silverado with Ritchie […]

On 8/10/1978, three teenage girls died after their 1973 Ford Pinto was rammed from behind by a van and burst into flames on an Indiana highway. The fatal crash was one of a series of Pinto accidents that caused a national scandal. In June 1978 Ford voluntarily recalled all 1.9 million 1971-1976 Pintos and 1975-1976 […]

Today (8/9/1944) is Smokey Bear’s birthday, the mascot of the United States Forest Service was created to educate the public on the dangers of forest fires. “The advertising campaign featuring Smokey and the slogan, “Smokey Says Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires” began in 1944, and was changed to “Remember… Only YOU […]

CHICAGO — The city’s fire department said Tuesday that two Chicago firefighters were hospitalized after battling an extra-alarm fire in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. After responding to the house fire in the 1700 block of N. Monticello Ave, the firefighters were taken to the hospital in good condition. Their injuries were not specified. The cause […]

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Three firefighters suffered injuries while fighting a blaze that broke out in a Shreveport home Saturday. Caddo Fire District 1 responded to the fire on the 6500 block of Sand Hill Avenue at 4:09 p.m. When units arrived three minutes later, they found the home fully involved in fire. Officials say […]

Three firefighters were injured while battling a four-alarm fire in Dorchester, according to the Boston Fire Department. No other injuries have been reported. 30 people are now displaced, according to the fire department. The American Red Cross of Massachusetts is assisting those who have been displaced. The fire began around 2:15 p.m. at a three-family […]

From the Philadelphia Police Department Website: Central Detective Division is seeking the public’s help identifying the individuals seen in the following video clip. On July 17, 2023, at approximately 1:30am, two unknown males took a brass Fire Department water connector in the 100 block of Callowhill Street. The same individuals are believed to be responsible […]

On 8/8/1905 the five-story Myers Department Store on North Pearl Street in Albany, New York building collapsed, leaving thirteen dead, and about one hundred injured around 8:48 a.m. as 150 employees prepared for a 9:00 a.m. store opening. The 100-foot-tall building’s back wall was resting on jacks as part of a renovation project to enlarge […]

WESTLAND, MI – A 4-year-old girl was briefly injured after a dog laid on a golf cart’s accelerator and forced it to crash into her. According to the Westland Fire Department, the bizarre incident occurred during the Wayne County community’s Blues, Brews, and BBQ on Aug. 4. Firefighters say the department’s Arson Dog, Bella, was […]

NEW YORK — The FDNY says a firefighter and a civilian were injured in a fire in Queens on Saturday. The flames broke out at a housing complex at 76th and Hazen streets in Astoria just after 3 p.m. Thick black smoke poured out of the three-story building as some families were still inside. Over 100 firefighters battled the blaze. Officials say […]

MADISON, Indiana — Indiana State Police are investigating after a crash involving a fire truck killed one person in Madison. The accident happened on Clifty Hollow Road on Hanover Hill in Jefferson County Saturday morning. Officials told 13News that around 8:30 a.m., a truck from the Hanover Fire Department was heading to assist a driver with dried […]

On 8/7/2013 a powerful explosion from a gas leak ripped through a ten-story apartment building setting it on fire in Rosario, Argentina which left twenty-two dead and sixty-six injured. “People within a two-kilometer radius of the explosion, including 11 schools, were evacuated, as the gas supply to the building could not be cut off.” “The […]

On 8/6/1945 a Detroit, Michigan three-alarm fire at an orphanage and home for “old people” killed five, and 120 were rescued. Several boys had been playing with matches in the vicinity of a barrel of a flammable liquid that was followed by an explosion in the basement laundry. “By this time, smoke was seeping through […]

On 8/5/1949 thirteen smokejumpers of the United States Forest Service died in a remote canyon along the Missouri River just north of Helena, Montana’s state capitol. It was a place named by Lewis and Clark the Gates of the Mountain. “On August 4, lightning struck high on the southern flank of Mann Gulch. Located 20 […]

By 12 News: Three firefighters were hospitalized after a fast-moving, wind-driven fire ignited at a junkyard in west Phoenix Wednesday afternoon, according to Phoenix Fire. Phoenix firefighters were dispatched to the blaze near 27th Avenue and Buckeye Road just before 3 p.m. for reports of a grass fire that may have spread to a fence nearby. […]

On 8/4/1966 four Cleveland, Ohio firefighters died at the Metallurgical, Inc., 9801 Walford Avenue S.W. (formerly the Industrial Rayon Corp. complex) fire, where magnesium and aluminum were processed, extinguishing a blaze in a dust collector in one of the buildings. “As several firefighters entered the building and several more went to the roof, an explosion […]

On 8/3/1894 a Detroit, Michigan mill and lumber yard fire killed a firefighter and injured six others on Franklin and Rivard Streets adjoining the Detroit, Grand Haven, and Milwaukee railroad tracks shortly after 3:00 p.m. On 8/3/1923 a Wilmington, Delaware firefighter died. “Shortly before his death, he fought a blaze at the Amalgamated Leather Co. […]

by ANNA SAUNDERS Thu, July 27th 2023 TEAYS VALLEY, W.Va. (WCHS) — When the calls go out and the emergency tones sound off inside the Teays Valley Fire Department, on average, firefighters are on the scene in about six minutes. However, that response time is expected to double as the department will begin operating on […]

By Chris Lawrence July 27, 2023 SCOTT DEPOT, W.Va. — The consequences of the failure of a public safety levy last year in Putnam County are about to be felt by home and business owners in Teays Valley. The Teays Valley Fire Department has announced it will reduce its services for the public. “We tried […]