Firefighter Close Calls

On 7/23/1984 Union Oil refinery fire killed seventeen, including ten members of the fire brigade, in Romeoville, Illinois. “Around 6:00 p.m. a refinery worker noticed vapors escaping from a hairline crack in a high-pressure, 55-foot tower filled with gas and tried to shut down the tank, but before the pressure could be redirected a spark […]

On 7/22/1913 the Binghamton Clothing Company factory fire killed thirty-one, many trapped on the fourth floor, in Binghamton, New York when workers, mostly women, initially refused to take the fire alarm seriously. About an hour after lunch, 111 people worked in the brick, four-story factory that faced the Chenango River. “Time was money” paid by […]

SEATTLE — The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) continues to deal with being the target of theft while on the job. The latest incident happened Thursday morning while Seattle firefighters were battling a large warehouse fire in the Chinatown-International District (CID) near the corner of 10th and King. Representatives with the Seattle Firefighters’ Union, IAFF Local 27, […]

On 7/21/1913 a fire at a convict farm near Jackson, Mississippi killed thirty-five prisoners on the second floor of an antiquated convict cage after flames rapidly ate away the only stairway leading to the second floor. “Thirty-five black men at Oakley Farm, a segregated prison camp in Mississippi, burned to death when the neglected dormitory […]

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A man who sped through an accident scene on Interstate 90 and struck and killed Cleveland firefighter Johnny Tetrick last fall is now a convicted murderer. Leander Bissell, 41, faces a mandatory life sentence after Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Timothy McCormick delivered his verdict Thursday. Leander Bissell. (Cory Shaffer) McCormick said that he initially believed that it was “a stretch” for […]

CHICAGO (WLS) — A suspect is in custody after Chicago police said he shot up an ambulance after it did not get out of his way Wednesday night on the North Side. The incident occurred in the 2600-block of North Hamlin Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. Police said a 79-year-old patient was inside the ambulance during […]

On 7/20/1899 a Denver, Colorado firefighter “succumbed to injuries sustained while operating at the Western Chemical Company fire on June 18, 1899, at South Seventh and Bayaud. The fire started just before 6:00 p.m., billowing thick brown smoke from a storeroom. The storeroom contained about 50 carboys of muriatic acid, two of which had already […]

JEFFERSON CO., Tenn. (WVLT) – The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary at the New Market Fire and Rescue Station #2 at 475 Old Dandridge Pike in Strawberry Plains Wednesday. The fire department was responding to a brush fire when they noticed equipment had been taken from an engine and tanker. The items […]

NEW MARKET, Tenn. — The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a burglary at the New Market Fire Department Tuesday night. They said crews from Station 2 had left to respond to a brush fire on Tuesday. JCSO said when they returned at around 9:41 p.m., equipment had been stolen from an engine and a tanker. The […]

On 7/19/1921 the Los Angeles (California) Fire Department’s “very last fire horse was retired when Water Tower 1, a 65-foot Gorter assigned to Engine Company 24, was removed from service, and taken to the shops to be motorized, ending the horse era of the LAFD. All of the horses were retired to Griffith Park. The […]

On July 18th, 2023 at 12:30 pm Boise Fire crews responded to a structure fire on S. Cole Rd. Upon arrival, crews encountered heavy smoke and a large pile of recycled materials smoldering inside of a recycling center. As crews worked to extinguish the fire, a Boise Firefighter suffered a medical emergency, and was transported […]

BALTIMORE – At least one firefighter was injured while battling a three-alarm fire at an Advanced Auto Parts store Tuesday evening in Reisterstown, according to Baltimore County Fire Department. Mayday, a distress signal, was called at 9:44 p.m. at the burning store in a shopping plaza in the 11900 block of Reisterstown Road. Firefighters are […]

SHAMOKIN — Shamokin Councilman William Milbrand, who serves as public safety director, reported Tuesday that disciplinary action is pending against city fire officials who attended a training earlier this month in which a junior firefighter suffered second-degree burns on both wrists. Milbrand, who didn’t identify the fire officials under investigation, said James Wood, 17, of […]

On 7/18/1947 an ionization-type smoke detector was patented by E. Meili & W. Jaeger in Berne, Switzerland. “In the late 1930s, Swiss physicist Walter Jaeger accidentally invented the first smoke detector. He was attempting to design a sensor that could identify poison gas. However, when Jaeger lit a cigarette he discovered that his invention could […]

On 7/17/1981 the Kansas City Hyatt Regency skywalk collapsed killing 114 and injuring over 200 after 2,000 people had gathered in the multistory atrium to watch a dance contest. The suspended concrete walkways on the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th floors were packed. A flawed design change doubled the load on the tie rod connections on […]

By Times Union: An SUV belonging to the Fuller Road Volunteer Fire Department was involved in a crash Sunday afternoon in Colonie. The bright red truck could clearly be seen on its roof at the intersection of Wolf Road and Sand Creek Road around 2 p.m. The Colonie Police Department said that the truck was […]

On 7/16/1990 the Empire State Building fire in New York City injured 38 people, including 31 firefighters, and snarled traffic in that part of midtown for hours. A smoky four-alarm fire billowed smoke from the midsection of the 102-story building. The fire started around 6:30 p.m. and was confined to the 51st floor, though the […]

On 7/15/1970 the Wedworth-Townsend Paramedic Act of 1970, was signed into law. “During the 1960s a Los Angeles cardiologist named Walter S. Graf became concerned about the lack of actual medical care being given to coronary patients during emergency transportation to a hospital. In 1969, while serving as president of the Los Angeles Chapter of […]

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (WLS) — A firefighter and a police officer are among six people hospitalized after a large blaze broke out at a north suburban senior housing complex, officials said. All of the hospitalizations were for smoke inhalation and were precautionary, officials said. Chopper 7HD was over the scene in the 100 block of West Wise […]

NEWARK, N.J., (AP) — A firefighter who was fatally injured along with a colleague while battling a massive fire aboard a cargo ship docked in New Jersey last week was posthumously promoted to captain during his funeral service on Thursday. Hundreds of mourners, including dozens of uniformed firefighters and law enforcement officers, came to the […]