Firefighter Close Calls

On 2/8/1933 seven Omaha, Nebraska firefighters were killed, and seventeen others were injured in a spectacular fire that destroyed the four-story Millard Hotel when the hotel walls collapsed.  The loss was estimated at $250,000; all 45 guests made it to safety. The four-story historic structure located on the northeast corner of 13th and Douglas Streets […]

WEST HAVEN — Two masked men attempted to break into a fire chief’s SUV Monday morning, according to the West Haven Fire Department’s Allingtown District. The incident occurred around 8:30 a.m. near the Allingtown station’s headquarters on Admiral Street. Allingtown Chief Michael R. Terenzio said the department was getting a new conference table delivered when […]

On 2/7/1904 over 1,231, firefighters worked to control the two-day conflagration; that destroyed over 1,500 buildings an area of some 140 acres covering most of the central city during the Great Baltimore, Maryland Fire. Firefighters were hampered by unstandardized fire hose connections and equipment. Units responded from New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Atlantic City, […]

A firefighter was injured at a house fire in Moline on Sunday. It happened around 6:19 p.m. in the 1700 block of 11th Street. A fully engulfed unattached garage spread to a duplex. Residents had exited the duplex before emergency crews arrived and firefighters had the fires under control in about 30 minutes. Two residents […]

RALEIGH, N.C (WTVD) — “Grabbed my phone, and grabbed everything I needed. Grabbed my dog. Just ran out, and tried to get to my mom.” Nearly two dozen tenants are looking for a new place to call home after a Sunday morning fire at an apartment complex in Raleigh. The fire happened in the 9400 block […]

On January 25, 2023 the Crawfordsville Fire Department (IN.) was called for a structure fire by CPD already on the scene. CPD stated shots had been fired in the residence. Arrived on scene with heavy smoke pushing out A Side front picture window of a single story ranch style residence. Police on scene as Chief […]

On 2/6/1923 the last fire horses “were retired from the Chicago Fire Department. Fire alarm box Number 848 was pulled at 12:40 p.m. at State and Chicago Avenues. The loud fire bell then rang in Engine 11’s firehouse at 10 East Grand Avenue, about a third mile south and just off State Street. Teddy, Dan, […]

CHICAGO (WLS) — A decades-old church that has spent generations in West Englewood is now just mounds of burned debris after a devastating fire tore through the church Saturday morning. “Getting up and knowing that I have a church home to go to was a big part of my life,” said Pastor Edrena Bell, with Universal […]

On 2/5/1893 eight Chicago, Illinois firefighters were injured in a natural gas explosion during the Donohue & Henneberry Building fire. “The immense building, a printing establishment, located at 407-425 Dearborn Street, was the scene of a structure fire about 3:00 p.m. which necessitated a general alarm. The building in which the firm does business was […]

HOUSTON — A firefighter was hospitalized after suffering burns during a fire in southeast Houston, according to HFD Chief Samuel Pena. The fire started around 10:30 a.m. Saturday at an apartment complex on Telephone Road just north of Hobby Airport. Officials haven’t said what caused the fire but said a firefighter suffered burn injuries while fighting it. The firefighter […]

On 2/4/1976 the “Cermak House Nursing Home in Cicero, Illinois fire caused by faulty wiring on a table lamp killed six and injured twenty-seven mostly elderly patients. The 600‐bed Cermak House was occupied by about 475 patients, but only those in the immediate area of the blaze were evacuated because of equipment that blocked the […]

On 2/3/1939 nine Syracuse, New York firefighters were trapped and died in the collapse of a burning office building, buried under tons of wreckage. “The fire was discovered at 1:50 a.m. Scores of fire companies were called out by a general alarm and poured streams of water into the building for 45 minutes before the […]

On 2/2/1978 the Wade Dump fire was “a spectacular general-alarm fire that involved the illegal three-acre ABM-Wade hazardous material dumpsite. Wade Dump was a rubber recycling facility and illegal industrial waste storage and disposal facility in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was located at 1 Flower Street on the western bank of the Delaware River just north […]

A firefighter was injured while responding to a house fire in Vienna just before midnight. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched to the 1000 block of Westwood Drive NE at 11:58 p.m. yesterday (Tuesday), according to a tweet. “Crews arrived [with] fire visible from 2nd floor of a house under construction,” the department said. The […]

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — An Oklahoma City firefighter was injured after falling through a two-story home while fighting a fire. Firefighters responded to a call on a house fire near SW 25th and Blackwelder around 7 a.m. on Wednesday. Officials say the firefighter was trying to rescue a person “dancing around,” going in and out of […]

On 2/1/1985 the Vicstar Electronics Store fire killed three Chicago, Illinois firefighters. “Early in the morning, a two-story building at 2847 North Milwaukee Avenue was destroyed by fire. Three firefighters perished while fighting the blaze. The building’s first floor housed Vicstar Electronics, a consumer electronics store. Jang Han Bae, one of Vicstar’s owners, was convicted […]

On 1/31/1945 the Lacoste Babies Home (an orphanage) fire killed seventeen (sixteen babies) in Auburn Maine. The privately-owned unlicensed boarding home was destroyed by a fire that originated in the kitchen around a coal stove. The home was boarding more than the maximum number of babies allowed under the state code, but no action had […]

From the FDNY Facebook Page: “At approximately 3:20 this afternoon, calls began to come in reporting a fire at 404 East 63rd Street. Our first unit arrived in approximately five minutes, faced with an extensive fire condition on the first floor, rapidly extending to all the floors above. The incident rose to three alarms, we […]

From the FDNY Facebook Page: “At about 11 this morning we received an alarm for smoke and fire at 843 Freeman Street. Units arrived in approximately four minutes and found heavy fire throughout the building, a three-story private dwelling. Units had a tough interior attack and due to structural stability concerns and the volume of […]

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (KWWL) – First responders braved the elements Sunday evening to rescue a snowmobiler who had fallen through the ice on the Coralville Reservoir. The North Liberty Fire Department along with Johnson County Ambulance Services responded to the area south of Mehaffey Bridge Road just after 5 p.m. Sunday night. Once on scene, […]