Firefighter Close Calls

On 9/26/1898 a San Jose, California firefighter died “while manning a hose line with other members of his company on the second floor of the old Vendome Hotel on North First Street, shortly before midnight. The firefighter was caught in a sudden collapse of the rear wall and three upper floors. Scalded and suffocated by […]

On 9/25/2003 a four-story nursing home fire killed fourteen, and injured twenty-five (twenty critically) in Nashville, Tennessee. Most of the 120 residents were bedridden and unable to escape; firefighters carried many elderly occupants downstairs and ladders. The concrete building had no sprinkler system. “The building was a classic 1960s multi-story nursing home of concrete construction […]

PEARL, Miss. — A recruit at the Mississippi State Fire Academy in Pearl is recovering from an on-the-job injury. Ron Reiss with public relations said a firefighter recruit fell from a second-story window during a survival drill Monday morning. “Instructors initiated a standard emergency response to the injured recruit, which consists of activating the local […]

By Esteban Parra, Delaware News Journal: The child fatally run over by an off-duty Wilmington firefighter Sunday was the son of another city firefighter who was participating in a memorial walk remembering firefighters killed in a blaze seven years ago, officials said. “While members were gathering for the memorial walk, an off-duty firefighter’s child was […]

By WBFF: Last night, shortly after 10 p.m., an Anne Arundel County fire truck was hit by a car while helping another vehicle on the side of the road. According to the fire department, the fire truck was on the northbound side of I-97 near Brightview Road when it was hit. The fire truck had […]

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. (WBTV) – Firefighters “narrowly escaped” a house fire in Lancaster County over the weekend, officials said. The blaze broke out at a townhome in the Sun City area on Friday night, the Pleasant Valley Fire Department said. Firefighters were met with large flames throughout the townhome upon their arrival, and began to make an […]

CAMDEN, New Jersey (WPVI) — A Camden County firefighter was injured on Sunday while investigating an incident involving an underground electrical issue by a Dunkin’. Officials in Camden said one firefighter sustained non-life-threatening injuries when he came in contact with an electrical box at a Dunkin’ on the unit block of South Broadway Street. The firefighter […]

On 9/24/1928 the Teatro de Novedades theater fire in Madrid, Spain killed up to three hundred persons, one report placed the death toll at 68, a second suggests 100, and a third estimated 300 and 200 injured. Hundreds were trampled in the panic that followed an explosion and fire that occurred on stage during a […]

On 9/23/2005 a fire on a bus near Dallas, Texas killed twenty-four of the thirty-eight elderly residents and six employees evacuating from Hurricane Rita on a gridlocked highway. The fire was accelerated by patients’ oxygen making it too hot to rescue the victims. The fire may have been caused by the brakes. “The bus was […]

On 9/22/1899 a Strathroy, Ontario, Canada firefighter “was trapped for over twenty minutes with other members after the rear wall fell on them at a barn fire at the corner of Kittredge Avenue and Caradoc Street. The other firefighters received minor injuries, but this firefighter died from his injuries, after being removed and taken to […]

NEW CITY, Rockland County (WABC) — There was outrage in court in Rockland County where a father and son avoided prison time for starting a fire that killed a firefighter and a man at a nursing home. Dozens of firefighters protested outside the Rockland County Court House in New City and emotional victim impact statements were […]

A traffic accident brought a power line down onto a fire department ladder truck Wednesday in Jefferson City. A news release from the Jefferson City Fire Department said the truck was parked on St. Mary’s Boulevard while its crew underwent fire prevention inspections at nearby businesses. Around 3 p.m., a tractor-trailer struck a nearby high-voltage […]

WILLARD, Mo. (KY3) – A Willard Fire Protection District firefighter was shocked while responding to a trailer fire in rural Greene County. According to the Ebenezer Fire Protection District, several departments responded to the North Farm Road 115 fire at around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. When firefighters arrived, they found no one was home, and the […]

On 9/21/1904 four Denver, Colorado firefighters “were killed from inhaling nitric acid fumes at the Denver Post after nitric acid spilled and fire on ensued on September 20, 1904. A 16-gallon container of nitric acid burst open in the etching room of the Denver Post. A fire ensued which was easily extinguished by the firefighters, […]

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – An out-of-control driver slammed into a Cleveland fire truck parked at an accident scene early Tuesday on the city’s East side. First responders told 19 News the truck prevented the car from hitting officers and civilians. According to police, Cleveland fire and police responded to a two vehicle crash at E. […]

DOVER — As a steady rain fell Monday on the charred remains of two businesses and residential dwellings on West Blackwell Street, authorities continued to investigate a fire that drew a five-alarm response on Saturday and displaced dozens of occupants. The smoky blaze was quickly extinguished, without serious injury to victims or responders. But the heroic efforts […]

On 9/20/1929 in Detroit, Michigan the Study Club fire, a prohibition speakeasy (nightclub), killed twenty-two and injured over fifty in a three-story retrofit mansion. The cause of the fire remains undetermined but may have started in the stairwell by a cigarette. Most windows and the fire escape were inaccessible. The exterior appeared undamaged while the […]

The FDNY Safety Command has released the following document with links to the Investigative Report and accompanying training documents from the Line of Duty Death of Firefighter Timothy Klein on April 24, 2022. From the FDNY document: The greatest way we can honor Firefighter Klein is to learn about this fire – this may help […]

On 9/19/1902 in Birmingham, Alabama the yell of “fire” in a church caused over 100 people to be trampled to death at the Shiloh Baptist Church around 9 o’clock after Booker T. Washington concluded his speech to the National Convention. The Shiloh Church was a large place of worship, with more than 2,000 people in […]

On 9/18/1926 two Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighters died “while operating at a five-alarm fire at Freihofer Baking Co. at 19th & Indiana Avenue, they were killed when they were caught under a collapsing wall.” “Firefighters had responded to a box alarm in the sprawling commercial bakery complex that occupied almost two city blocks. First arriving Engine […]