Firefighter Close Calls

On 4/24/1851 the first fire alarm signal system was installed in Boston, Massachusetts. The system had 40 manual crank street boxes on 3 box circuits with 19 alarm bells that were originally painted black. The concept was pioneered by Dr. William F. Channing and designed by Moses G. Farmer, a telegraphic engineer using closed electrically […]

Four people were injured following a multi-vehicle collision involving a Brampton fire truck and tractor-trailer on Monday morning. Peel Regional Police were called to the Kennedy Road and Steeles Avenue area just after 7:30 a.m. for reports of a crash. Peel paramedics tell CityNews four people were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. […]

On 4/23/1940 the Rhythm Club fire killed 207 (209) and injured more than 200 of the over 700 patrons listening to music in Natchez, Mississippi on Saint Catherine Street. The fire started around 11:45 p.m. in the hamburger stand next to the lobby of the one-story wood frame corrugated steel-clad 4,560 square foot (200’ long) […]

A firefighter and at least three residents were injured Monday afternoon in a fire at a Gardena apartment building. The fire was reported at about noon at a two-story building in the 12900 block of South Vermont Avenue. Flames were knocked down about 40 minutes later. Details about how the fire started were not immediately available. At least […]

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) – Firefighters didn’t have to travel far to douse the flames at a Gulfport fire station. According to Chief Billy Kelley, workers were grinding metal at Station 2 on 42nd Street when sparks ignited a fire. Chief Billy Kelley said workers were grinding metal when some of the sparks ignited a fire […]

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly voted last week to enact a disaster declaration for the recent station fire that devastated the South Tongass Fire Department. Mayors from the borough and cities of Saxman and Ketchikan issued the disaster declaration on April 12. South Tongass Fire Chief Steve Rydeen choked up as he took the podium at the […]

Long shrouded in mystery, firefighter suicide recently emerged as one of the foremost problems in the fire service. Although researchers still build consensus through various studies, firefighters die by suicide at a rate that’s significantly more than the general population. Additionally, some estimates of rates of suicidal ideation for firefighters range as high as eight […]

On 4/22/1869 a Baltimore, Maryland firefighter “died in agony as a result of painful injuries sustained in the wall collapse on April 17th. One leg was severely burned from his hip to his heel, and he suffered internal injuries. As firefighters reached him in the debris, he told them he was okay and to move […]

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. — Troopers are investigating a crash involving a Walton County fire truck that occurred on Saturday night. The crash happened at the intersection of Highway 90 and County Road 1087 at 11:38 p.m. Florida Highway Patrol says an SUV was traveling south on County Road 1087 in the left turn lane, approaching […]

All, Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Freddy Flores has Died in the Line of Duty from injuries sustained six months earlier as the result of a fire inside a mobile shooting range at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic. He and another deputy were inside the mobile shooting range, built inside a 53-foot semi-trailer when “an […]

LA County Deputy Sheriff Freddy Flores has Died in the Line of Duty from injuries sustained six months earlier as the result of a fire inside a mobile shooting range at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic. He and another deputy were inside the mobile shooting range, built inside a 53-foot semi-trailer when “an equipment malfunction […]

PEORIA, AZ — One person is seriously hurt after a crash involving an ambulance in Peoria early Saturday morning. Peoria police say they were called to the area near 83rd and Northern Avenues for a report of the crash. When officers arrived, they found a vehicle and the ambulance involved in the crash. The driver […]

On 4/21/1930 the Ohio Penitentiary fire in Columbus, Ohio claimed the lives of 322 inmates after a candle ignited some oily rags left on the roof of the West Block. The fire was discovered just after prisoners were locked into their cells for the evening. Three prisoners, hoping to create a diversion to escape started […]

‘Small pebbles can appear as boulders’ for struggling people, Josh Klassen says after firefighter’s death Warning: This story contains discussion of suicide and could be triggering for some people. The death of a Winnipeg firefighter, whose funeral will be held Friday, has sparked calls for more mental health supports for first responders. Help is available […]

MOUNT ORAB, Ohio (WXIX) – The death of a Scott Township firefighter is bringing awareness to the mental health demands of first responders and emergency crews. Shawn Rust, 43, died by suicide. His family described him as quiet and kind, who loved his job. His father, James Rust, served in the US Army. He said […]

POTTSTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — There’s no word yet on how a fire truck caught fire inside of a fire station in Montgomery County. It happened at 9:00 p.m. Thursday night at the Goodwill Fire Company on the 700 block of High Street in Pottstown. Officials say crews were able to quickly extinguish the flames and contain […]

An ambulance transporting a patient to the ER was sideswiped by a vehicle on Highway 154 at Windy Gap early Friday morning, according to Santa Barbara County Fire spokesperson Scott Safechuck. The ambulance was traveling from Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital in Solvang to the ER at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital around 4 a.m. when […]

On 4/20/2010 the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill or the Gulf of Mexico oil spill) and drilling rig explosion, killed eleven platform workers and injured seventeen others. The spill was finally stopped on 7/15/10 when the wellhead was capped, after releasing about 4.9 million barrels of crude oil. […]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A man was charged with first-degree murder after police said he shot his wife, chased down the ambulance she was being taken to the hospital in and later crashed. The St. Petersburg Police Department said it was called to a home on 29th Avenue North for a shooting around 10:25 […]

David Rhodes and Mike Ciampo recount their encounters with cancer and Kenny Fent gives an update on the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/firefighters/registry.html