Firefighter Close Calls

On 2/10/1863 a patent was issued for the first portable fire extinguisher to Alanson Crane of Monroe, Virginia (No 37,160). The tube container was a step up from the fire suppression glass “grenades” that were previously the most popular form of emergency firefighting. Little is known about Crane himself, and numerous patents were granted to […]

On 2/9/1858 a New Haven, Connecticut firefighter “died after being shot during a riot. An altercation between Yale students and the firefighters of Engine Company 2 erupted and a riot ensued. Shots were fired, and one firefighter was shot and killed. Several of the students were arrested, but through the mediation of the faculty, the […]

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 […]

On 2/7/1904 over 1,231, firefighters worked to control the two-day conflagration; that destroyed over 1,500 buildings and 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 […]

When a female firefighter in Los Angeles County rushes into a burning building to save a life, she must deal with an extra challenge her male counterparts do not face: her uniform. At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, female firefighters and lifeguards explained to the board how ill-fitting uniforms designed for men restrict their ability […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBMA) — A man and woman crashed into a Birmingham fire station after being shot Tuesday night. The incident happened at Fire Station 30 on Old Springville Road shortly before 7:00 p.m. The Birmingham Police Department said the injured people were inside a vehicle. When officers arrived, police said firefighters were working on the […]

The Baltimore County Fire Department’s response to a massive fire last summer at an auto parts store lacked cohesive communication and effective leadership and failed to follow safety procedures, putting firefighters in harm’s way, according to a review by The Baltimore Sun of the department’s incident report, an anonymous complaint to authorities that resulted in […]

UNION, N.J. (AP) — New testimony in the case of a fatal cargo ship fire in New Jersey sheds some light on whether it could have been prevented. A crew member says he saw smoke coming from a seaport vehicle being used to push inoperative cars onto a cargo ship at least nine hours before […]

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, […]

Marion County Fire Rescue (Ocala area) is once again mourning the loss of one of its Firefighters. This Firefighter, who died Sunday (yesterday) after a years-long “daunting battle” against COVID-19. Driver-Engineer Charles “Chuck” Westphal was battling COVID-related issues since his hospitalization in August 2021. He was on a ventilator for 133 days in the ICU and had […]

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – A house fire explosion left four Toledo firefighters injured Saturday morning on Sylvan Ridge Drive. Officials from the scene say that the three people who lived in the home were able to evacuate safely, but as firefighters were fighting the scene multiple were injured in an explosion in the home. “About […]

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – Surveillance video captured the moment an Albany fire truck overturned on Friday. The fire truck overturned on South Harding Street Friday afternoon. Crews worked over an hour to get it back turned over and cleaned up. The four firemen in the vehicle at the time are being checked for injuries that […]

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 […]

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 […]

A Santa Cruz County firefighter recruit died last year during a training exercise. Despite resuscitative efforts by Firefighters at the Ben Lomond Training Center, Recruit Firefighter Daniel Lamothe, 38, died at a local hospital. He was in his 7th week of a 19-week academy engaged in firefighter safety and survival training when he collapsed. The Recruit […]

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 […]

State inspectors have warned Mayor Brandon Johnson to improve firefighter safety after finding major breakdowns in communication at scenes where firefighters have died, including a blaze that left a rookie dead. The Illinois Division of Occupational Safety and Health sent a strongly worded letter to Johnson that the Chicago Fire Department must make it “standard […]

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 […]

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Rep. Daniel Pae, R-Lawton, has filed legislation to provide all Oklahoma firefighters with free coverage for annual comprehensive cancer screenings. In this legislative session, the bill will be referred to as House Bill 3573, but Pae calls it the “Fighting Chance for Firefighters Act.” The bill, if passed, could make quite an […]