Firefighter Close Calls

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – A firefighter was injured after a garbage truck tire blew out while crews were checking the vehicle following a commercial vehicle fire in Montgomery County on Thursday, according to Montgomery County Emergency Services District No. 1. The incident happened after Montgomery County ESD 1 responded to a reported commercial vehicle fire involving […]

Two firefighters were injured while responding to a house fire in Garner on Old Cascade Drive, around 6:15 a.m. They were injured while accessing a fire inside a wall. One firefighter needed stitches, another was treated for exhaustion, according to Garner Fire Chief Barrett Penny. Five fire departments worked to extinguish the fire: Garner, Cleveland, […]

  Fire Captain Killed in Floor Collapse During Restaurant – White Shutter Restaurant Fire – Bay Ridge, Brooklyn – June 27, 1961 On June 27, 1961, FDNY Fire Captain Walter Bersig of Ladder 149 was killed during an early morning three-alarm fire in a one-story restaurant when the floor collapsed and Captain Bersig was hurled […]

Firefighter/Engineer Fatally Injured After Falling Through Translucent Corrugated Roof Panel While Searching for Fire Extension – Denver, Colorado – June 28, 2015 – NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Report F2015-13 On June 28, 2015, Denver Firefighter/Engineer John Whelan was critically injured after falling through a translucent corrugated roof panel. The firefighter was the engineer on Truck 8, […]

Five Firefighters Killed By Wall Collapse After Backdraft During Warehouse Fire – Minneapolis, Minnesota – June 27, 1895 On June 27, 1895, five Minneapolis firefighters were killed after a backdraft collapsed an exterior wall of a burning crockery warehouse. The fire was spotted by alert firefighters at a nearby fire station and, after quickly sounding […]

Two Firefighters Killed in Rope Rescue Attempt During Three-Alarm Multiple Dwelling Fire – Harlem, Manhattan, New York – June 27, 1980 On June 27, 1980, New York Fire Department (FDNY) Firefighter Gerard Frisby of Ladder 28, and Firefighter Lawrence Fitzpatrick of Rescue 3 were killed during a three-alarm fire in a seven-story apartment building in […]

Acting Fire Officer Dies from Floor Collapse during Interior Fire Attack –Leonardtown, Maryland – June 27, 2023 – NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Report F2023-09 & After Action Report & Improvement Plan On June 27, 2023, Firefighter Brice Clayton Trossbach of the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Air Station Fire Department died after falling into a basement […]

Firefighter Fatally Injured in Ceiling Collapse During Fire in Abandoned School – Brooklyn, New York – June 26, 1964 On June 26, 1964, FDNY Fireman Ernest Marquart of Squad 3 was fatally injured in a ceiling collapse while operating during a fire that was set by children playing in an abandoned three-story brick and wood […]

Three Firefighters and Three Civilians Killed in Explosion of Dynamite Cargo Truck– Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania – June 26, 1964 On June 26, 1964, Marshalls Creek Volunteer Firemen Leonard Mosier, Francis Earl Miller, and Edward Franklin Hines were killed along with three civilians when a tractor trailer truck filled with an unlabeled cargo of 15 tons […]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) is responding to an ambulance fire late Thursday afternoon. The fire broke out inside an ambulance at Monterey Road and Lassen Drive, across from Monterey Elementary School. CSFD reported that ambulance crews were on scene of a home for a medical emergency when it […]

Three Whidbey Island firefighters were injured today when a home exploded in Greenbank. The firefighters are not yet being identified, but they are from Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue, and South Whidbey Fire/EMS; the injured include two chiefs and one firefighter. Two were transported to Providence Regional Medical Center, the third to Island Hospital […]

Deputy Fire Chief Dies after Falling Through Floor in Residential Structure During Fire Attack – Lafayette, Indiana – June 25, 2006 – NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Report F2006-24 On June 25, 2006, Deputy Fire Chief Steven Smith of the Wea Township Volunteer Fire Department in Lafayette, Indiana died after falling through a failed section of floor […]