Firefighter Close Calls

Assistant Fire Chief Killed in Porch Collapse During Residential Structure Fire – Altus, Oklahoma – August 10, 2018  On August 10, 2018, Friendship Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Madison Lee Clinton Jr. was killed after he was pinned beneath a collapsed porch roof while battling a house fire outside of Altus, Oklahoma. Area fire crews […]

Three Firefighters Killed in Wall Collapse Following Fire in Peanut Warehouse – Bishop & Spears Peanut Warehouse Fire – St. Louis, Missouri – August 10, 1887 On August 10, 1887, St. Louis Missouri Fire Department Foreman Bernard McKernan and Fireman Frank McDonald of Hook & Ladder 6, and Foreman Christian Hoell of Hook & Ladder […]

Firefighter Fatally Burned After Being Caught in Flashover While Searching For Trapped Children During Residential Fire – Chicago, Illinois – August 9, 1983 On August 9, 1983, Chicago Firefighter Sidney Brown of Engine 75 died in the line of duty after responding to a house fire on the South Side of the city where three […]

Firefighter Dies in Fall from Fire Escape Ladder – Chicago, Illinois – August 9, 2010 – NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Report F2010-25 On August 9, 2010, Chicago Firefighter Christopher Wheatley of Truck 2 died from a fall while climbing a fire escape ladder. Crews were responding to an alarm at a four-story mixed occupancy structure. When […]

Four Firefighters Fatally Electrocuted While Operating Aerial Ladder During Fire at Chemical Company – Mercer Chemical Company Fire – Omaha, Nebraska – August 9, 1899 On August 9, 1899, Omaha Fire Lieutenant James Adams, Pipemen George Bendson and Charles E. Hopper of Engine Company 3, and Ladderman Otto Giseke of Truck Company 1 were electrocuted […]

Albany Fire Battalion Chief Wayne Brennan discovered gasoline spilling from the temporary fueling pump shortly before Tuesday’s explosion at the city’s Department of General Services headquarters that seriously injured him and a DGS supervisor, Police Chief Brendan Cox said Friday. According to Cox, Brennan had just finished fueling his vehicle when he noticed the leak. He then […]

Three Firefighters Injured as Braced Wood Frame Building Collapses and Strikes Tower Ladder Bucket – 4251 Third Avenue, The Bronx, New York – August 8, 1980 On August 8, 1980, three members of FDNY Tower Ladder 33 were injured when a burning abandoned three-story braced wood frame dwelling collapsed onto the bucket of their tower […]

Recreational Vehicle Fire Kills One Firefighter and Injures Two Other Firefighters – Huttig, Arkansas – August 8, 1999 – NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Investigation Report F99-34 On August 8, 1999, Huttig Arkansas Fire Lieutenant Ronald Wade Meshell was critically burned while trying to control a recreational vehicle fire beside a single-family dwelling. Two other firefighters received […]

CLUTE — A Clute firefighter remained hospitalized Thursday after being injured while battling a mobile home fire in the 1700 block of East Kyle Road. The firefighter was still being evaluated Thursday afternoon, Clute Fire Chief Mike Doucet said. The nature and extend of the firefighter’s injuries are not being released. Firefighters were dispatched about 6:05 […]

The NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) has a full-time career opportunity for a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist who will serve as a Firefighter Fatality Investigator. This position will be responsible for investigating traumatic injuries and line-of-duty deaths. Duty stations available for this position for candidate selection include NIOSH offices in Cincinnati, OH; Pittsburgh, […]

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – Sarasota County Fire Lieutenant Clay Huber was discharged from Sarasota Memorial Hospital on Thursday, greeted not just by his family, but by dozens of first responders from across the Suncoast who lined the entrance to celebrate his miraculous recovery. Just days earlier, Huber suffered a sudden cardiac emergency on Sunday while […]

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Kansas City, Kansas’ fire union is suing the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK over an alleged First Amendment violation that they believe has safety implications. The Kansas City, Kansas Professional Firefighters Association, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 64, filed a federal lawsuit against the local government earlier this […]

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – Sarasota County Fire Lieutenant Clay Huber was discharged from Sarasota Memorial Hospital on Thursday, greeted not just by his family, but by dozens of first responders from across the Suncoast who lined the entrance to celebrate his miraculous recovery. Just days earlier, Huber suffered a sudden cardiac emergency on Sunday while […]

Fourteen Persons Killed Including Assistant Fire Chief in Explosion of Dynamite Truck – The Roseburg Blast – Roseburg, Oregon – August 7, 1959 On August 7, 1959, a parked truck loaded with two tons of dynamite and over four tons of ammonium nitrate caught fire outside a supply store on the edge of downtown Roseburg, […]

Two Firefighters Killed in Fire Collapse of Warehouse – Herrmann Warehouse Fire – Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois – August 7, 1932 On August 7, 1932, Chicago Fire Lieutenant Victor Strubbe and Pipeman James Murphy of Engine Company 30 were killed in the line of duty when a four-story wall collapsed on them while they were […]

Firefighter Killed and Fifteen Others Trapped in Canopy Roof Collapse During Three Alarm Fire in Meatpacking Plant – Memphis, Tennessee – August 7, 1950 On August 7, 1950, Memphis Fireman Robert W. Fortune of Engine 10 died while operating at a fire involving a meatpacking plant. The fire was caused by workers using an acetylene […]

FUNKSTOWN- One firefighter suffered smoke inhalation, and dozens of mutual aid personnel were brought in to help fight a major fire outside of the City of Hagerstown late Thursday morning. Calls came in around 10:53am on Thursday, August 6th, for a structure fire at a home in the 200 block of Emmert Road, near the […]

AUBURN, Wash. — Two firefighters in Washington state were injured after a Tesla exploded inside a garage on Wednesday, authorities said. The King County Sheriff’s Office said the incident happened on 53rd Avenue South in the Seattle suburb of Auburn. The electric vehicle led to a two-alarm fire at the home. The sheriff’s office said two firefighters […]

One Firefighter Killed and Sixteen Others Injured in Fire Collapse of Ice Storage Warehouse – Webster-Citizen Ice Company Fire – Buffalo, New York – August 6, 1929 On August 6, 1929, Buffalo, New York Fireman Edwin Hoffman of Truck 11 was killed, and sixteen other firefighters were injured when the walls of an ice storage […]

Six Firefighters Fatally Injured and More One Hundred Persons Including Forty Firefighters Injured During Grain Elevator Explosion – The Northwestern Grain Elevator Explosion – Chicago, Illinois – August 5, 1897 On August 5, 1897, six Chicago firefighters lost their lives, and 40 other firefighters were injured in an explosion during a spectacular five-alarm fire in […]