Today in Fire History 10/16
On 10/16/1987 Baby Jessica was rescued from a well in Midland, Texas after 56 hours. Jessica Morales née McClure (born March 26, 1986) became famous at the age of 18 months after falling into a well. The story gained worldwide attention (leading to some criticism as a media circus). “Following McClure's rescue on October 16, 1987, surgeons had to amputate a toe due to gangrene caused by loss of circulation while she was in the well. Jessica carries a scar on her forehead where her head rubbed against the well-casing and despite the incident and 15 subsequent related surgeries, Jessica carries no first-hand memory of the events. A paramedic died by suicide in 1995, suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after the rescue, struggling to cope with the event and the subsequent decline in attention.
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On 10/16/1940 a Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighter died “while fighting a smoky fire in the rear hallway on the ground floor of a six-story tenement at 254 to 256 West 146th Street, after working for twenty minutes, he collapsed at 8:00 p.m. He was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he died of carbon monoxide poisoning at 8:40.”
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On 10/16/1949 two Manhattan, New York firefighters of the Fire Patrol “were backing out of a burning building involved in a two-alarm fire, the floors suddenly collapsed, trapping two members of Fire Patrol 3 who were spreading covers over the lunch counter on the first floor. It took firefighters over 15 hours to find the body of the first, and 24 hours to reach the second body.”
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On 10/16/1970 a Boston, Massachusetts firefighter “died around 2:30 a.m. from injuries and severe burns after a taxicab’s gasoline tank exploded on September 19, 1970, in front of 18 Dorchester Street, South Boston, Box 7316, (West 2nd & Dorchester Streets). He was burned over 90 percent of his body.”
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On 10/16/1979 a Miami, Dade County, Florida firefighter “died while fighting a fire in south Dade County. He collapsed while handling the hose during a boat fire in Florida City. Because the fire involved no injuries, a rescue unit had been sent back to the station and had to be called back when he collapsed.”
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On 10/16/2000 a Cape Charles, Virginia firefighter died while operating as “the backup person on a 2-? inch line that was being operated on a well-involved three-story wood frame residence. He collapsed, and medical care was immediately initiated by the firefighter that had been on the nozzle. He was treated by emergency medical service (EMS) personnel on the scene and transported to the hospital. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The fire was caused by arson.”
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On 10/16/1996 a stampede killed eighty-four and injured more than 100 at the World Cup match in Guatemala City. Approximately 60,000 fans came to the stadium with a capacity of only 45,000 and push their way into the venue through a narrow passage. “Fights that broke out in the crowd exacerbated the situation, which ended in a panicked stampede.”
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On 10/16/1996 a fire started around 11:13 a.m. at the Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts in a nurses' lounge on the third floor near the ICU/CCU from a plastic hospital tray placed on top of a stove. Two sprinkler heads were activated in the room of origin limiting the fire damage to that room and there were no injuries or fatalities. Forty patients were evacuated.
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On 10/16/1991 gale-force winds were responsible for 92 separate wildland fires in Spokane, Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan, and Pend Orielle counties in Washington State. One hundred fourteen homes and numerous other structures were destroyed.
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On 10/16/1986 around 7:29 p.m. about ? mile outside of Woodruff, Utah, a semi-truck transporting 63 head of cattle crashed into piping for two stationary LP-Gas storage tanks holding 18,000 and 30,000 gallons of fuel and immediately started a fire with flame impingement on the tractor and the storage tanks. A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) of the 18,000-gallon tank occurred about ? hour after the accident, propelling pieces of the tank in all directions, the largest struck a building about 2,600 feet from its mounting. Fearing a second BLEVE, the town was evacuated, and let the tank continue to burn; by 5:30 a.m. the burning gas and flame impingement decreased dramatically. At sunrise, firefighters entered the area and extinguished the remaining secondary fires.
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On 10/16/1953 in Boston, Massachusetts the USS Leyte aircraft carrier explosion killed thirty-nine.
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On 10/16/1907 a fire raged for two hours destroying two blocks of Plant City, Florida. The fire origin remains unknown. Flames were discovered in Herring dry goods store on the south side of the railroad and rapidly spread to other buildings
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On 10/16/1937 Slippery Rock (Pennsylvania) State Teachers' College North Hall was destroyed by a fire that started around 5:20 a.m. ?
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On 10/16/1884 Montello (Wisconsin) Opera House and Bank were destroyed by a fire that started around 2:00 a.m.
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On 10/16/1912 the Fort Worth, Texas Broadway Baptist Church ceiling fell during a wedding, injuring twelve.
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On 10/16/1859 abolitionist John Brown led a small group on a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an attempt to start an armed revolt of enslaved people and destroy the institution of slavery. Brown and his band overran the arsenal and rounded up a handful of hostages who were held in the Armory fire engine house.
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On 10/16/1946 ten high-ranking Nazi officials were executed by hanging for their crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, and war crimes during WW II.
On 10/16/1941 the Nazis advanced within 60 miles of Moscow.
On 10/16/1846 the first use of Ether as a painkiller was recorded.
On 10/16/1793 Marie-Antoinette was beheaded.
On 10/16/1773 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the first public statement against the British Parliament's Tea Act was printed.