Today in Fire History 10/29

On 10/29/1974 the Federal Fire Prevention & Control Act of 1974 created the U.S. Fire Administration. In 1971 the Nation had approximately 12,000 citizens and 250 firefighter fatalities, 300,000 serious injuries, and $11.4 billion in property damage annually. Congress passed P.L. 93-498, the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act, in 1974 establishing the United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Fire Academy (NFA). Congress found that: “(1) The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control made an exhaustive and comprehensive examination of the Nation's fire problem, with detailed findings as to the extent of this problem in terms of human suffering and loss of life and property. (2) The United States had the highest per capita rate of death and property loss from fires of all the major industrialized nations in the world. (3) Fire was an undue burden affecting all Americans, and fire also constitutes a public health and safety problem of great dimensions. Fires killed 12,000 and scarred and injured 300,000 Americans each year, including 50,000 individuals who require extended hospitalization. Almost $3 billion worth of property was destroyed annually by fire, and the total economic cost of destructive fires in the United States was estimated conservatively to be $11,000,000,000 per year. Firefighting was the Nation's most hazardous profession. (4) Such losses of life and property from fires were unacceptable to Congress. (5) While fire prevention and control was and should remain a State and local responsibility, the Federal Government must help if a significant reduction in fire losses is to be achieved. (6) The fire service and the civil defense program in each locality would benefit from closer cooperation. (7) The Nation's fire problem is exacerbated by:?(A) Indifference with which some Americans confront the subject (B) the Nation's failure to undertake enough research and development into fires and fire-related problems (C) Scarcity of reliable data and information (D) Fact that designers and purchasers of buildings and products generally give insufficient attention to fire safety (E) Fact that many communities lack adequate building and fire prevention codes (F) Fact that local fire departments spend about 95 cents of every dollar appropriated to the fire services on efforts to extinguish fires and only about 5 cents on fire prevention (8) There is a need for improved professional training and education oriented toward improving the effectiveness of the fire services, including an increased emphasis on preventing fires and on reducing injuries to firefighters. (9) A national system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of fire data is needed to help local fire services establish research and action priorities. (10) The number of specialized medical centers which are properly equipped and staffed for the treatment of burns and the rehabilitation of victims of fires was inadequate. (11) The unacceptably high rates of death, injury, and property loss from fires can be reduced if the Federal Government establishes a coordinated program to support and reinforce the fire prevention and control activities of State and local governments.”

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On 10/29/2012 the Breezy Point conflagration during hurricane Sandy burned over 80 buildings in the Jamaica Bay community of Queens, New York. Firefighters arrived at 11:00 p.m. finding chest-high water in the streets as flames engulfed home after home; water and high winds whipping the coast kept the 6-alarm blaze raging for several hours. “A rare meteorological event occurred merging Hurricane Sandy with a nor’easter to create a “perfect superstorm.” With its record low pressure, the storm stretched almost 1,000 miles in diameter and quickly became the largest and most damaging Atlantic Basin storm to hit the East Coast. As the superstorm slammed into New York City (NYC) at the peak of high tide during a full moon, it brought a storm surge of 13.8 feet and 65-mile-per-hour (mph) sustained winds and gusts up to 92 mph. The storm sparked a seldom-experienced conflagration in Breezy Point, Queens, as well as other multiple-alarm fires and lifesaving emergencies around the city.”

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On 10/29/1998 sixty-three people died and around two hundred were injured by a fire on Hisingen Island in Gothenburg, Sweden at the Gothenburg discothèque. About 375 youths, the ages 12–25, were crowded into the building with an occupant capacity of 150 persons. “The fire safety was generally poor on the site.” The fire started around 11:42 p.m. on the third floor in or near the stairway. “The fire was started by four teenagers aged 17–19, who were denied entry to the discothèque because of an argument “on the premises of the Macedonian organization on the third floor, where a discothèque for secondary school students had been arranged to celebrate Halloween. It was set in a stairway serving as the club's emergency exit. As a result, the emergency exit was blocked, and a single stairway became the only available escape route. Many young people were forced to jump out windows to safety, but since these were 7.2 feet above floor level and 16 feet above ground level outside the building, many were injured in the process. The first emergency call was received at 11:42 p.m., but due to the background noise, it was sometime before the operator could understand what the caller was trying to say. At 11:45 a so-called "major call-out" took place from a fire station on the island, and four minutes later the first rescue team arrived on the scene. Six other fire crews were dispatched a short time afterward. About 60 young people were rescued by firefighters with self-contained breathing apparatus, 40 of whom were led down the staircase and 20 carried out through the windows. Others managed to escape on their own. A total of 63 young people were killed and 213 were injured, of whom 50 were serious. For some time afterward, it could not be determined whether the fire had been accidental or caused by an arson attack, but speculation soon started that the fire, whose victims were mainly immigrants, had been started with xenophobic or racist motives. Posters were distributed around Gothenburg with the text "60 young immigrants have died, now 60 Swedes must die." It was later ascertained that the four suspected arsonists were themselves immigrants from Iran.”

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On 10/29/1866 a Baltimore, Maryland firefighter died “while operating at a fire in a commercial building, he was killed instantly when the cornice of the building fell to the street, crushing him to death.”

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On 10/29/1910 a Milwaukee, Wisconsin firefighter “was suffocated by smoke at a fire at the Phoenix International Light Company, 317 Chestnut Street.”

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On 10/29/1915 a Binghamton, New York firefighter “died one week after inhaling smoke and super-heated gases while fighting a fire at Ballard and Ballard Dry Cleaning, located at 24 Charlotte Street.”

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On 10/29/1933 a Somerville, Massachusetts firefighter “died after suffering the effects of smoke inhalation.”

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On 10/29/1940 a York, Pennsylvania firefighter “collapsed beside the apparatus while operating at a fire at the York Paper Manufacturing Company plant, at 242 W. Princess Street. They had responded to an alarm for a fire in a boiler room. He was rushed by police to York Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. The cause of death was listed as coronary occlusion.”

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On 10/29/1954 four Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighters “died as a result of injuries sustained the previous day, when they were caught in an explosion at a laboratory. This brought the total number of men killed up to nine at this point. Another firefighter died November 3rd, the final two died November 26th.”

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On 10/29/1966 a Portland, Oregon firefighter “died from a forty-foot fall off a catwalk when flames suddenly shot up from the sawdust bin at the B.P. Johns Furniture Corporation fire.”

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On 10/29/1974 two Bronx, New York (FDNY) firefighters died “while lowering a 35-foot aluminum ladder after a three-alarm fire in a railroad yard, they were killed instantly when the ladder came in contact with a 13,000-volt overhead power line. The men were taking up from the fire.”

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On 10/29/1977 a Detroit, Michigan firefighter “lost his life in a backdraft while fighting a fire in a vacant dwelling.”

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On 10/29/1981 a Winthrop Harbor, Illinois firefighter “died while fighting a residential fire, he was searching for the seat of the fire on the first floor of the house.”

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On 10/29/1991 a Wheeling, West Virginia firefighter died after he radioed that he was entering the building through an overhead garage door. Personnel began searching for him. He was found inside the garage in front of a vehicle.

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On 10/29/1994 a Newark, New Jersey firefighter “was climbing down Truck 7's aerial ladder after roof operations at a two-alarm fire at 62 Chester Avenue, that was reported at about 1:00 a.m. As he passed a saw to a fellow firefighter, that came in contact with a power line, electrocuting both of them. He was killed, and the other firefighter was injured. One civilian died in the fire, which had been extinguished at the time of the accident.”

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On 10/29/2007 a Washington D.C. structure fire at 641 4th Street NE. critically injured two firefighters and caused significant injuries to two others before being extinguished. The fire extended to two other exposed row homes.

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On 10/29/2008 a Crossville, Alabama “firefighter died while he and another firefighter advanced a hoseline to the front door of the residence. He sent the other firefighter back to the fire truck for a tool. When the firefighter returned, the first firefighter was gone, and the nozzle remained by the doorway. At about the same time, the fire inside the structure intensified. The missing firefighter became disoriented and transmitted a distress message from the interior. Firefighters were not immediately able to enter the structure due to fire conditions. Firefighters discovered the missing firefighter about 4 feet from the back door, but by the time firefighters reached him, he was deceased. The cause of death was smoke inhalation and thermal burns.”

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On 10/29/2013 four people were killed in an early morning house fire in Mount Vernon, New York in a two-story house that trapped residents inside a basement apartment. The fire began in a small sedan and extended into the building; two of the victims, a son, and daughter, initially escaped but were killed trying to save their parents, who were locked basement.

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On 10/29/2012 the Breezy Point conflagration during hurricane Sandy burned over 80 buildings in the Jamaica Bay community of Queens, New York. Firefighters arrived at 11:00 p.m. finding chest-high water in the streets as flames engulfed home after home; water and high winds whipping the coast kept the 6-alarm blaze raging for several hours. “A rare meteorological event occurred merging Hurricane Sandy with a nor’easter to create a “perfect superstorm.” With its record low pressure, the storm stretched almost 1,000 miles in diameter and quickly became the largest and most damaging Atlantic Basin storm to hit the East Coast. As the superstorm slammed into New York City (NYC) at the peak of high tide during a full moon, it brought a storm surge of 13.8 feet and 65-mile-per-hour (mph) sustained winds and gusts up to 92 mph. The storm sparked a seldom-experienced conflagration in Breezy Point, Queens, as well as other multiple-alarm fires and lifesaving emergencies around the city.”

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On 10/29/2013 in York (Great Britain) one hundred snakes were killed in an intense house fire.

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On 10/29/2007 an Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina house fire killed seven college students, where more than a dozen students slept. “The fire struck sometime before 7:00 a.m. and burned completely through the first and second floors, leaving only part of the frame standing. The waterfront home — named "Changing Channels" — was built on stilts, forcing firefighters to climb a ladder onto the house's deck to reach the first living floor.”

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On 10/29/1929 America's Great Depression began. The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression between 1929 and 1939 that began after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion began around September 4, 1929, and became known worldwide on Black Tuesday, when the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929. The economic shock transmitted across the world, impacting countries to varying degrees, with most countries experiencing the Great Depression from 1929. The Great Depression was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century and is regularly used as an example of an intense global economic depression.

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On 10/29/1998 Senator John H. Glenn, Jr., was launched into space again at age 77; nearly four decades after he became the first American to orbit Earth, as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

On 10/29/1863 the Battle of Wauhatchie (Brown's Ferry) concluded.

On 10/29/1850 the Sagamore Steamship Explosion occurred in San Francisco, California.

On 10/29/1652 Massachusetts Bay Colony declared independence and proclaimed itself to be an independent commonwealth.

On 10/29/1618 Sir Walter Raleigh was executed.