Today in Fire History 11/4

On 11/4/1902 a “premature explosion of fireworks in Madison Square Garden in New York, New York killed twelve and injured fifty a number seriously. As the election excitement was at its height in Madison Square, shortly before 10 oclock, a terrific explosion of fireworks occurred, transforming in an instant the entire east side of the park into a scene of death and carnage that a battlefield could scarcely have surpassed in its horror. Panic and confusion among the crowd led to several fatalities. When the panic had subsided sixteen persons were found unconscious on the ground, and others had been horribly mutilated. It is estimated that at least 30,000 persons were present at the time of the explosions. Along the border were arranged three groups of cast-iron mortars, twenty in each group, and loaded with heavy bombs. A few minutes after 10 o’clock the first row of mortars was touched off. But before the discharge took place one of them fell over on its side and in an instant the bomb was shot into the thickest of the crowd, where It exploded and hurled the people into heaps. The felled mortar and the concussion of the explosion knocked down the rest of the row of mortars, and a thundering volley of huge projectiles plowed through the crowd. Almost instantly the second group of twenty mortars, about 100 feet further up the avenue, discharged their contents into the crowd, and a moment later the third group, evidently igniting by the showers of falling sparks, exploded in the same manner. In the panic that ensued thousands ran across the square, tripping over the seats and benches, falling, and trampling each other. The ten men responsible for the fireworks were arrested and charged.”

On 11/4/1879 a San Francisco, California firefighter “died from the injuries he sustained after a chimney had collapsed on him, at a fire on Jackson Street in Chinatown.”

On 11/4/1906 a Brooklyn, New York (FDNY) firefighter “was killed at the four-alarm Pilgrim Laundry Fire, on 3rd Street. The fire was well underway when the fire engines arrived, and it was not long after that the interior was fully involved, and floors started to collapse carrying down machinery on every story with the rapid progression of flames. The men of Engine 103, under orders, had mounted a shed of a one-story brick extension to the laundry plant and had been working there less than an hour when the rear wall began to bulge from the intense heat. The wall started to topple outward and several tons of debris fell on the extension shed. The weight of the load sent the firemen through the roof and down into the cellar of the structure. The firefighter’s body was crushed into an almost unrecognizable mass. At least a ton of bricks and iron had to be removed before his body could be reached by rescuers.”

On 11/4/1923 a Brockton, Massachusetts firefighter succumbed to injuries sustained “while operating at Box 18, Montello Street and Lawrence Street. For a fire in the grain sheds of E.A. amp; A.M. Fullerton Company, Commercial Yard, on Sunday. When the fire was nearly out, the firefighter was checking for fire extension when he came into contact with and was electrocuted by 220-volt wires that operated a grain elevator. The insulation on the wires had been burned off. A second firefighter of Squad A, while attempting to rescue him, also received an electric shock. The second firefighter, with the assistance of other members of Squad A, removed him from the inside. He was transported to the Brockton Hospital where he was pronounced dead.”

On 11/4/1936 a Brooklyn, New York (FDNY) firefighter “was trapped on the top floor of a burning five-story tenement at 112 Sullivan Street near Conover Street. Brought to safety by fellow firefighters and emergency police, he was found to be suffering from illuminating gas poisoning. For four hours, a doctor and Fire Department surgeon, worked over him in the motorized hospital, using inhalators and oxygen tanks to revive him, but at 3:10 a.m., he died. The illuminating gas also overcame three other firefighters when the fire melted a gas pipe.”

On 11/4/1950 a Saint Louis, Missouri firefighter died “while fighting a five-alarm fire in a lumber yard at 801 South Broadway, he collapsed and died a short time later.nbsp; He was found dead in an alley, a block and a half away from the 5-alarm fire that destroyed the C.J. Reinecke Lumber Company on South Broadway, and damaged a rooming house and truck terminal in the same block.nbsp; The firefighter was returning to the station house at Broadway and Valentine Street for mealtime relief from fighting the fire, which was still smoldering.nbsp; He was found by another firefighter and transported to the City Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was determined to be a heart attack after suffering extreme exhaustion.

On 11/4/1963 a Tremont City, Ohio firefighter “died from the injuries he sustained after apparently being electrocuted while fighting a grass fire.”

On 11/4/1973 two Cliffside Park, New Jersey firefighters “lost their lives while operating at a fire at Founders Restaurant on Palisade Ave. The two men were trapped in the basement and found with depleted air tanks.”

On 11/4/2002 a Lakewood, Pennsylvania firefighter died when he and “other members of his department were involved with fighting a fire in a 2-story residence. The firefighter assisted with the deployment of attack lines into the structure. About 1-? hours into the incident, he was found near a stairwell on the second floor. Firefighters removed him from the building and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead about an hour after being found unconscious. The cause of death was listed as carbon monoxide poisoning as the result of smoke inhalation. The firefighter was wearing full structural protective clothing, a personal alert safety system (PASS) device, and a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The SCBA’s air supply was depleted and the PASS device was found in the “off” position. The fire was caused by a basement wood stove.”

On 11/4/2014 a fire around 12:30 a.m. in a North Cornwall Township, Pennsylvania barn killed 20,000 five-week-old chickens.

On 11/4/1948 a forest fire damaged 37 homes in Topanga, California

On 11/4/1918 the Vallejo, California Mare Island Navy Yard powder magazine explosion killed six and injured thirty.

On 11/4/1903 the Hudson River Arsenal explosion killed six in Iona Island, New York.

On 11/4/1901 in Lisbon, New Hampshire a conflagration destroyed a large part of the business section of the town.

On 11/4/1885 the Corn-Sheller and Gin House were destroyed by fire in Alvarado, Texas.

On 11/4/1885 a boiler explosion killed one and injured one at a sugar plantation near Iberville Parish, Louisiana.

On 11/4/1928 one of New Yorks most notorious gamblers, Arnold Rothstein, was shot to death during a poker game at the Park Central Hotel in Manhattan, New York.

On 11/4/1927 heavy rain led to extensive flooding in New England that reportedly killed two hundred as a tropical storm moved north and collided with a cold front from Canada that stalled over the Hudson River Valley of New York, bringing overwhelming rain to northern New York, Vermont, and western Massachusetts.

On 11/4/1864 the Civil War Battle of Johnsonville, Tennessee.