Today in Fire History 12/13
On 12/13/1977 a fire, apparently started by a hairdryer, swept through the 4th floor of Aquinas Hall, a women's dormitory at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island that killed ten women and injured at least fifteen others. Two of the women died when they jumped from their window onto the frozen, snow-covered ground.? The fire was fed primarily from highly combustible Christmas decorations that had been put up in the corridors. Evidence suggests that the fire started in a fourth-floor sleeping room located near the end of a long dead-end corridor in the four-story non-combustible building. The first floor was used for classrooms and a chapel; the second, third, and fourth floors were occupied as girls' dormitories. The interior finish was non-combustible except for a concealed fiberboard ceiling above the suspended non-combustible mineral tile with poor compartmentation between rooms. “In that building, there were no smoke alarms, there were no smoke detectors. It was code compliant at the time but it was inadequate.”
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On 12/13/1891 a Sandusky, Ohio firefighter was killed while fighting a fire in the hold of a ship.
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On 12/13/1892 a Baltimore, Maryland firefighter died in a general-alarm fire in a cotton warehouse, when a wall fell while firefighters were stretching a line between two of the buildings. The firefighter died when a large bale of cotton fell on him, breaking his neck.
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On 12/13/1904 two Minneapolis, Minnesota firefighters died at a fire involving several buildings at 1st (Marquette) Avenue South and 5th Street. “A crew was on the top floor of the Boutell Furniture Store trying to prevent the spread of flames to it from the adjacent Peck building when the entire third floor of Boutell's burst into flame” trapping one firefighter on the fifth floor. A second firefighter died when he fell down an open elevator shaft from the fourth floor of the Peck Building.
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On 12/13/1905 two Evanston, Illinois firefighters “died while operating at the Marks Factory fire when a wall collapsed.”
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On 12/13/1912 a Worcester, Massachusetts firefighter “died after being overcome by heat and smoke.”
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On 12/13/1932 a Greenville, Ohio firefighter died from the injuries he sustained when a smokestack at the Sherman White Poultry Plant, fell and struck him on his chest.
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On 12/13/1933 a Hartford, Connecticut firefighter “died as a result of severe smoke inhalation sustained the previous day while operating at a fire.”
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On 12/13/1939 a Brooklyn, New York (FDNY) firefighter died from smoke inhalation while operating at a single-alarm fire at 1179 52nd Street.
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On 12/13/1951 a Worcester, Massachusetts firefighter “died after suffering from smoke inhalation.”
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On 12/13/1955 a Fort Smith, Arkansas firefighter died from the injuries he sustained after being caught in a collapse attempting to save a trapped worker.
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On 12/13/1964 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter died in the line of duty following a structural collapse during a commercial fire in a six-story building on West Illinois Street. “The fire started on the fourth floor of the building, which was occupied by the United States Crayon Company. The fire spread to the upper floors of the building, where it was noticed after setting off a sprinkler system and a burglar alarm.” He was operating with his company on the third floor when the fourth floor collapsed. “On December 15, a teenage arsonist, who had just been released from a reformatory, admitted to starting the fire. The following year, the arsonist was tried and found guilty of two charges of arson and one charge of murder, and was sentenced to more than fifty years in prison.”
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On 12/13/1974 a London, United Kingdom firefighter died while fighting a fire in the Worsley Hotel, Clifton Gardens, Maida Vale in London. “At 03:32 hours the London Fire Brigades began to receive multiple 999 calls reporting a fire. The six-story building spanned several Victorian terraces, and was not a hotel, but was used by a hotel group to house their employees. The first fire crews to arrive at the scene found a severe fire in progress, with numerous people screaming for help and hanging from windows across the upper floors.? Within minutes of arriving at the scene, the officer in charge sent a priority message to fire control “make pumps 8”, requesting a further four pumping appliances. Firefighters immediately set about carrying out multiple rescues using various ladders, from both the front and rear of the building, with 32 people being rescued in a short space of time.? Due to the number of rescues being required to be performed, and the size of the fire further assistance messages were sent to fire control, first to make pumps 15, then 20, and finally 30 with a further two turntable ladders also being requested. The intense heat being produced by the fire caused several stone staircases in the buildings to collapse, forcing fire crews to work charged hoses into the building via ladders.? One firefighting crew made up of three firefighters, entered a second-floor room to assist in trying to extinguish the blaze.? While the crew was battling to bring the fire under control, suddenly and without warning several of the floors above came crashing down onto them, trapping them under burning debris.? Firefighters immediately commenced a rescue operation, unfortunately, due to the amount of debris and the danger of further collapse, this became a difficult protracted operation.? The trapped firefighters were eventually released, two suffering from serious burns and one with a serious back injury. One firefighter, the last to be located, could not be saved, he was declared dead at the scene… The bodies of six residents were located on the upper floors of the building once the fire had been extinguished, some five hours after the initial call to the fire brigade.? Following a joint investigation by the London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police, it was discovered that three separate fires had been deliberately started, with fire doors being wedged open and the fire alarm disabled. A 41-year-old kitchen porter was subsequently arrested and stood trial.? at the Old Bailey, charged with three cases of arson and the murders of seven people. At a retrial, he was found guilty of the manslaughter of seven people, including the firefighter, and of three counts of arson, he was jailed for life.”
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On 12/13/2015 a fire killed twenty-three, injured twenty-three, and twenty-four were able to escape “a home for the mentally ill” in Alferovka, a village in the Voronezh region about 600 kilometers (350 miles) south of Moscow, Russia in a one-story brick building. "The fire started in a section of the home dedicated to patients who were unable to walk." "All of the patients at the Novokhopersky Neuropsychiatric Home were men and those who died were aged between 46 and 78."
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On 12/13/2015 a pre-dawn fire killed two men and a woman in a Nassau County, Florida mobile home in the 95000 block of Leo Drive, which is in the Nassauville community near Fernandina Beach around 4:37 a.m.
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On 12/13/2013 a fire started in a four-story unprotected wood-frame Williston North Dakota apartment building under construction. The fire destroyed apartments in two buildings, and six garages, which resulted in a $12 million loss in -6oF and 22 MPH winds.
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12/13/2012 five children were burned to death in Lagos Nigeria in a fire that engulfed a building in the area of Kirikiri Town. The fire was caused by a lit candle, used after a power failure. The parents reportedly lit the candle for their children while they were asleep and went back to their shop, locking the door from the outside and trapping the children inside.
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On 12/13/1916 a coal mine explosion killed twenty near Stone City, Kansas.
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On 12/13/2003 Saddam Hussein was captured.
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On 12/13/1862 the Civil War Battle of Marye's Heights during the Fredericksburg campaign; Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia repelled a series of attacks by General Ambrose Burnside of the Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg, Virginia. The defeat, one of the most decisive losses of the Union army, dealt a serious blow to Northern morale in the winter of 1862-63. Burnside considered continuing the attack, but subordinates urged him to cease, a truce was called on December 15, so that the Union to collect their dead and wounded soldiers.