Today in Fire History 12/23
12/23/1882 a Buffalo, New York firefighter died while operating at a fire involving a printing house, he was killed when he was caught under a collapsing wall.
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12/23/1895 a Little Rock, AR firefighter “died as a result of critical burns and severe head and internal injuries he sustained December 15th, when he and another firefighter were caught under a collapsing roof when battling a church fire. The other firefighter died the next day as a result of the injuries he sustained.”
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12/23/1897 a Cleveland Ohio firefighter died while operating at a fire involving a commercial block when he fell down an elevator shaft from the fourth floor.
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12/23/1911 a Brooklyn, NY (FDNY) firefighter fell from the roof of a burning building and was killed instantly at 213 Adelphi Street.
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12/23/1926 four Winnipeg, Canada firefighters died in a building that collapsed at the Winnipeg Theatre fire. “The building’s configuration, with a 1,000-seat auditorium situated on the second floor over main floor shops, was thought to be a fire hazard. On 23 December 1926, these fears were realized when the brick-veneer, wooden building was destroyed during a massive fire. By the time the fire was reported around 10:30 in the morning, it had already been burning for 30 to 60 minutes. Firefighters from Fire Hall Number 1 and 2 responded but there was little they could do but train water on the burning building from outside.” Around 11:30 a.m. large portions of the south and west walls fell, crushing the firefighters.
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12/23/1926 a Los Angeles, CA firefighter died from an electric shock while operating at a fire. “A wind-whipped storm had downed power lines, and one had fallen across a chicken coop that was made of wood and wire mesh, starting a small fire. When firefighters arrived, they found a small fire that was easily extinguished with a water-can.” The firefighter entered the chicken coop along with other firefighters, “being the tallest among them, the high-eagle front piece holder of his helmet came in contact with the wire mesh roof, which, unknown to the firefighters, was still charged with electricity. The charge ran through his metal helmet and entered his perspiring forehead, where a small portion of the helmet insulation had worn out. He was killed instantly by the jolt of electricity.”
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12/23/1945 a Wilmington, DE firefighter “died of the effects of smoke inhalation where he had been investigating a fire.?That morning, two days before Christmas, there were three unrelated alarms in the city and he decided to head for the most serious one at 524 McCaulley St., where the fire had started in a closet.”
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12/23/1948 an Elkhart, IN firefighter “collapsed while he was fighting a fire in the Ralph Brown Furniture Company Warehouse. He was transported to General Hospital where he later died.”
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12/23/1955 a Philadelphia, PA firefighter “died after collapsing at a dwelling fire at 694 N. 13th Street.”
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12/23/1962 a Hammond, IN firefighter “was killed while operating at the Illiana Storage Company fire, when an explosion occurred. Eighteen others were also injured.”
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12/23/1974 a Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighter “died while attempting to make a rescue at a five-alarm fire while off duty.”
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12/23/1975 two Dallas, TX firefighters died at a fire at the Athena condominium while helping trapped occupants to a stairwell on the 14th floor. The five-alarm fire involved a 21-story apartment house; a flashover occurred, forcing the men to seek refuge in a smoke-filled apartment. Both of their 15-minute air masks ran out of air, and they died as a result of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning before help could reach them.
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12/23/1986 a Buffalo, New York firefighter died in a 2-?-story wood-frame taxpayer fire at 838 E. Delavan Ave. Firefighters on the scene reported they found him lying on the floor, in the hall by the kitchen, in the smoke-filled second-floor apartment.
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12/23/2000 a Manchester, NH firefighter and two boys, ages 14 and 17 years, died in a two-alarm fire (Box 476) in a three-family residence. Firefighters found a working fire upon arrival with reports of people trapped inside. Two unconscious boys were located and removed from the fire building by firefighters. Apparently, the 17-year-old boy had reentered the house attempting to save his younger brother. All three died as a result of the fire that started from an overloaded electrical extension cord.
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12/23/2016 a three-alarm fire at a Kissimmee, FL hotel destroyed much of the Unno Boutique Hotel, on East Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway near Simpson Road, displacing more than 250 people just two days before Christmas. Investigators believe the fire started when several mattresses outside the hotel were intentionally ignited shortly before 4:45 a.m.
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12/23/2015 a Saudi Arabia hospital fire in the maternity ward left twenty-five dead and one hundred injured as a massive fire tore through the hospital. The fire started in the intensive care and maternity wards at Jazan General Hospital in the southwest port city of Jazan shortly before dawn. Hundreds of patients were to be transferred and rescuers used cranes to evacuate patients and injured people from the upper floors of the hospital. Load-bearing walls inside the building looked like they were on the brink of collapse, with the fire appearing to have spread into operating theatres and waiting rooms.
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12/23/2014 the $1.5 million, six-bed-room, five-bath brick house on Lake Tuscaloosa, Alabama of Dallas Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain was gutted by a “suspicious” fire.
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12/23/1988 around 10:15 a.m. a propane tank truck overturned on Memphis, Tennessee highway in a populated section of the city and released a vapor cloud that ignited. The motor vehicle accident and fire killed eight, injured nine people, and burned several adjacent automobiles. The exposure fire resulted in a BLEVE of the propane tank. Six houses, one industrial building, and thirteen vehicles were destroyed; one house and five vehicles were damaged by debris. The 10,450 (water capacity) gallons propane tank truck rolled over approximately 1-? times and skidded for a distance.
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12/23/1943 the municipally-owned Newport, RI waterworks building on West Marlborough Street was destroyed by fire. The heavy timber and brick structure (Type IV) was used for over 50 years as an elastic-goods and braiding factory; “the original structure withstood the flames for some time, but toppled when roof trusses burned.”
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12/23/1928 a Calhoun County, AL house fire left eight of the thirteen persons sleeping in the home dead. The fire awoke one of the residences who tried to spread the alarm.
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12/23/1904 a fire wiped out two and a half blocks in the business district located on the southeast corner of Fourth and Nebraska Streets in Sioux City, IA, causing an estimated 3 million dollars in damages. The fire was started by a department store Santa Claus who lit a match to demonstrate a small gasoline engine.
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12/23/1899 a coal mine near Sumner, PA explosion killed nineteen.
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12/23/1972 one of the most famous plays in the history of American football, the Immaculate Reception, occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game of the National Football League, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw threw a pass attempt to John Fuqua. The ball either bounced off the helmet of Raiders safety Jack Tatum or off the hands of Fuqua, and, as it fell, Steelers fullback Franco Harris scooped it up and ran for a game-winning touchdown. NFL Films has chosen it as the greatest play of all time, as well as the most controversial.
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12/23/1968 the crew of the USS Pueblo was released by North Korea.
12/23/1948 seven Japanese war criminals were hanged in Tokyo.
12//23/1944 General Dwight Eisenhower endorsed the finding of a court-martial in the case of Eddie Slovik, tried for desertion, and authorizes his execution, the first such sentence since the Civil War, and the only man so punished during World War II.”
12/23/1862 President Jefferson Davis declared Union General Benjamin Butler military commander of New Orleans a felon.
12/23/1783 George Washington resigned as commander in chief of the Continental Army.
12/23/1620 construction of Plymouth (MA) settlement began.