Today in Fire History 12/26

On 12/26/1811 the Richmond (Virginia) Theater fire killed seventy including the governor, George W. Smith. Many of the occupants were trampled in the panic. The fire began as an audience of about 600 watched "The Bleeding Nun" a short play. At the end of the first act, a chandelier ignited the scenery. The multistory brick theatre was erected around 1810 on the north side of H Street (now Broad) with an orchestra section, a first balcony, and an upper balcony, with narrow doorways. “The fire started after the curtain fell following the first act when the chandelier was lifted toward the ceiling with the flame still lit. The lamp became entangled in the cords used to lift the chandelier and it touched one of the items used in the front scenes, which caught fire. As soon as the boy worker who was operating the cords saw the flames, he fled the building. The flames rose and spread from one hanging scene to the other; 35 hanging scenes could have been lowered. In addition to the hangings were also the borders that provided the outlines of buildings and skies, among other set pieces; these, too, caught fire sequentially. Pine planks (with shingles over them) fixed over rafters with no plastering and ceiling spread the flames, which fell from the ceiling and spread extremely rapidly. The impact of the fire was worsened because the stage curtain hid the initial flames from the audience. In the panic of the fire, many people were pushed and fell, and they were unable to escape. Many people jumped out of the windows of the theatre. Others who were assembled near the window were afraid to do so. Of the 72 who died in the fire, 54 were women and 18 were men… On December 27, 1811, the Common Council commissioned a Committee of Investigation, which absolved the Placide & Green Theater Company of responsibility and blamed the inferior design and construction of the theater for the great loss of life.”

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On 12/26/1992 a lightweight wood truss roof collapse claimed the lives of two Memphis, Tennessee firefighters at the Pilgrims Hope Baptist Church. “The lightweight wood truss roof of a church collapsed just seven minutes after the first units arrived at the scene of a mid-afternoon arson fire. Two firefighters were performing fire control operations in the interior of the structure, were trapped under burning debris. Other firefighters were able to extricate them however both firefighters later died from burn injuries that resulted from being trapped under the burning structure. The Pilgrims Hope Baptist Church was located at 3084 Woodrow Street in a sparsely populated area in the northern part of the city. It was a small, single-story Type V wood-frame structure, located on a residential street in an area of widely separated single-family homes. Access to the neighborhood is restricted by narrow streets bordered by drainage ditches. The main part of the church was constructed in 1974 and a section was added-on some years later. The original building was approximately 70 feet long by 40 feet wide (2,800 square feet). The addition was approximately 30 feet long by 48 feet wide (1,460 square feet) and was located at the front of the building. The newer section had a lower roofline and the attics were separated by the brick wall that served as the original front wall of the church. The original building housed the sanctuary and worship areas, while the addition was primarily a meeting hall and dining area… The construction was Type V wood frame with 2 x 4-inch wood stud walls and pre-engineered lightweight wood truss roof supports. The frame walls were enclosed on the exterior with a single course of non-load-bearing brick veneer, and the interior finish was thin wood paneling nailed to the wall studs. The gypsum board ceiling was slightly vaulted, with a height of approximately 12 feet 6 inches over the center aisle and approximately 8 feet along the side walls. The roof deck was 1/2-inch plywood covered by ordinary composition shingles. The roof trusses were pre-engineered metal plate-connected wood trusses spaced at 24-inch centers, spanning a distance of 40 feet. The trusses over the main part of the church, where the collapse occurred, were a scissor design to provide a slightly vaulted ceiling. All of the connectors were stamped metal gusset plates providing ?-inch penetration of the pointed ends into the wood on both sides of each connection point. The attachment of the trusses to the ?-inch plywood roof decking maintained their alignment. The building was built under the requirements of the building code at the time of construction… The arson suspect apparently made entry to the church around noon with the intent of committing a burglary. Before leaving the building, he is believed to have poured some of the liquids found in the printing room over the floor and furniture in the study and ignited the fire to cover up the burglary. The room of origin reached flashover and the fire extended to the printing room. The flames quickly penetrated through the wood panel walls and traveled up in the spaces in the exterior walls, between the 2 x 4-inch studs. This gave the fire direct access to the entire undivided attic space. The wall dividing the sanctuary from the study and printing rooms extended only to the ceiling, so the fire was not restricted from extending to the void space above the sanctuary ceiling. The fire was reported by a passerby who called 9-1-1 on a mobile telephone. The caller reported a fire in a church, stating that the building appeared to be unoccupied and was on fire “all over.” The first alarm was dispatched around 1:57 p.m. and consisted of Engines 31, 26, and 19, Trucks 6 and 11, under the command of Battalion 11. Engine 31 arrived at 2:02 p.m., followed within less than a minute by Engines 27 and 26 and Truck 11. Truck 6 and Battalion 11 arrived two minutes later. The first attack hoseline was extended to the Charlie side of the building where they found fire coming through a window opening. The second hoseline was advanced to the double doors on the Bravo side of the building near the Charlie side. Truck 11 provided forcible entry to allow the second hoseline to enter through the double doors to attack the interior fire. At this time, the main body of fire was to the left of the entry point, in the smaller rooms behind a wall, and had extended only slightly into the sanctuary. The interior attack hoseline was able to knock down most of the visible fire that had extended into the sanctuary in this area. A larger body of fire could be seen extending into the sanctuary on the Delta side near a set of entry doors. The area where the fire was through the roof was to the east of the sanctuary wall. The fire had melted connections in two of three gas lines, which supplied unit heaters located behind the wall, resulting in a particularly intense fire at the point of burn-through. Some fire was encountered in the attic above them and both interior attack hose lines were operated through holes in the ceiling attempting to knock down the fire and prevent extension to the Alpha side. The crews operating these lines felt that they were making good progress at controlling the fire in the attic and did not believe that the flames had extended to the west of their positions… When Battalion 11 arrived, two minutes behind Engine 31, he assumed Command and directed Engine 31 to set up positive pressure ventilation (PPV) fans at the front of the building. Command also encouraged the hoseline crews to advance into the structure to attack the flames that were visible along the Charlie side wall of the sanctuary and in the rooms behind the wall. Engine 31 went around to the Alpha side where he encountered crew members from Trucks 6 and 11 setting up positive pressure ventilation (PPV) fans at the front door. The fans were started, but a few seconds later Command came around to the front of the building and directed the personnel to turn the airflow away from the doors since the situation did not appear to require PPV at that time… Efforts to pull ceilings and control the fire in the attic at the Charlie side end of the sanctuary continued for several minutes. Personnel from all five operating companies were intermingled and had difficulty seeing each other in the smoke-filled interior. During this phase of the operation, the 1?-inch attack hoseline that had been operated through the rear window was advanced to the center aisle of the church, approximately 25 to 30 feet west of the area where the other hoselines were being operated. A large portion of the truss roof caved in, dropping the peak of the roof down into the center aisle… The two firefighters who had been operating the hoseline in the center of the church were buried in burning roof materials and entangled in the rubble of the partially burned trusses. They were pushed down into the spaces between pews at the Bravo side of the aisle and enveloped by flames. All of the remaining personnel were close to the doors and were able to get themselves out from under the falling ceiling and escape to the exterior. The ends of the trusses remained supported by the walls, leaving a void space along the perimeter of the sanctuary. Attempts were made to reach the trapped firefighter by making entry through windows and doors.”

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On 12/26/1880 a Keyport, New Jersey firefighter “died as a result of critical burns sustained while rescuing his parents from their blazing home on November 25th.”

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On 12/26/1892 a Detroit, Michigan firefighter “died from the injuries he sustained from a falling wall.”

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On 12/26/1898 a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighter “died from the injuries he sustained while operating at a fire.”

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12/26/1902 three Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighters “were killed when operating the water tower at the Arbuckle Coffee Company fire after a wall had collapsed on them. Two firefighters were killed instantly. The third was found alive, but died shortly after he was taken to the hospital.”

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On 12/26/1908 a Providence, Rhode Island firefighter died “while operating at a fire involving a coffin manufacturing plant, he was killed when he broke his neck in a fall.”

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On 12/26/1911 a Milwaukee, Wisconsin firefighter “was electrocuted when he accidentally touched a charged wire after the fire had been extinguished on a burning telegraph pole at the corner of 8th Street and St. Paul.

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On 12/26/1921 a Louisville, Kentucky firefighter “died from the injuries he sustained on March 19, 1921, while operating at the F.W. Woolworth Company.”

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On 12/26/1929 a Boston, Massachusetts firefighter “was found crushed to death beneath fallen timbers on the third floor of a four-story toy factory building where he and his company were fighting a fire.”

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On 12/26/1944 a Spokane, Washington firefighter “responded with his crew on a second alarm to a smoky fire in the Grimmer Lomax Warehouse at Wall and Railroad Avenue. He was last seen with his crew advancing a hose on the fifth floor. The smoke conditions were terrible. He was found later when the smoke cleared, near the top of the stairs on the fifth floor. He died from smoke inhalation. Six other firefighters were overcome by smoke, two were injured when they had to use a rope to get out of the fifth floor early in the fire because of smoke and heat.”

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On 12/26/1956 a Gary, Indiana firefighter was injured on December 17, 1956, while fighting a fire at Jackson's Restaurant. A wall collapsed after an explosion, severely injuring him and several others. He was transported to Mercy Hospital where the medical staff determined that he had suffered a broken back. He died several days later on December 26, 1956.”

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On 12/26/1958 a Highland Park, Illinois firefighter “died after helping to rescue a family from their burning home. The Highland Park Fire Department responded to the fire on Elmwood Drive after a mother reported that she and her two daughters were trapped in their home by smoke. Arriving on the scene, firefighters rushed into the house to rescue the family from the burning house. The firefighter carried the mother to safety from the second floor. He became ill shortly thereafter, and he was transported to Highland Park Hospital. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead from a cerebral hemorrhage later that day.”

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On 12/26/1976 two Anne Arundel County, Maryland firefighters died after being trapped in a structure fire. Firefighters “were advancing a charged line down a hall through the front doorway of an occupied, two-story brick end row house, an explosion occurred in the cellar, turning the house into a roaring inferno. Most of the men were able to crawl to safety, but two became trapped inside when they lost water in the line. Firefighters immediately regrouped and entered the blazing structure to search for their missing comrades. One firefighter was found at a back window suffering third and fourth-degree burns over half of his body, he died 30 hours later. The other firefighter’s body was found burned beyond recognition on the first floor. A firefighter and four occupants of the house were also injured in the blaze. The loss of water was attributed to stones that were placed in the hydrant by vandals clogging the pump station.”

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On 12/26/2017 a Hibbing, Minnesota fire claimed the lives of a retired city fire captain, his wife, and two of their grandchildren. He and his wife died at their home while attempting to rescue their grandchildren in -20oF temperatures.

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On 12/26/2014 in Fayette County, Ohio a single-story, ranch-style house fire killed a 60-year-old grandmother and her three grandchildren 14, 11, and 9-year-old boys who spent the night, so she wouldn't be alone on Christmas. The fire was reported shortly after 4:00 a.m.

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On 12/26/2012 a predawn two-story, wood-frame house fire claimed the lives of four children, ages 2 to 8, and a woman and left a man in critical condition in the northwest side of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The home did not have a working smoke alarm.

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On 12/26/1955 a “5-11 alarm fire” destroyed the Wabash Railroad Freight house at 27 W Roosevelt Road in Chicago, Illinois.

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On 12/26/1921 Brooklyn, New York the Paul Ulrich Dye Company in a three-story brick building at 33 Herkimer Place was destroyed by a three-alarm fire that extended to the adjoining structure around 1:00 a.m. firefighters found difficulty in preventing the spread of the fire to Kismet Temple of the Mystic Shrine.

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On 12/26/1913 the Michigan Central Railway Depot in Detroit was destroyed by a fire that started in one of the offices (rooms) in an upper story. The thirty-year-old structure, the Third Street Depot, was being replaced by the new Michigan Central Terminus Building on Fifteenth Street, and passenger rail service was not interrupted. Three persons were believed to have been trapped inside the fire of undetermined origin.

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On 12/26/1868 the Mount Calvary, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Church was destroyed by fire.

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On 12/26/1776 General Washington and the Continental Army won the first major victory at Trenton, New Jersey.

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On 12/26/1917 Eight months after the United States enters World War I on behalf of the Allies, President Woodrow Wilson announces the nationalization of a large majority of the country's railroads under the Federal Possession and Control Act.

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On 12/26/1944 Bastogne was relieved ending the Battle of the Bulge, the German offensive through the Ardennes forest.

On 12/26/1946 the mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.

On 12/26/1966 the 1st Kwanzaa was celebrated.

On 12/26/ Presidents Harry S. Truman (1972) and Gerald Rudolph Ford (2006) died.

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Happy Boxing Day, a tradition started in England where servants and tradespeople receive gifts, known as a "Christmas box", from their bosses or employers is celebrated on December 26th each year in England, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Kenya, New Zealand, South Africa, and Trinidad.