Today in Fire History 12/27

On 12/27/1983 in Buffalo, New York a propane gas explosion leveled seven buildings, killed seven (five firefighters), and injured at least fifty people. The explosion occurred at a warehouse at about 8:30 p.m. as firefighters were arriving on the scene to a reported liquid propane gas leak. The incident occurred at the site of a four-story warehouse (Type III ordinary and Type IV heavy timber construction) building at the intersection of North Division and Grosvenor Streets. An employee was moving a 500-lb. propane tank with a forklift truck dropped it, breaking off a valve. Propane gas started leaking eventually reaching an open flame. When the fire department arrived, they reported “nothing showing.” Approximately 37 seconds after the chief announced his arrival, the tank exploded, instantly killing the five firefighters and two civilians. The explosion injured approximately sixty other people, damaged a dozen city blocks, and caused millions of dollars of damage.

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On 12/27/1886 two Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighters died from injuries they sustained at the Temple Theater 717- 721 Chestnut Street.

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On 12/27/1892 two Milwaukee, Wisconsin firefighters “died of smoke inhalation at a rapidly spreading general alarm fire that destroyed two large tanneries. The bodies of two civilians were also found in the rubble two days later.”

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On 12/27/1917 a Boston, Massachusetts firefighter was killed while fighting a four-alarm fire at 7 Sears Street, in the heart of the wholesale paper district. He was fighting flames from a fire escape on the second floor of the burning building, and slipped on the ice and fell to the ground fracturing his hip. He died later that day from the injuries he received at the fire.

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On 12/27/1922 a Louisville, Kentucky firefighter was overcome by smoke while fighting a fire at LaPalma Restaurant. He died 5 days later.

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On 12/27/1941 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter died from injuries from a fall at a fire. “On December 20, 1941, he was fatally injured while fighting a fire at a brewery on West 21st Street, 2125 Blue Island. He was fighting the fire from atop a ladder when the water pressure of his hose threw him off balance. He fell more than twenty-five feet to the ground and broke his back. He was treated at St. Anthony’s Hospital, where he succumbed to his injury on December 27.”

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On 12/27/1949 a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighter “died from injuries he received at a 2nd alarm fire at 117 Callowhill Street when a wall fell.”

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On 12/27/1950 a Rochelle, Illinois firefighter died while fighting a fire in downtown Rochelle. “The fire started in the basement of a commercial building; he was operating inside the basement when the building collapsed. Firefighters from ten area fire departments responded to the fire, which burned for more than twelve hours in sub-freezing temperatures. Two commercial buildings that also contained five second-story apartments were destroyed in the fire, leaving fourteen residents homeless.”

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On 12/27/1961 a Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighter “died of smoke inhalation while attempting to rescue several people trapped on the upper floors of a blazing hotel during a two-alarm fire.”

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On 12/27/1965 a Kansas City, Kansas firefighter “died after he collapsed while operating at a fire at the Stubbs Building, at 645 Minnesota Avenue. He was standing beside two other firefighters when he collapsed. He was transported to Providence Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”

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On 12/27/1976 a Brooklyn Park, Anne Arundel County, Maryland firefighter “died as a result of massive burns sustained the previous day, when he and another firefighter were caught in an explosion and flashover.”

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On 12/27/1980 a Little Rock, Arkansas firefighter died fighting a house fire. “While opening the roof at an extremely smoky and stubborn dwelling fire. A crew of Little Rock (AR) firefighters became trapped when a flashover occurred, thereby preventing their egress from the roof. Short-handed firefighters stretch a line to the front porch so that the fire could be knocked down to allow the trapped men to leave the roof. Suddenly, one firefighter collapsed in full arrest.”

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On 12/27/1992 a Feds Creek, Kentucky firefighter was “severely injured during a roof/ceiling collapse after an explosion in a hardware store. During surgery for his cervical vertebra, he suffered a reaction to anesthesia and slipped into a coma. He died 18 months later due to an infection.”

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On 12/27/1996 a Forsyth County, Cumming, Georgia firefighter died while operating at a fire. “On arrival, firefighters found heavy fire showing from the basement and first floor of a three-story frame building housing a dozen condominiums. Approximately 15 minutes after the arrival of firefighters, four of the men had gone to the second floor to check for extension. Without warning, the roof collapsed in a pancake fashion, trapping one firefighter on the second floor. Everyone was forced to back out of the building, as it became fully involved. Firefighters made an exterior attack and it was not until 12 hours later that his body was found in the charred rubble.

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On 12/27/2010 five occupants were found dead from Carbon Monoxide poisoning after a car was left running under a Hialeah, Florida motel room. The car was left running on the bottom floor in a single-car garage with the interior stairway door leading to the second floor slightly opened, allowing the CO gas to seep upstairs.

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On 12/27/2005 the Cross Plains, Texas conflagration killed two and destroyed 130 homes from wildland fire in the northern plains of Texas. The majority of fuels were grasses. Drought conditions escalated fire conditions in December 2005. The area only received 10% of the normal precipitation, a cold front with a corresponding dry line with winds over 29 mph and gusts to 38 mph, the relative humidity (RH) dropped to 12%.

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On 12/27/1975 a mine explosion killed 431 in Chasnala, India.

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On 12/27/2013 a fire in a coach of an express train traveling from Bangalore to Nanded in southern India, near the small town of Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh state, killed twenty-six passengers, many of whom were trapped and suffocated after the doors failed to open. Exit doors of Indian trains are customarily locked at night, while the carriage windows are covered with bars, making escape all but impossible. Many bodies were found near the jammed doors. Sixty-seven passengers were in the carriage when the fire started, and more than a dozen people were transported to hospitals with injuries. Most of the passengers were asleep at the time of the fire. The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit and started around 3:45 a.m. in a railroad sleeping car.

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On 12/27/1957 near Amonate, Virginia a coal mine gas explosion and flash fire killed eleven; the blast occurred about 6:30 p.m., 500 feet underground and two miles from the main entrance of the mine.

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On 12/27/1934 the “Central Congregational Church in Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts was destroyed in a spectacular fire. Box 2466, was struck at 9:05 p.m. and went to 4 alarms. When the steeple got going it looked like a giant “Roman Candle.” the church was a total loss.”

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On 12/27/1928 in Key West, Florida the Lighthouse Tender Poinsettia caught fire and exploded when a match was struck in the galley to start cooking breakfast, killing one and injuring three. Docked at her berth at the navy yard, the entire port side of the craft was blown away.

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On 12/27/1908 eight buildings were destroyed by fire in Oneonta, New York, and the whole business section was threatened. The fire started in the Arlington Hotel building and spread rapidly along the block of wooden buildings.

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On 12/27/1837 the Steamboat Black Hawk explosion near Natchitoches, Louisiana killed fifty on a cold wintry night, while the vessel was ascending the Red River, on her passage from Natchez to Natchitoches. The boat had a full load of passengers and freight. She had just reached the mouth of Red River when the boiler exploded.

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On 12/27/1780 American troops raid Hammonds Store near Fairforest Creek, on Bush River, South Carolina defeating the British and loyalists.

On 12/27/1846 Iowa was admitted as the 29th State of the Union.

On 12/27/1864 the Confederate Army under General Hood retreated across the Tennessee River.

On 12/27/1900 Prohibitionist Carry Nation smashed her first bar at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas.

On 12/27/1969 United States and North Vietnamese forces engaged in battle near Loc Ninh.

On 12/27/1979 the Soviets army took over Afghanistan.