Today in Fire History 12/8
On 12/8/1961 a fire erupted out of a 9th-floor trash chute at Hartford Hospital and extended down a corridor like a blowtorch killing six patients, five visitors, and four hospital staff members in Hartford, Connecticut. “The fire broke out at the hospital when a discarded cigarette made its way down a trash chute that extended from the subbasement through to the top floor of the 13-story building. The fire smoldered for some time before a door to the chute was opened, providing an influx of oxygen to the fire and igniting gases in the chute that had accumulated. Smoke quickly began to appear on many of the upper stories. Either because it was not latched or perhaps because it was the weakest link, the chute door on the ninth floor blew off, allowing heat and flames to escape directly into the corridor. Very quickly, fire escaping from the chute ignited the combustible ceiling tile and progressed to both the north and south sides of the building. The burning tiles dropped to the floor and ignited wainscoting, causing fire and heavy smoke to quickly move down the ninth-floor corridor. While this was occurring, nurses, doctors, and other hospital staff raced against time to shut patient room doors, close smoke doors in the hallway that separated the north and south sections from the central corridor area where the trash chute was located, and secure patients as much as possible. These swift actions ensured that the rest of the 108 patients on the floor at the time of the fire survived. The investigative report showed that contributing factors to the loss of life included the trash chute opening directly to the corridor, flammable ceiling tiles that contributed to high flame spread, a lack of sprinklers, the south corridor smoke door being unlatched, extended dead-end corridors, and a lack of positive latching on patient room doors, among other deficiencies. Within days of the fire, the state of Connecticut limited smoking in hospitals and banned combustible building materials. The use of trash and laundry chutes were discontinued too unless constructed with a charging room that separated chutes from main corridors with fire-safe construction. Over the next few years, improvements were made to Hartford Hospital. Sprinklers were installed in corridors, stairwells, and patient rooms. Rolling door latches were replaced with latches that held doors more securely. Moreover, many of these changes found their way into national codes, including the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 101?, Life Safety Code?, which at the time was still titled the Building Exits Code.”
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On 12/8/1881 a fire killed at least 620 people and injured hundreds more at the Ring Theater in Vienna, Austria. The fire started from gas lights above the stage that inadvertently lit some prop clouds hanging over the stage, the iron fire curtain was not lowered. “The theater was featuring the second night of Jacques Offenbach’s opera Les Contes d’Hoffman, which was proving popular with both the wealthy and middle class of Vienna. According to the custom of the time, the wealthy theater patrons who sat up front near the stage did not arrive until the last minute so the two balconies at the Ring filled up first. It was about 6:45 p.m. when a stagehand took a long-arm igniter to light the row of gas lights above the stage. He inadvertently also lit some prop clouds that were hanging over the stage…The flames quickly hit the stage curtain, but the theater’s established fire procedures were not followed. The theater’s iron fire curtain, used to restrict fire, was not lowered, nor were available water hoses used immediately. Worse, the stage managers panicked and shut off the gas totally, cutting off light in the theater. The situation dissolved into chaos. The balconies became clogged as the exits jammed. A fire brigade brought ladders, but they were too short to reach even the first balcony. Despite an attempt to use a curtain to create a net, some people jumped from the balconies, not only killing themselves but also crushing people on the ground floor…Finally, safety nets were brought in that allowed people to jump from the balconies, saving as many as 100 people, according to witnesses. The Royal Family of Austria arrived at the theater as the disaster was ending and immediately began collecting relief funds for the victims and their families. Crown Prince Rudolf was particularly emotional, crying upon seeing the hundreds of lifeless bodies. The estimated death toll was somewhere between 620 and 850 people.”
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On 12/8/1912 a Bayonne, New Jersey firefighter died “while carrying hose at a fire in a Catholic church, he collapsed after suffering an acute heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died a short time later as a result of its effects.”
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On 12/8/1927 a Boston, Massachusetts firefighter died “from inhalation of smoke and gases from a fire he was at on December 5 at Box 7433, (East Fifth & ‘K’ Streets). The fire at 650 East Fourth Street, South Boston, at 1825 hours, was caused by persons looking for movie picture films with a lit match, causing an explosion.”
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On 12/8/1929 a Brooklyn, New York (FDNY) firefighter “died as a result of smoke and gas inhalation while operating at a fire.”
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On 12/8/1935 a Baltimore, Maryland firefighter died “while pulling hose at a two-alarm fire involving a church under construction at Box 149. He suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died of peritonitis hernia.”
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On 12/8/1947 a Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada firefighter “died while operating at Fire Call Box #26, for a fire at Laurin’s Store on Main Street.”
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On 12/8/1975 a Queens, New York (FDNY) firefighter died after he was injured on November 19th at Box # 22-4773, Jamaica Avenue & Parsons Boulevard. “While overhauling at an arson fire in the basement of a household goods discount store one firefighter was seriously injured, and a second firefighter was killed; several other firefighters were injured, when they were caught in the explosion of aerosol insecticide cans. The second firefighter died while en route to the hospital after inhaling a combination of poisonous fumes, natural gas, and carbon monoxide poisoning at the fire. The firefighter ran out of the basement to get help for his downed brothers, reentered the basement after taking some oxygen, and collapsed. He was removed and rushed to the hospital, where he died on December 8th as a result of inhaling the same mixture that killed the other firefighter. A total of nine other firefighters were also overcome. None of the men who were injured were wearing breathing apparatus, as the department policy at the time was that it was "optional" as determined by the company and/or chief officers depending on the incident. This incident served as one of the catalysts in the policy change making it mandatory to wear self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) at all structure fires.”
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On 12/8/1996 a Somers, Connecticut firefighter was electrocuted when his self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) tank came into contact with a power line carrying 23,000 volts at a residential structure fire. A snowstorm was responsible for the downed power line.
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On 12/8/2011 a Worchester, Massachusetts firefighter died in a three-story wood-frame residential fire at 49 Arlington Street that was reported around 4:18 a.m. “Responding to reports of a civilian trapped on the 3rd floor, firefighters conducted a primary search. After the search was completed, the incident commander ordered all firefighters from the building and implemented defensive firefighting operations. At 4:43 a.m., a partial collapse of the roof and rear porches occurred. A resident of the building continued to insist that his roommate was still trapped in the building. The fire had been knocked down and it was determined that another search of the structure would be conducted in hopes of locating the missing roommate. Approximately 4 minutes into the search, a structural collapse occurred and trapped two members of Rescue 1.” The firefighter was crushed and fatally injured in the collapse. A second firefighter was seriously injured but was rescued from the building.
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On 12/8/2018 a Coxsackie, New York firefighter “died at a fire on 51 Washington Avenue, in the Washington Arms Apartments, after a fire broke out on the top floor and attic.”
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On 12/8/2019 a fire in a factory in India's capital New Delhi killed at least forty-three people. “Many of the victims were asleep in beds in the factory, resting between shifts, when the fire began. Investigators said the blaze was sparked by an electrical short circuit. Most of the deaths were caused by people inhaling poisonous gases in the cramped factory. One man who lived in the area reported that he had awoken to see the flames shooting from a fourth-floor window of the building. He went into the building, and on the third floor he saw 20 or 25 people lying on the floor.”
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On 12/8/2014 a mother and two young children were killed when a plane hit their Gaithersburg, Maryland home, a total of six people died in the crash and fire about one mile short of its destination of Montgomery County Airpark.
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On 12/8/2014 two fires raged in downtown Los Angeles, California. One deliberately set, destroyed a massive block-long 7-story, 1.3 million ft2, wood-frame residential complex under construction and damaged two adjacent high-rise (15-story) government office buildings and part of the 110 Freeway around 1:20 a.m. in the downtown area. Shortly after 4:00 a.m. a second large fire 2 miles west of the first fire was reported in a mixed-use building.
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On 12/8/2010 in Santiago, Chile a fire, during an inmate brawl, spread through the overcrowded prison, killing eighty-one and seriously injuring fourteen
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On 12/8/1922 the Astoria, Oregon conflagration destroyed the business district of the oldest city in the state. The city was in ruins, and hundreds of persons were homeless after a fire started in a restaurant and spread to other buildings. “Local firefighters who resorted to dynamiting in a vain effort to try to stop the conflagration.”
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On 12/8/1919 in downtown Pasco, Washington several buildings were destroyed by a fire, that started in the Pasco Drug Store and spread to the Bank of Pasco and the U.S. Post Office building; eventually, six-building were destroyed, and a 16-year-old drug store employee died.
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On 12/8/1916 in Emporium, Pennsylvania the Aetna Powder Company explosion injured six when thousands of pounds of smokeless powder ignited and exploded around 1:05 p.m.
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12/8/1903 in Sherman, Texas the Sherman Cotton Compress Company was totally destroyed by a fire that was discovered at 11:00 a.m.
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On 12/8/1881 a fire killed at least 620 people and injured hundreds more at the Ring Theater in Vienna, Austria. The fire started from gas lights above the stage that inadvertently lit some prop clouds hanging over the stage, the iron fire curtain was not lowered
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On 12/8/1864 the Church of La Compana fire killed about 2,000 in Santiago, Chile, a Jesuit church located downtown, during the celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The temple was adorned with “a profusion of gas lights and wall coverings,” and the altar had a large statue of the Virgin Mary standing over a half-moon, huge candelabra. The fire started shortly before 7:00 p.m. when a gas lamp at the top of the main altar ignited some of the veils that adorned the walls and spread to the rest of the veils and the wood roof. Somebody tried to put it out by smothering it with another cloth but managed to only make the fire grow. The attendees, mostly women, panicked and tried to escape. The side doors (that opened inward) had been closed leaving space to accommodate more people, leaving the main entrance as the only exit. Big hoop skirts worn during that period made the escape very difficult if not impossible. The main wood frame tower of the masonry church collapsed inwards around 10:00 p.m. The tragedy, contributed to the organization of the first Volunteer Firemen's Corps in Santiago, on December 20 that year.
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On 12/8/1941the United States declared war on Japan, President Franklin Roosevelt requested, and received, a declaration of war; Jeanette Rankin, Montana Republican and the 1st woman elected to Congress, cast the sole Congressional vote against the U.S. declaration of war.
On 12/8/1993 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into law.
On 12/8/1542 Mary Queen of Scots was born.