Today in Fire History 2/21

On 2/21/1897 a Hartford, Connecticut firefighter “died of the injuries he sustained while operating at Box 26.”

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On 2/21/1899 a Milwaukee, Wisconsin firefighter was killed at the Wisconsin Chair Company fire, in Port Washington. “The entire Wisconsin Chair Company's Plant and six business and residence blocks were totally destroyed; thirty families were made homeless and destitute. Eight hundred people were thrown out of work. The needy were being cared for temporarily. A Serious Blow to City's Progress was a story from the Port Washington Star: ‘Last Sunday evening (February 19, 1899) at 9:15 fire was discovered in the veneering works of the Wisconsin Chair Company's factory and before morning the entire plant of that corporation and also six entire blocks of business houses and residences were a mass of smoldering ruins. The burned district extends from Grand Avenue on the south to Pier Street on the north and from Franklin Street east to the lake. The brick buildings on the east side of Franklin Street were saved, and one or two dwellings in the northern portion of the fire-swept district. Heroic efforts on the part of our firefighters and citizens had so far gotten the fire under control that at 10:30 it was thought the flames would be confined to the block bounded by Main, Franklin Street, Grand Avenue, and the harbor, but at that moment the firewalls of the four-story veneering works, collapsed, burying and crushing the big force pumps nearby from which the water supply was had. At about the same time, our little steam engine became disabled by overstraining, and our people were helpless. When this fact was realized the workers became paralyzed. Despair seized upon everybody and a scene of wild disorder and confusion ensued. There was a mad rush for the houses in the threatened district, and soon the streets were thronged with excited people bearing in their arms furniture, articles of wearing apparel, and household goods of every description. Everywhere in the streets and on sidewalks, in yards and alleys, in houses and barns outside the threatened district, household goods were promiscuously strewed about. Every kind of vehicle was pressed into service and goods were hurriedly conveyed to a safe spot. For six hours it seemed as though the entire city was doomed to destruction and no one within a half dozen blocks surrounding hesitated to pack up their valuables and move out.’ Meanwhile, as soon as the disaster to the force pumps and the engine became known, the Mayor wired Milwaukee and Sheboygan for aid. A prompt response was given and two companies, 4 and 10, from Milwaukee and a company from Sheboygan were sent. They arrived here between 11 and 12 o'clock and by excellent work confined the conflagration within the limits above stated. At 6:00 a.m. Monday the fire had been so far subdued that it was decided to send home the Sheboygan company. Milwaukee company No. 4 was sent home at 8 o'clock, while No. 10 remained and worked among the ruins until noon. No cause for the origin of the fire has yet been learned although the general supposition is that it caught fire from overheated steam pipes… One of the saddest incidents of the whole fire was the accident that befell two firefighters. Two Milwaukee firefighters from Engine Company 4, were working among the ruins at 3:30 when a chimney collapsed and fell on the company which was pouring water on the fire. The flames in that vicinity had been almost entirely subdued and the collapse came so suddenly that the firefighters could not get away. The two Milwaukee firefighters and a local volunteer firefighter were caught in the debris. The two unfortunate men were picked up and carried into a store close by. The volunteer firefighter’s leg was severely bruised, but he was able to go home. The two Milwaukee firefighters were removed to the Wilson House where Doctors attended them. It was found that one of the firefighter's spine was injured, but his condition was not regarded as serious. The other firefighter was not so fortunate. His spine was broken just below the base of the head and his body below his neck was paralyzed. His condition was so serious that a Priest from the Catholic church was called to administer the last rites of the church. The 8 o'clock train from Milwaukee Monday morning brought out his brother, a doctor, and his wife and her brother-in-law, a patrolman. She gave directions for her husband's removal to the depot. It was decided to take both men to Milwaukee on the 10 o'clock train and shortly before that hour, the firefighters were carried downstairs. A large crowd watched the proceedings and at the depot when the train arrived. The wounded men were placed in the baggage car on their cots. The injured firefighters had been made as comfortable as possible for the journey. Cots have been placed in a baggage car so that the sufferers might not be disturbed by other passengers. At the Milwaukee, depot ambulances were in waiting, and the seriously injured firefighter was taken to St. Mary's hospital. The not-so-seriously injured firefighter was unwilling to go to the hospital, and was taken to his home… Death relieved the brave seriously injured fellow from his sufferings at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. He was conscious up to a short time previous to his death and suffered greatly…”

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On 2/21/1917 a Memphis, Tennessee firefighter “died while operating at a fire involving several dwellings, he died as a result of smoke inhalation. He had just returned to duty after battling a case of pneumonia and it was believed that the weakened condition of his lungs might have contributed to his death from the smoke.”

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On 2/21/1919 a Newport, Kentucky firefighter “died after suffering the effects of pneumonia which he received while operating at a fire on February 18, 1919.”

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On 2/21/1932 a Portland, Maine firefighter “died in the performance of his duties, while operating at a two-alarm fire in a commercial building.”

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On 2/21/1936 a Baltimore, Maryland firefighter died while fighting a fire on the Norwegian freighter Gisla loaded with 5,000 tons of highly flammable and explosive nitrate. “The six-alarm fire burned out of control for three hours as numerous explosions rocked the vessel. While a crew of firefighters directed a stream of water into a hold of the burning ship. Suddenly, an explosion engulfed the men in clouds of nitrate fumes and smoke, forcing them to retreat to safety on shore. As a firefighter made sure he was the last man off the ship, he heard a scream. As he groped through the heavy smoke, he fell over the body of a firefighter and helped him sit up, which saved his life. As the smoke cleared for just a minute, another firefighter was found lying face down, unconscious, in a pool of water. He was carried to shore where he was found to be dead. Apparently, a powerful bow gun of one of the fireboats operating there struck the two men. It took firefighters 16 hours to bring the fire under control.”

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On 2/21/1971 a Forest River, Illinois firefighter “suffered a fatal heart attack while fighting a restaurant/dance hall fire in Wheeling, Illinois. The firefighter responded to the fire with the Forest River Fire Department, one of several mutual aid departments called to the incident. During the fire, he was overcome by smoke, but he returned to active firefighting duties after a short break. Following the fire, he collapsed while rolling up a fire hose, and died from a heart attack shortly thereafter.”

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On 2/21/2006 two Lawrence County, Alabama firefighters died at a working commercial structure fire. Just before 10:00 p.m., “they were operating under mop-up operations manning a hose at the outside front of the building, putting water on hot spots inside when the wall unexpectedly collapsed, trapping three firefighters. One firefighter was removed from the debris alive; two were pronounced dead at the scene.” “The building was approximately 50 years old and had been renovated several times with at least two additions. The exterior walls were constructed of concrete blocks. However, multiple layers of different siding materials covering the front wall of the building hid the underlying concrete block wall from view. Firefighters from several fire departments were on-scene for several hours containing the fire to the building. The heavy timber roof collapsed after burning for over two hours and mutual aid fire crews had been released. The remaining firefighters noticed that concrete block walls on both sides of the structure were starting to lean outward so sections of the walls that were bulging outward were pulled down.”

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On 2/21/2015 a Houston, Texas firefighter “fell ill shortly after responding to a residential structure fire with reports of people trapped inside. He was operating inside the structure with other firefighters when he began experiencing a medical emergency. He was able to walk out of the burning building under his power but collapsed outside shortly thereafter and went into cardiac arrest. He was immediately treated by fellow responders and transported to Memorial Herman Hospital where he succumbed to his injury two days later.”

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On 2/21/1985 the New York Bronze Powders Company's 500,000-square-foot warehouse was destroyed by fire and one worker was killed in Elizabeth, New Jersey. “Four men were working in a building where the nitrocellulose was packaged when a 55-gallon drum of the material exploded.” Nitrocellulose is a material used in smokeless gunpowder and various lacquers and polishes. “Fireballs rose 300 feet into the night sky and tens of thousands of exploding aerosol cans of paint whizzed through the smoke and flames at the eastern end of the warehouse.”

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On 2/21/2015 a three-alarm fire around 4:10 p.m. in San Francisco’s Castro District burned two buildings and displaced a dozen people started in a three-story two-unit apartment building.

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On 2/21/1971 a fire at Marywood College in Dunmore, Pennsylvania in the 71-year-old four-story brick building injured nine.

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On 2/21/1922 in the town of Brownsville, Pennsylvania several buildings were destroyed by a fire that started around 5:00 a.m. on an upper floor of the Sharpnack & Connelly building. This was the second fire in the same location within a few hours.

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On 2/21/1914 the Hartford, Connecticut Union Station of the New Haven Railroad train depot was destroyed by fire. All train service was interrupted.

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On 2/21/1903 two blocks of Main Street were destroyed by a fire that started in the basement of the new Currier Block on Main Street with “the thermometer standing at 16 degrees below zero in Barre, Vermont.”?

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On 2/21/1900 a Vergennes, Vermont Manufacturing Company was destroyed by fire.

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On 2/21/1870 near Cairo, Illinois, about fifty miles above Memphis, the Steamer Emma No. 3 burned on a snag in the river that left “many dead.”

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On 2/21/1994 double agent, Aldrich Ames was arrested.

On 2/21/1948 the National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) was formed.

On 2/21/1916 during World War I the Battle of Verdun began.

On 2/21/1862 the Battle of Valverde near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory was the first major engagement of the Civil War in the far West. “The battle produced heavy casualties but no decisive result.”

On 2/21/1848, The Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, was published in London.