Today in Fire History 3/20

On 3/20/1905 in Brockton, Massachusetts a boiler explosion, and fire claimed fifty-eight lives at the R. B. Grover & Company, a four-story wooden (heavy timber) shoe factory. There were 360 of the 450 employees working when the old out-of-service fire-tube boiler was reconnected. The faulty boiler erupted with a force comparable to 661 pounds of dynamite, causing the roof of the factory to buckle, and each floor caved in on the next, dropping wooden beams, heavy machinery, and other debris into a heap. The explosion caused gas lines to rupture creating a firestorm that extended to four acres with the destruction of five buildings, and four houses and damaged three other homes. A second boiler explosion in Lynn, Massachusetts resulted in the creation of the nation's first Board of Boiler Rules within the Department of Public Safety and the development of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.

On 3/20/1970 an incendiary fire at the Ozark Hotel in Seattle, Washington claimed twenty lives and injured thirteen more after a flammable liquid was poured and ignited on the first-floor level with two open stairways and quickly spread throughout the building leaving the stairs and corridors useless. “When firefighters arrived at the hotel after being alerted to the fire while extinguishing a trash fire in the street nearby, they were met with a rapidly advancing fire that trapped dozens in the old wooden interior structure. Multiple occupants were forced to jump from upper-story windows to escape the flames while others were unable to make their escape. The Ozark Hotel was located at 2038 Westlake Avenue in the Cascade section of the city. The 5-story Type III ordinary construction building was constructed about 60 years before the fire. The walls were of reinforced concrete, and the floors and the roof were of wood. The ground floor had several commercial establishments and covered an area of 4,200 square feet. The hotel portion of the building contained 60 rooms on the upper floors. Two open wooden stairways originated on the ground floor and terminated at the fifth story. The building had a fire standpipe system serving all floors but lacked fire sprinklers or an automatic fire alarm… An engine company had just finished extinguishing a rubbish fire when a passerby indicated there was a fire in a nearby hotel. It was 2:40 a.m. The firefighters could see smoke above the roofs of the surrounding buildings. As they responded they requested a full assignment… When the fire had been extinguished, an investigation revealed it was of incendiary origin. Two almost simultaneous fires had been started with flammable liquids in the two stairways. Because there was no night clerk on duty and because there was no automatic fire protection, the fire quickly spread throughout the building, rendering the corridors and stairways useless for evacuation. As a result, 21 occupants perished, either from smoke inhalation or from injuries suffered when they jumped from the upper stories. There were never any arrests made for the arson fires and the case remains unsolved… The fire did result in changes to the local building and fire codes. City ordinances were amended to require buildings with four stories or higher to have fire-resistant stairways and doors or a sprinkler alternative. After another fire in the Seventh Avenue Apartments killed 12 residents, the ordinances were extended to buildings with three stories or less to have at least two exits. The addition of an exterior fire escape was one of the approved methods of compliance. The code changes had the unintended result of triggering a homeless crisis in the city as many landlords rather than comply with the ordinance, elected to vacate the upper floors of their downtown buildings. As a result, the upper floors of many buildings including hotels, apartments, and single room occupancies were closed.”

On 3/20/1928 an Omaha, Nebraska firefighter “died from the injuries he sustained after having fallen from the roof of the Barker Block Office Building at 306 S. 15th Street while operating at a fire.”

On 3/20/1932 a Saint Paul, Minnesota firefighter “died from injuries in a fall from the roof at March 9 fire, Rose & Weide.”

On 3/20/1943 a Saint Louis, Missouri firefighter “died while directing the firefighting efforts at the Goodwill Industries warehouse at 713 Howard Street in north St. Louis City. When the north wall of the warehouse started wobbling, he rushed up the fire escape to warn his firefighters. When the north wall collapsed, he and seven other firefighters were injured. The firefighter was trapped under the collapsed wall. Rescuers quickly dug him out, but he had a skull fracture and died en route to the hospital.”

On 3/20/1948 a Lynn, Massachusetts firefighter died “while operating at a two-alarm fire in a storage shed at an electric plant. Firefighters were attempting to hook a chain to a wall, so it could be pulled away when a violent magnesium explosion occurred. A half-dozen men were hurled through the air by the force of the blast and landed on the ground. The victim was thrown into a Caterpillar tractor and suffered massive head injuries. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.”

On 3/20/1949 a Los Angeles, California firefighter died during a fire at the Star Distributing & Manufacturing Company (electrical manufacturing company), Third and San Pedro Streets, Box 1236. Upon arrival they found heavy smoke coming from the basement. He and three other firefighters donned Gibbs breathing apparatus and took a line down into the basement. He became separated from his company and was later found by rescuers in several feet of water under the stairway.”

On 3/20/1970 two Passaic, New Jersey firefighters were killed when the interior of a burning four-story brick tenement building collapsed. Arriving firefighters found a fire in the building. Hose lines were stretched while several tenants were removed. It was thought that the fire was under control when suddenly the roof and all four floors suddenly fell into the basement. Five firefighters operating on the first floor were caught in the collapse. Members quickly moved to rescue their trapped comrades from the brick and wood timbers of the upper floors of the fire-damaged structure. Several firefighters were trapped for more than an hour in the debris. The two firefighters were crushed in the collapse and died. Three other firefighters were pulled from the rubble and survived their injuries.

On 3/20/1971 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter died “during an extra-alarm fire at a vacant building at 715 E. 63rd Street. He and another firefighter were operating a hose line when the building suddenly collapsed. The firefighters were trapped under rubble that had fallen from the second and third floors of the building.”

On 3/20/1980 an Elizabeth, New Jersey firefighter died “while making an interior attack on the third floor at an extremely hot and smoky four-alarm fire in a three-story brick bank building, where he collapsed. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was started, he was removed from the building, and rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”

On 3/20/1984 an Austin, Texas firefighter “died as a result of second and third-degree burns over 50% of his body, sustained March 10th when he was caught in a gas tank explosion.”

On 3/20/1993 a Jersey City, New Jersey firefighter “was near his home when a passerby told him about a fire on Palisade Avenue near Hutton Street and he immediately ran there and began helping two fellow firefighters raise a 35-foot ladder to evacuate the building. But the three firefighters slipped on ice and the ladder struck overhead power lines, electrocuting him. He was killed at a three-alarm fire in the three-story rowhouse at 411 Palisades Avenue.”

On 3/20/2001 an Anderson Township, Ohio firefighter died in a structural fire in a residence with persons trapped. As firefighters approached the scene, smoke was visible. The first floor of the structure was searched, and fire in the bedrooms was controlled with a handline. There was still a significant amount of fire in the attic, and the incident commander gave the order to evacuate the building. An exterior attack was made on the fire with handlines and a master stream. After the fire was knocked down, three firefighters made entry into the first floor. A soft spot on the floor was noted as firefighters worked their way down the hall. Additional groups of firefighters were working to control a fire in the basement. Conditions were worsening on the first floor and they needed to leave the structure. As they turned to exit, the firefighter fell through the soft spot on the floor into the basement. The firefighter that had been working with him attempted to reach down through the hole and pull him back to the first floor. After four unsuccessful attempts, the firefighter left the building and alerted other firefighters to the situation.”

On 3/20/2002 a Palisade, Nebraska firefighter “collapsed on the front lines while battling a wildland fire. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.”

On 3/20/2009 a fire destroyed the Egyptian-themed entrance to Empress Casino in Joliet, Illinois, the casino was evacuated before firefighters arrived, and no one was injured. The fire is believed to have been started by welders working on a kitchen duct system at about 10:00 a.m. “The building's unusual construction, which includes "void spaces" inside walls and second and third ceilings, may have allowed the blaze to quickly spread past a firewall and kept crews from accurately targeting the fire.”

On 3/20/1995 a sarin gas attack on the subway killed twelve and injured 6,000 in Tokyo, Japan, during the morning rush. Five two-man teams of terrorists from the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult converge at the Kasumigaseki station and release the deadly gas.

On 3/20/1979 in Linden, New Jersey the Exxon oil refinery explosion and fire in a 90-foot processing unit at the 1,500-acre complex injured six at the plant that processes about 275,000 barrels of crude oil daily into lighter oils and gasoline products about 12:30 a.m.

On 3/20/1915 in Hoosick Falls, New York several buildings were destroyed by a fire that started in the Easton Thorpe block, from a heater, and extended to the business section of the town.

On 3/20/1913 a downtown Carroll, Iowa fire originating in the basement of a department store in the Masonic Temple building was completely destroyed and damaged the adjoining building.

On 3/20/1912 the San Bois #2 coal mine explosion killed seventy-three in McCurtin, Oklahoma around 7:00 a.m. The blast was the seventh to occur at the mine in a decade, each one resulting in fatalities. The explosion was so massive that witnesses reported that a fifty-foot tongue of fire had erupted from the mine's entrance. ?

On 3/20/1911 in Cisco, Texas a fire destroyed several wood frame buildings in the business block that originated in a restaurant. ?

On 3/20/1910 a fire destroyed the main building of the Cherokee Seminary at Tahlequah, Oklahoma; this was one of the oldest institutions of the Cherokee Nation.

On 3/20/1905 a coal mine explosion in Thurmond, West Virginia at the Bush Run and Red Ash Mine killed twenty-four.

On 3/20/1902 in Lexington, Kentucky 282 children were safely evacuated from a fire at the “state school of reform” around 1:00 a.m. that extended to the buildings used as offices, a dormitory for boys, and the manual training building.

On 3/20/1872 the Ohio Falls Car Works, in Jeffersonville, Indiana was destroyed by fire around 2:00 p.m. that started among shavings in the planing mill and spread to the remainder of the works and lumber yard. “The buildings alone covered five acres of ground, besides a number of sheds and lumber yards” and employed about 700 men. “One man was missing, and it is feared is burned to death.” ?

On 3/20/1944 a bus fell off a bridge into the Passaic River in New Jersey that killed sixteen.

On 3/20/1345 the “Black Death” (bubonic plague caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium) was allegedly created from "a triple conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the 40th degree of Aquarius” and swept across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; despite these scholars claimed, it is now known that bubonic plague, bacteria primarily carried by fleas ?

On 3/20/1942 General MacArthur vowed, "I shall return" ?

On 3/20/1863 Civil War Battle of Pensacola Florida

On 3/20/1845 former members of the Whig Party meet and establish the Republican Party to oppose the spread of slavery

On 3/20/1816 the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right to review state court decisions?