Today in Fire History 4/25
On 4/25/1854 a fire in the William T. Jennings Building in Manhattan, New York (231 Broadway) claimed the lives of eleven firefighters. While battling the blaze the top floors, as well as a large iron safe, collapsed into the 2nd floor killing the firefighters. “A fire broke out at the large tailoring establishment of W.T. Jennings & Company, near City Hall. Two firefighters were on the scene, surveying operations from an adjacent roof. Lowering the halyards of the building's flagpole to the street, they attempted to pull a length of hose up to their position, whence they could advantageously hit the flames. Soon after they started the water, the rear wall of Jennings' collapsed onto a setback, crushing several firefighters operating on the second floor. As others rushed to extricate them, a firefighter directed the stream onto heavy timber rafters that were in danger of igniting. From below, calls were heard that the water was scalding the trapped men and their rescuers, but he decided that it was a risk that needed to be taken, if it meant saving the roof from collapsing on the men below. In the end, eleven firefighters perished, and twenty-four were hurt.”
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On 4/25/1878 three Cobourg, Ontario firefighters died while operating at a 2:00 a.m. fire on Division Street, a 3-story building, the vacant Windsor Hotel that had retail stores on the street level. “Due to the extreme fire condition, a defensive attack was started, and as the fire grew, the roof and all partitions fell in, leaving the walls unsupported. Sometime later, as crews were directing hose streams, eight men were buried when the front wall collapsed, killing the three firefighters.”
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On 4/25/1905 a Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighter died at “a five-story brick warehouse stocked with furniture, cigars, and dresses that was fully involved in fire upon the arrival of firefighters, with extension to other buildings. While acting as battalion chief, the firefighter was killed when he fell from a ladder while directing operations. Many other firefighters were injured and overcome while operating at the five-alarm blaze.”
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On 4/25/1916 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter “was fatally injured when he fell on his ax while fighting a fire at 3442 S. Cottage Grove Avenue.”
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On 4/25/1919 a San Francisco, California “lost his life while operating at an apartment house fire at Arguello and California.”
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On 4/25/1925 a Wichita, Kansas firefighter “lost his life from burns received at the Golden Rule Refinery fire.”
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On 4/25/1926 a Milwaukee, Wisconsin firefighter “died from burns suffered from the Marsh Wood Product Co. fire on April 21, 1926.”
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On 4/25/1935 a Salem, Oregon firefighter died while operating at a major fire, which destroyed the state capitol building, he was killed when he was caught under a collapsing cornice.
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On 4/25/1979 a Los Angeles, California firefighter was “killed during firefighting operations at the Mullin Lumberyard, 7151 Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood. The firefighter was operating a ladder pipe from the top of an aerial ladder. The ladder pipe assembly came loose from the aerial ladder and knocked him from his position. He fell about 50 feet to the ground. It was determined that the cause of the fire was arson.”
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On 4/25/1984 two Mena, Arkansas, U.S. Forestry firefighters died while operating at the Rainbow Springs fire. “A fire started in a logging slash in the Mena District of the Ouachita National Forest. The area experienced high fire danger on this day, with several new starts that all saw unusually high fire behavior for the fuel conditions. The two firefighters were members of the Poteau Tractor Crew. Ground Crews were conducting a burnout operation when there was a tremendous build-up of the fire. The ground crews disengaged, and approximately 5-10 minutes later the bodies of the two firefighters were discovered; both died of asphyxiation and burns.”
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On 4/25/1994 the first of three intentionally set fires in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota occurred in large metro-area high schools. The Burnsville High School was a sprawling two-story building and one of the largest high schools in the state of Minnesota at the time. Constructed in 1955, major additions were made in 1977, 1978, and 1979. At the time of the fire, the building was approximately 413,000 square feet in size and housed about 2,200 students. The initial notification was made to police at 11:49 p.m. (April 25) through the transmission of an intrusion alarm to a central station-monitoring service… Preliminary investigation revealed multiple points of fire origin, the most severe of which was the commons area near the auditorium lobby and inside adjacent locker bays. An additional fire appeared to have been ignited in a rear exit system adjacent to the auditorium stage; no communication between the fires was observable. Some form of liquid accelerant, which contributed to the rapid fire spread, appeared to have been used in all areas of fire origin. Once ignited, the fire spread to the decorative ceiling material, which contributed to the spread of the fire… The majority of the building was not equipped with automatic sprinkler protection; however, sprinklers had been installed to protect the auditorium stage and the newer, southern section (gymnasium area) as part of a remodeling project. The fire burned up to and activated the first four sprinklers in this section along with an additional seven sprinklers on the stage, activated by heat buildup within the higher stage area. The fire was stopped at the sprinklers and did not spread beyond these points… At 5:47 a.m. maintenance personnel arriving for work discovered a fire in progress at the Edina High School. This building recently had been upgraded with automatic sprinklers and a complete, fully addressable fire alarm system. The fire originated in an assistant principal's office, located in the administrative section of the building, and also involved a liquid accelerant. Two sprinklers in the office extinguished the fire. Very little smoke or fire damage occurred outside the room of origin. Particularly impressive in this fire was that the school's switchboard and computers, located in the adjacent office space, were not damaged and were fully operational following the preliminary investigation. At about the same time as the Edina High School fire, a fire was discovered at Minnetonka High School. This fire was simultaneously reported by the school's janitor and the alarm-monitoring company in response to a sprinkler water flow alarm. Multiple fires appeared to have been started in the administrative offices and a staff mail room. Once again, the use of a liquid accelerant was suspected. ln this incident, 11 sprinklers, including two in the exit corridor, activated and quickly extinguished the fire. The corridor sprinklers were activated when the fire spread from one of the rooms of origin into the corridor as a result of a fire door that had been "wedged" open. A suspect was seen driving away from the Minnetonka High School and was arrested and charged with the arson fires.
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On 4/25/2011 a twenty-five-year-old man, a six-year-old boy, a five-year-old boy, and a five-month-old girl were killed in a home fire that is believed to have started from an electrical circuit and extension cord that was attached to a space heater in Richmond, Kansas.
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On 4/25/1982 an antique exhibition explosion killed thirty-three in Todi, Italy.
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On 4/25/1961 a mother and her two teenage daughters died in a fire that swept the upper floor of their Pittsville, Wisconsin two-story frame home.
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On 4/25/1911 an Elk Garden, West Virginia coal mine disaster left twenty-three men dead.
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On 4/25/1910 a fire at Hotel Thomas in Cincinnati, Ohio left three dead.
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On 4/25/1902 the town of Herkimer was almost destroyed by fire.
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4/25/1896 the Bennett Avenue fire in Cripple Creek, Colorado began around 1:00 p.m. when a gasoline stove overturned on the second floor of the Central Dance Hall on Myers Avenue. Eight city blocks were lost.
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On 4/25/1892 a fire destroyed the Colby Academy in New London, New Hampshire.
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On 4/25/1915 Allie troops began the invasion of Gallipoli during World War I.
On 4/25/1862 during the Civil War, the Battle of New Orleans began.
On 4/25/1859 ground was broken for Suez Canal.
On 4/25/1781 British General Lord, Charles Cornwallis retreated to Wilmington, North Carolina, after being defeated at Guilford Courthouse.