Today in Fire History 4/7
On 4/7/1982 just after midnight, seven people died in a fire after a drunk driver hit the wall of the Caldecott Tunnel (then-northernmost) bore, on State Route 24 between Oakland and Orinda in California. This is one of the few major tunnel fires involving gasoline, a cargo considered to be highly flammable. The tunnel complex consisted of three bores 0.7 miles long side-by-side with a slope of approximately 4.7%, going downhill from the entry portal to the exit portal. A westbound driver drifted out of her lane and struck the tunnel wall, stopping in the left-hand (fast) lane almost halfway through the tunnel. She was later ruled to have been legally drunk at the time. The initial crash partially blocked traffic. At midnight traffic was light and generally traveling at high speed. A double tanker (fixed tank plus a trailer tanker) carrying gasoline and a bus arrived at the bottleneck. The tanker hit the car and stopped almost exactly halfway through the tunnel. The bus hit either the car or the tanker; the bus driver thrown clear of his vehicle was killed. The tanker was leaking gasoline into the gutters, and small fires had started around the leaks. The burning gasoline was flowing down to the drainage system. Then 20 fireballs ripped through the tunnel and an unstoppable fire raged for hours inside. A natural draft and the 4.7% grade created a chimney encouraging the smoke to flow uphill toward the oncoming vehicles. The tunnel ventilation system remained off except for a brief period when the level of carbon monoxide exceeded the trigger level. Four vehicles (a car, a beer truck, and two pickups) were trapped behind the burning tanker. Two people died in the initial crash, five were killed by the smoke and fire, and two were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
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On 4/7/1871 an Albany, New York firefighter was killed while operating at a major fire.
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On 4/7/1913 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter died after falling from a ladder at the Armour Beef House at 43rd & Packers.
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On 4/7/1924 a Los Angeles, California firefighter died at a second-alarm fire at 1320 South Main Street. “Truck 5 was ordered to the roof to start ventilation of the three-story commercial building. The firefighter stepped on a flush-mounted glass skylight and fell three floors. He died the following day of head injuries.”
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On 4/7/1955 a Ketchikan, Alaska firefighter was killed “fighting a fire in the basement repair shop of the Smith Electric Company in Ketchikan. Three other firefighters and police officers were overcome by smoke and gases but were revived shortly after. The victim, who was wearing a Scott Air Pak, had been in the fire building for an estimated 20 minutes before he was rescued and brought outside.
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On 4/7/1963 a Newark, New Jersey firefighter died at a two-alarm fire on South 12th Street. He suffered from smoke inhalation while fighting a structural fire. He was treated and taken home, where he later collapsed.
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On 4/7/1969 a Waco, Texas firefighter died “while operating at a smoldering silo filled with sawdust at 2420 Jackson Avenue, a collapse occurred burying him and another firefighter. Despite the efforts of other firefighters in digging the men out, he died from suffocation.”
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On 4/7/2000 a Winterset, Iowa firefighter died from multiple blunt trauma after a fuel tank exploded. “A fire started when salvage workers ignited grass and nearby woods as they worked to dismantle two old, rusting 12,000-gallon elevated fuel storage tanks. The grass fire was extinguished, and the salvage workers decided to use a blowtorch to cut a small hole near the drain of the tank that had already been pulled to the ground. The hole was intended to allow the attachment of a tow chain, which would be used to pull the tank to a salvage yard. As the hole was being made with a blowtorch, the tank emitted a hissing sound and suddenly exploded. The firefighter was killed instantly when he was struck by flying debris. The top of the tank, which was torn away in the explosion and weighed over 900 pounds, flew over 114 feet before coming to rest. A salvage worker was also killed, and eight firefighters and a civilian received injuries. Analysis of the tank contents revealed that the tank contained residual gasoline and other petroleum products.”
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On 4/7/2012 a Decaturville, Tennessee firefighter “died from injuries sustained when the roof of a burning bar and grill collapsed on him. Two other firefighters on the interior attack team were injured but according to reports were pushed outside of the structure by the victim just before the collapse. The roof of the restaurant collapsed, and firefighters were not able to rescue him.”
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On 4/7/2010 four children and one adult died in a pre-dawn Sulphur Well, Kentucky mobile home fire that destroyed or damaged three manufactured homes. ?
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On 4/7/1920 the 265-room Lincoln Hotel in Seattle, Washington was destroyed by a fire that killed three and injured five people shortly after midnight. “The fire spread rapidly, smoke filling the building and causing panic among the guests who rushed to the elevators only to find them jammed on the second floor. The stairways were filled with smoke and the guests were forced to return to their rooms, from which they were rescued by firemen with ropes and scaling ladders.”??
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On 4/7/1895 Clark & Wheeler's Electrical Works was destroyed by a fire in Newark, New Jersey; the 300’ by 10’ brick building was burned to the ground.
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On 4/71893 Delaware, Ohio a fire at Insane Asylum caused panic, but no one died.
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On 4/71854 the Steamer Gazelle exploded in Canemah, Oregon, leaving twenty-five dead and injured twenty-five.
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On 4/7/1976 the first United States/Japan Fire Research/Safety Panel met in Gaithersburg, Maryland.??