Today in Fire History 6/17
6/17/1972 Boston, MA a collapse occurred during a four-alarm fire at the Hotel Vendome, 170 Commonwealth Avenue killed nine and injured eight firefighters. A portion of the rear wall suddenly collapsed during overhaul operations. “Built in 1871 and massively expanded in 1881, the Vendome was a luxury hotel located in Boston's Back Bay, just north of Copley Square.” The fire started in an elevator shaft sometime around 2:00 p.m. “At 2:35 p.m. Box 1571 was received at Boston Fire Alarm. It took nearly three hours to stop the 4–alarm blaze. Apparatus at the scene included 16 fire engines, 5 ladders, 2 aerial towers and 1 heavy rescue. All apparatus had full crews. Once the fire was out, the BFD commenced a routine overhaul operation. Then, at 5:28 p.m. without warning, the fire in the seven-story hotel that was under control, killed nine firefighters and injured eight others when the five upper floors of the southeast section of the building collapsed, carrying them down to the street below.”
6/17/2001 three firefighters were killed when an explosion rocked a warehouse in Astoria, Queens, (New York City) on “Father’s Day.” “At 2:19 p.m. a phone call to the FDNY Queens Central Office reported a fire at 12-22 Astoria Blvd, in the Astoria Section of Queens, New York. For almost 80 years, the Long Island General Supply store has been a fixture in the Long Island City section of Queens serving local contractors and residents with all of their hardware needs. Unfortunately, that included propane tanks and other flammable liquids. Two structures were involved in this incident. Both buildings were interconnected on the first floors as well as the cellars. FDNY Units arrived within 5 minutes of the dispatch and gave the signal for a working fire. Firefighters were making good progress but at 2:48 p.m. something went terribly wrong. Witnesses on the scene report hearing a small explosion followed by a huge blast. The shock wave from the blast blew down every firefighter on the street and knocked down the exposure wall onto the sidewalk, right on top of firefighters venting the building. Subsequent investigations revealed that two local kids were in the rear yard of the building when unbeknownst to them they knocked over a can of gasoline. The gasoline ran under the rear door, into the basement eventually finding an ignition source in the form of the water heater. When the water heater kicked in, it ignited the gasoline. As firefighters began working in the building the fire caused the explosion of a large propane tank illegally stored in the basement.”
6/17/1875 a Hartford, CT firefighter was killed while operating at a fire involving the railroad car shops.
6/17/1881 an Evansville, IN firefighter “died after being overcome by the effects of a 2-alarm fire in a 2-story addition of the 6-story building on June 16, 1881. He had been operating at the Armstrong Furniture Factory on Franklin Street.”
6/17/1882 Boston, MA a cotton mill fire and collapse killed two firefighters and injured nineteen.
6/17/1893 a Coney Island, New York firefighter died after he fell through the roof of the Bass Hotel when it collapsed.
6/17/1901 a Harlan, IA firefighter sustained injuries on 6/16/1901 “when a wall to a corn crib had collapsed on him, while operating at a stable fire. He died the next day from the injuries.”
6/17/1913 two Minneapolis, MN firefighters died fighting a fire in North High School, 18th and Fremont Avenues North. They were laying lines onto a porch roof when an attic roof collapse pushed a brick gable wall out onto them. One, on the porch, and the other, on the ground, were buried in debris with four other firefighters; both sustained injuries that caused their deaths within a few hours. The second firefighter passed away from his injuries one day later on June 18, 1913.
6/17/1919 an Albany, New York firefighter was killed while operating at a six-alarm fire that destroyed a five-story brick hotel.
6/17/1947 two Queens, New York (FDNY) firefighters “were killed when a 35-gallon gasoline tank blew up on a burning speedboat moored 400 feet offshore. The tank struck them after it crashed through the cabin of the launch that they had boarded to get to the fire.”
6/17/1960 an Evansville, IN firefighter “died from the injuries he sustained after being caught in a wall collapse at fire on Buchanan Road. He was taken to Deaconess Hospital where he was pronounced dead.”
6/17/1965 a Chicago, IL firefighter “suffered a fatal heart attack while fighting a garage fire at 4016 N. Kilbourn Avenue.”
6/17/1990 two Ravenswood Aluminum Company (West Virginia) firefighters “died after being overcome after a Halon fire suppression system had been activated.”
6/17/1999 a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania firefighter “was a member of a truck company that was fighting a three-alarm defensive fire in a three-story brick building that had last been used as living quarters for nursing students. The firefighter participated in numerous tasks on the fireground including establishing a water supply to his truck company for master stream operations, ventilation, placement of ground ladders, and forcible entry. The fire had just been brought under control when the call went out that a firefighter was down. He had become dizzy at the aerial ladder turntable while operating the ladder pipe and was assisted to the ground by other firefighters. Upon reaching the ground, he collapsed of an apparent heart attack. ALS was provided by on-scene EMS crews and the firefighter was transported to the hospital but later died. The cause of death was listed as “arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease”. The fire was found to be caused by arson and suspects were arrested.”
6/17/2011 a Du Quoin, IL firefighter died “while fighting a commercial fire in Pinckneyville, Illinois. The two-building fire started in the Pinckneyville Antique Mall and spread to the adjacent Kunz Opera House. The Du Quoin Fire Department responded to the fire as one of nine mutual aid agencies. The firefighter was on a ladder near the east wall of the Antique Mall when the wall collapsed. He suffered head and neck trauma and was airlifted to St. Louis University Hospital where he succumbed to his fatal injuries.
6/17/2014 a 5:40 p.m. fire killed three children, and one adult at Northside Jacksonville, FL double-wide trailer home that was destroyed by the fire.
6/17/2013 an explosion and fire at a laminate manufacturing plant in Postville, Iowa, injured three people in a non-combustible three-story, 150,000-square-foot building when chemical vapors used in the manufacturing process exploded after an employees tried to restart a furnace that had shut down. A wet-pipe sprinkler system provided complete coverage, but it was not effective because the explosion damaged the piping resulting in a $10 million loss.
6/17/1932 the oil tanker Cymbeline exploded and burned in the dry-docks of Montreal, Canada killing twenty-one and injuring sixty-three.
6/17/1925 Fort Sill, OK the Field Artillery school burned; seven double quarter two-story frame buildings were damaged.
6/17/1882 Gadsden, AL conflagration, sixteen buildings were damaged.
6/17/1881 Ludington, MI conflagration; started in a saloon, near to the center of the business section of the town and spread rapidly.
6/17/1850 Paddle-wheeler "G P Griffith" burned off Mentor OH 206 died.
6/17/1958 a bridge under construction in Vancouver collapses, killing fifty-nine workers.
6/17/1981 a battle between Moslems and Christians in Cairo, fourteen killed.
6/17/1972 the White House "plumbers" break into Democratic National headquarters at the Watergate Hotel.
6/17/1963 Supreme Court rules against Bible reading/prayer in public schools.
6/17/1894 the 1st U.S. poliomyelitis epidemic breaks out, Rutland, VT.
6/17/1885 the Statue of Liberty arrived in NY.
6/17/1863 Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford chartered, 1st accident insurer.
6/17/1837 Charles Goodyear obtains his 1st rubber patent.
6/17/1775 the battle of Bunker Hill began.
6/17/1579 Capt. Drake claims California for England.
6/17/1397 the Union of Kalmar established between Denmark, Sweden and Norway.