Today in Fire History 7/22

On 7/22/1913 the Binghamton Clothing Company factory fire killed thirty-one, many trapped on the fourth floor, in Binghamton, New York when workers, mostly women, initially refused to take the fire alarm seriously. About an hour after lunch, 111 people worked in the brick, four-story factory that faced the Chenango River. “Time was money” paid by “piece work” on the sewing machines and having gone through several recent fire drills, most employees did not want to stop work. Flames were discovered under a front stairway, and water was thrown on the fire “but rolls of material on the next landing went up like tinder. The stairways and elevator shafts drew the flames and smoke to the top floors, making the building like a furnace within a few minutes.”

On 7/22/1916 a massive “parade held in San Francisco, California, to celebrate Preparedness Day, in anticipation of the United States entrance into World War I, was disrupted by the explosion of a suitcase bomb, which killed 10 bystanders and wounds 40 more. The Preparedness Day parade was planned as a 3.5-hour-long procession of some 51,329 marchers, including 52 bands, and 2,134 organizations, comprising military, civic, judicial, state, and municipal divisions. At 2:06 p.m., about a half-hour, after the parade began, a bomb concealed in a suitcase exploded on the west side of Steuart Street, just south of Market Street, near the Ferry Building. Ten bystanders were killed by the explosion and forty more were wounded.”

On 7/22/1895 a Quincy, Illinois firefighter died at the Wright and Adams’ Foundry fire, located at 326 through 332 North Front Street. “Upon the arrival of the initial crews, the building was discovered to be fully involved and was, to quote the newspaper, “a seething furnace beyond all hope and salvation.” Crews concentrated their efforts on saving the machine shop department to the south and the five-story hotel to the north. A firefighter scaled a ladder to see what could be done in fighting the flames from the top of the foundry department wall. Seconds after he reached the top, the wall shook and then fell outward. He had the presence of mind to hold onto the ladder and ride it down instead of jumping clear and becoming crushed under the falling wall. Sadly, the force of the fall was too great. He died an hour later at St. Mary’s Hospital from the injuries he received.”

On 7/22/1918 a Toronto, Ontario, Canada firefighter “died of injuries received on July 20th at a Richmond Street call, where he was exposed to Nitric Acid Fumes.”

On 7/22/1936 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter of Engine 53 died “while fighting a fire at 1537 West 46th Street. He was electrocuted when he stepped on a high-tension electrical wire that was submerged in a puddle of standing water.”

On 7/22/1946 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter was overcome by smoke, collapsed, and died while fighting a rooming house fire at 4833 S. State Street.

On 7/22/1955 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter died after he was overcome by smoke “while fighting a fire at the Union Stockyards Swift Company at Racine & Exchange. The fire originated in a pile of paper cartons and was confined to the eighth floor of a building that was used as a smokehouse and had few windows. The firefighter was overcome by smoke and stepped outside the building onto a fire escape where he collapsed. He was transported to Evangelical Hospital where he was pronounced dead.”

On 7/22/1971 a Queens, New York (FDNY) firefighter was killed while operating at an alarm, Box # 99-7182, 40th Ave & 11th Street.

On 7/22/1982 a South Bronx, New York (FDNY) firefighter collapsed and died apparently after running up five flights of stairs in a Bronx apartment house, mistakenly believing that two children might be trapped in a burning dwelling. The fire company responded shortly after 7:30 a.m. to a fire on the fifth floor at 911 Brook Avenue, in the Mott Haven section. Someone on the scene told firefighters that there might be two children in the apartment, and the firefighters ran up the stairs. No one was in the apartment and the firefighters managed to quickly put out the blaze, burning food on a stove. Shortly afterward, the firefighter collapsed.”

On 7/22/1985 an Evanston, Illinois firefighter “was killed as he attempted to rescue a one-month-old baby from a burning house. Unknown to him, the child had already been removed with burns over 60% of his body and most of his right arm burned off.”

On 7/22/ 2008 a Fairbury, Illinois firefighter died while fighting a residential fire in Forrest, Illinois. The Fairbury Fire Department was one of seven mutual aid departments that responded to the fire, which was confined to the basement of a two-story house. As firefighters entered the basement with an attack line, he and three other Fairbury firefighters contributed to ventilation operations by opening first-floor windows. As they worked, the Fairbury firefighters recognized that the floor was weakening and becoming spongy, but as they were exiting the structure, the floor collapsed, and he fell into the basement. The collapse sent fire and heavy smoke throughout the house, and firefighters could not immediately begin search and rescue operations. Water streams were aimed into the basement, and firefighters were soon able to place a ground ladder through the collapsed floor to descend into the basement. The missing firefighter was found pinned under a large sofa in the basement, and he was extricated and transported to OSF Saint James- John W. Albrecht Medical Center in Pontiac, Illinois, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.”

On 7/22/2011 four people perished in a cabin fire in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania situated on a hill overlooking the Stony Point Forest Foreman building on Diamond Valley Road in the Rothrock State Forest in Logan Township, near Petersburg that was reported at about 1:08 a.m. and was extinguished by 3:20 a.m.

7/22/1997 fire broke out at Palais de Chaillot in Paris. France's Museum of Monuments and Museum of Cinema was damaged by a fire that started and swept across the roof of the east wing of the Palais de Chaillot in the Place du Trocadero, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.

On 7/22/1972 a Blacksville, West Virginia mine explosion killed nine.

On 7/22/1962 near Rillito, Arizona a missile silo explosion and fire injured twenty. “Titan officials said the explosion occurred in a switch box located on the third level, 50 feet underground.”

On 7/22/1909 the Tarpon Pier collapsed and killed five in Galveston, Texas.

On 7/22/1903 the Case Machine Company was destroyed by fire after an explosion in the paint shop in Racine, Wisconsin.

On 7/22/1859 a boiler explosion at Messrs I Washburn & Company factory in Worcester, Massachusetts injured several workers. The large steam boiler, thirty feet long and four feet in diameter, and weighing about five tons, attached to their powerful engine, exploded with tremendous force, shattering the brick engine house.

On 7/22/1991 serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer was caught in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

On 7/22/1942 during WW II 300,000 Warsaw Ghetto Jews were sent to the Treblinka extermination camp.

On 7/22/1934 John Dillinger was gunned down FBI as he leaves the Biograph Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

On 7/22/1864 the Civil War Battle of Atlanta started, Hood attacked Sherman, 8449 CSA, & 3641 US died.

On 7/22/1298 the English defeated the Scots at the Battle of Falkirk. William Wallace and an army of Scottish rebels were defeated by the English and the introduction of the deadly English longbow prompted Wallace to give up his title as Guardian of Scotland in the nation’s struggle for independence.