Today in Fire History 7/25
On 7/25/1877 an Ottawa, Ontario, Canada firefighter died from injuries he received on June 24, 1877, after “a fire broke out in the lumberyard of the E. B. Eddy Mill, which is still located across the river from Ottawa in Hull. A bucket brigade was formed at first, but the fire quickly grew to enormous proportions far beyond their capabilities. Thousands’ of Ottawa citizens watched the huge fire from the suspension bridge and Parliament Hill. Some went across to help at the fire scene including members of the Ottawa Fire Department. The firefighters fought gallantly, and although a strong wind threatened to spread the fire into the city, the blaze was under control and confined to a 10-acre section around 10:00 p.m. Firefighters remained on the scene all night extinguishing hot spots before returning to their stations. The next day one firefighter was confined to bed suffering from smoke inhalation. His condition slowly deteriorated until he passed away at 11:40 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25, 1877.”
On 7/25/1883 a Brooklyn, New York (FDNY) firefighter “was injured on July 19, 1883, at a fire at 16 Furman Street. A spark from a hoisting engine stationed opposite Pier 2 on Harbeck’s Stores, at 10:30 in the morning, burned three ships to the water’s edge, two lighters, and consumed the entire cargo as well as destroying the dock shed, which was 350 feet long and 60 feet wide. The fire caused the probable loss of at least twenty sailors and injured thirteen firefighters, one fatally. One firefighter of Ladder 3 was working in the shed along with members of Engines 6 and 7. Without warning the main mast of “Lawrence Delap” of Annapolis, Nova Scotia swayed and fell full on the burning shed. The shed was cracked, broken, and flatten like a shell. Cries of help could be heard from the ruins. The firefighter was buried under the blazing boards of the roof. In the excitement following the fall, his disappearance went unnoticed. When found after several minutes his head was the only thing showing through a pile of burning boards. His hair was burnt off, his scalp severely scorched and the upper part of his head “roasted to a deep yellow color.” He suffered painfully for six days before expiring on July 25, 1883.”
On 7/25/1894 three District of Columbia, Washington, DC, firefighters died at a warehouse and stables heavily involved in a fire, with extension to the adjoining Knox’s Express Stables at 2nd & B Streets, N.W. “A general alarm was sounded, and firefighters went to work on the blaze. As four members of Engine 1 were working inside the original fire building, a wall of the express stable collapsed into a rear alley, blocking the rear exits of the warehouse. The men were injured by the falling bricks and were now trapped inside the burning building. Their brother firefighters came to their aid immediately, but not before three of the men burned to death. The fourth man was seriously burned and was off duty for 75 days. Only minutes after the men were removed from their fiery grave, the upper floors of the warehouse collapsed in a heap of red-hot rubble. The fire also claimed the lives of 150 horses.”
On 7/25/1902 an Albany, New York firefighter died “while operating at a general-alarm fire in a public market building, he and two other salvagemen (firefighters) were throwing covers on the third floor when the building suddenly collapsed. When the three men were located, one firefighter was found to have had his skull crushed by a timber and killed. It was the third fire in the building in two days.”
On 7/25/1917 a Quincy, Illinois firefighter was injured on “Monday, July 23, just after 2:00 p.m. when a Ford motor car backfired and caught fire at 12th and Broadway. Engine Company #6 responded to the general alarm. When the crew arrived, the firefighter grabbed a fire extinguisher and headed toward the car. When he was within three feet of the vehicle, its gas tank exploded, covering him with flaming gasoline, burning him severely, and causing internal injuries from the heat and toxic vapors he inhaled. He was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital and was attended to for two days, but the burns he received were too severe. On July 25, 1917, he succumbed to his injuries.”
On 7/25/1957 a Miami, Florida firefighter died “while investigating a dust collection silo, he accidentally came in contact with high tension lines and was killed instantly.”
On 7/25/1967 a Detroit, Michigan firefighter “did not hesitate to join the fire team as they attempted to restore calm to the riot area. He was attempting to organize units at Mack and Saint Jean to quell some of the fires. At 12:50 a.m., gunshots were fired, and chaos broke out. At the end of the gunfire, he was lying dead on the ground. It is unclear who fired the shots that killed the firefighter. Nobody was held criminally responsible for his death. He was the first of two firefighters that would die during the Detroit riots of 1967.”
On 7/25/1973 an Omaha, Nebraska firefighter “died after suffering smoke inhalation at a fire at 2870 Cass Street.”
On 7/25/1987 a Columbus, Ohio firefighter was killed on a 3rd-alarm fire after he fell through a hole in the floor into the basement. Tests revealed that he died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.” “On Saturday 3-Unit to an alarm was reported at the Mithoff Building located at 151 N. High St. in downtown. At 10:40 the Assistant Chief upgraded the assignment to a working 2nd alarm. This added more Firefighting Companies. The Companies were fighting the fire with heavy smoke conditions. The firefighter fell into the burning basement thought a hole burnt into the store’s floor. Ladders and ropes were lowered into the floor opening and many other rescue attempts were made to save the firefighter. This was determined an arson fire and the firefighter’s death was ruled to be a murder.”
On 7/25/1997 a Caribou, Canada firefighter died after responding to “a fire in a 75- year-old two-story single-family-dwelling. During the fire attack, he advanced a 1?-inch hose line through the living room door to a point approximately three feet inside the room. Shortly thereafter, the floor above the living room collapsed, pinning him to the floor. He died of suffocation after running out of air in his tank.”
On 7/25/2015 a fire on the 14th-floor outdoor pool deck at the Cosmopolitan Casino and Hotel on the Las Vegas, Nevada strip, a 61-story luxury high-rise resort, sent flames and heavy smoke into the air, one person to the hospital, and caused 2 million dollars damage. Artificial palm trees made of polyethylene foam plastics contributed to the fire growth; the “plastic trees burned like solid gasoline.” Few codes regulate combustible decorative materials outside of buildings.
On 7/25/2013 a fire destroyed a building inside the old Joliet, Illinois prison, used in the movie "The Blues Brothers". The fire started in a large warehouse around 3:15 a.m. the prison, which was built in the 1850s, was closed and its gates welded shut in 2002.
On 7/25/2009 dozens of people were killed and injured when wildfires spread across France, Spain, Sardinia, and Greece.
On 7/25/1962 a propane gas tanker truck explosion killed ten and injured sixteen in Berlin, New York.
On 7/25/1911 in Winfield, Kansas one thousand, 400 of whom were children, state inmates of the State Hospital for the Feeble-Minded were saved from a fire that destroyed the main building of the institution. The fire started from the defective insulation of electric light wires. “Spiral chutes instead of fire escapes were used successfully in sending the feeble-minded children to the ground and all escaped safely.”
On 7/25/1892 three hundred buildings were destroyed by fire in Bay City, Michigan.
On 7/25/1892 a horse farm fire in Middleburg, Maryland killed sixteen racehorses at the Bollinbrook Stables in Carroll County. The 110-box stall building was destroyed.
On 7/25/1891 a liquor wholesale house on Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas, burned about 700 barrels of whisky. The fire extended to several buildings.
On 7/25/1875 in Newark, New Jersey an excelsior planing mill was destroyed by fire.
On 7/25/1873 a huge fire ravaged the city of Baltimore, Maryland.
On 7/25/1924 a Gates, Pennsylvania mine explosion killed ten at the Frick Coal and Coke Company.
On 7/25/1917 a coal mine explosion in New Waterford, Nova Scotia killed sixty-two; about 270 men were in the mine when the explosion occurred.
On 7/25/2000 a Concorde jet crashed near Paris after takeoff killing 113 passengers.
On 7/25/1956 Andrea Doria and Stockholm collided in a heavy Atlantic fog, fifty-one died.
On 7/25/1978 the 1st "test-tube baby" was born in Manchester, England.
1943 during WW II Mussolini falls from power.
1917 during WW I Mata Hair was sentenced to die.
1898 Puerto Rico was invaded during the Spanish-American War.
On 7/25/1832 the 1st U.S. railroad accident left one dead; “four people are thrown off a vacant car on the Granite Railway near Quincy, Massachusetts.”?
On 7/25/1759 during the French Indian (7 Years') War the British captured Fort Niagara from the French.