Today in Fire History 7/7

On 7/7/1975 an arson fire killed twelve and injured twenty-two at the Pomona Hotel in Portland, Oregon “on skid row.” “At approximately 11:00 p.m. a fire broke out inside the Pomona Hotel (located within the former Erickson Saloon Building) on Burnside Street in northwest Portland, Oregon, in what was at the time considered "one of the toughest, largest skid rows on the U.S. West Coast. At this time, the hotel catered mainly to the impoverished, with rooms for 80 cents per night. Firefighters arrived after being notified of the fire shortly after it started, and trapped men were visible from the hotel's third floor screaming for help. One firefighter recalled men "hanging by their fingertips" from third-floor ledges of the building. The fire, which charred the majority of the 100-room hotel's hallways and doors, was put out, and the majority of the bodies recovered were discovered in the halls, where residents and guests had collapsed while trying to escape. Firefighters estimated the blaze reached a maximum of 1,000 °F (538 °C) on the building's third floor, and it caused approximately $135,000 in damage. It was determined by firefighters that the fire had begun on the hotel's second floor, where gasoline had been poured to ignite the blaze, and that the building did not have proper sprinkler systems installed. A total of eight residents were recovered from the hotel after the fire, all of whom perished from asphyxiation via carbon monoxide poisoning; an additional 26 individuals sustained significant injuries (eight of whom were listed as being in critical condition per a July 9 report). Of these 26 individuals, a further four would succumb to their injuries in the subsequent weeks and months, making the total death count 12.

On 7/7/1894 a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighter “died from injuries he sustained at a two-alarm fire at the Burr Brothers rag warehouse at 115 S. Water Street, after a wall had collapsed on June 20, 1894.”

On 7/7/1896 a Louisville, Kentucky firefighter died from injuries he received “on the morning on June 14, 1896, after a night watchman noticed a large fire in Warehouse A of the White Mills Distilling Company. The third-alarm fire brought nearly every fire apparatus to the scene. Warehouse B was only 16' away from the burning building. Engine 17 was the first fire company to arrive and began throwing water on the red-hot Warehouse B. This action saved the warehouse. As the barrels of whiskey exploded and broke open, a river of water and burning whiskey began to flow. At 10:00 p.m. three firefighters were carrying a hose line between two buildings. One of the firefighters slipped and fell causing the others to fall. Two of the firefighters caught themselves and were badly burned on their arms. The third firefighter fell, full length into the burning whiskey. Firefighters tore his burning clothing from his body. Those who witnessed the incident thought he was going to burn up on the spot. He was taken to Hook and Ladder 2 where a physician treated his injuries, but he died on July 7, 1896, after lingering with his burns for three weeks.”

On 7/7/1908 a New Bedford, Massachusetts firefighter “died after suffering the effects of smoke inhalation in the performance of his duties.”

On 7/7/1927 a Queens, New York (FDNY) firefighter “was overcome by gas and died on the way to Saint John’s Hospital. He was operating at the ruins of the Manhattan Steam Bakery Company at 43 to 51 Purvis Street. He died from carbon monoxide gas, having been created by the action of water on the hot ovens and the debris was strewn about. He had reported to duty for his day tour and went to the fire with the rest of the crew to relieve the night tour, who had been fighting the four-alarm fire for five hours.”

On 7/7/1957 a Toronto, Ontario, Canada firefighter “died of smoke inhalation at a Saint Clarens Avenue house fire.”

On 7/7/1967 a Montgomery, Alabama firefighter died in an “early-morning fire had a good hold on six stores, each ranging in height from three to four stories. Firefighters battled the flames as they ate their way through the buildings and the roofs. The department's new midship-mounted aerial truck was placed in front of one of the buildings and a ladder pipe was prepared for operation. The firefighter began to climb the aerial and was about 30 feet up, when a massive explosion suddenly occurred, blowing out the front walls of two of the buildings. He was blown off the ladder and landed alongside the truck, where he was then buried under tons of falling rubble seconds later. Upon being dug out from under the debris, it was discovered that he was dead. Nineteen other firefighters were also injured in the blast. Damages were estimated at over $1 million.”

On 7/7/2013 a driverless train carrying petroleum products derailed and exploded in a Quebec town, setting off a massive fire that killed at least one person. Four tanker cars exploded that set fire to multiple buildings in the center of the lakeside town of 6,000 people close to the U.S. border. Up to 2,000 people were forced from their homes in the lakeside town, which is about 155 miles east of Montreal and about 10 miles west of Maine.

On 7/7/1987 an explosion and fire from a gasoline tanker truck carrying nearly 7,000 gallons crashed into an ice cream parlor and pizzeria in Herborn, Germany killing fifty people at about 8:30 p.m.

On 7/7/1965 seven children died in a house fire that started in the basement; six of the children were trapped upstairs in the two-story brick Jerseyville, Illinois house.

On 7/7/1930 fireworks stored in four buildings in Neptune Township, New Jersey exploded, that killed three and injuring five. “Sheets of flames spread out and set fire to the adjoining woods in the sparsely settled section. All four of the buildings were wrecked.”

On 7/7/1911 the Cisco, Texas Avenue D fire started at 2:30 a.m. and destroyed two brick buildings on the west side.

7/7/1903 Mary Harris "Mother" Jones began the "Children's Crusade." Accompanied by child mine and mill workers, she walked from Philadelphia to President Theodore Roosevelt's home in New York State to protest the plight of child laborers.

On 7/7/1955 China announced it will provide aid to Hanoi, North Vietnam.

On 7/7/1945 Himmler committed suicide.

On 7/7/1942 Himmler decides to begin medical experiments on Auschwitz prisoners.

On 7/7/1930 construction of the Hoover Dam began.

On 7/71865 Mary Surratt is the first woman executed by U.S. Federal Government for her role as a conspirator in Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

On 7/7/1846 U.S. annexed California.

On 7/7/1863 Kit Carson's campaign against the Indians began.