Today in Fire History 8/26

On 8/26/2018 “at least ten children were killed after a fire broke out in a Chicago apartment without working smoke detectors. A teenager and another adult were taken to the hospital in "very critical condition," and a Chicago firefighter was taken to the hospital in good condition. The blaze broke out around 4:00 a.m. inside the three-story apartment building in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Flames engulfed at least two buildings, including a coach house.”? The fire started at around 3:00 a.m., in an apartment building in the 2200 block of South Sacramento Avenue. A witness called 911 at 3:45 a.m. to report the fire, which was causing flames to erupt from the second-floor rear unit. Children from the ages of 3 months to 16 years, were at a sleepover in the apartment at the time the fire had occurred. Arson and foul play were not considered factors. No adults were present in the apartment during the fire. The exact cause of the fire was unknown at the time the investigation began. Eight children died immediately in the fire while two were hospitalized in critical condition at the John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and died two later. Fire officials initially said that no smoke detectors were detected in the second-floor rear unit, but they changed their statements and found a smoke detector without batteries. The department had investigated the mother who lived there, on allegations of inadequate supervision, 21 times since 2004. The complaints were verified in two instances one case in 2013 when her then-8-year-old son, who had autism, got out of the home and was found running near traffic. Chicago Department of Buildings' Strategic Task Force found 38 violations in the front building, including missing or defective smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, defective light fixtures, armored cable and electrical wiring, and plumbing installed without permits. Six more violations were found during a separate inspection of the rear coach house. The owner of the apartment, an 80-year-old man was criticized and blamed for the fire for causing many violations at the apartment. As a result of the violations, he appeared in court on August 30 and was ordered to no longer rent anyone the apartment.”

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On 8/26/1929 a Newark, New Jersey firefighter died while “he was fighting a fire on Charlton Street when he was hit by a falling beam.”

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On 8/26/1956 a Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighter “died of the injuries he sustained on August 23, 1956, while operating at a two-alarm fire.”

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On 8/26/1987 a Butler, Pennsylvania firefighter “was killed on Chestnut Street. His body was not found for hours after the structure collapsed.”

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On 8/26/2009 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter “was killed by an explosion in an abandoned building where he was investigating a gas leak.”

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On 8/26/2004, a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters (8,453 gallons) of fuel collided with a car on the Wiehltal A4 Autobahn Bridge in Germany resulting in an explosion and fire that destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge.

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On 8/26/1958 a fireworks factory fire killed twenty-three in Chiayi, Taiwan.

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On 8/26/1913 the Railroad Shops of the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railroad in Teague, Texas were destroyed by fire. “Many fine locomotives were ruined, and twenty acres of buildings were burned. These shops were the entire support of the town which was practically first founded when the T. & B. V. road was built through this section.”

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On 8/26/1968 the Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago besieged by protesters.

On 8/26/1920 the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing women (woman suffrage) the right to vote was ratified.

On 8/26/1862 the Second Bull Run campaign began during the Civil War in Manassas Junction, Virginia when the Confederate cavalry under General Fitzhugh Lee entered and captured the rail center; Union General John Pope's Army of Virginia moved to Manassas and the two armies clashed on August 29.

On 8/26/1346 the Battle of Crecy in Normandy during the Hundred Years War was fought; King Edward III's English army annihilated a French force under King Philip VI that saw an early use of the deadly longbow by the English, which is regarded as one of the most decisive in history.