Today in Fire History 9/9

On 9/9/1973 the three-story, wood-frame 30-room, 100-year-old Sedgwick Hotel in Bath Maine was destroyed by a fire that killed three men and a woman and injured eighteen in a building with no fire detection or alarm system and no fire sprinklers. The fire was reported to the fire department at 4:13 a.m. A ?-inch separation in a furnace chimney connector allowed the fire to extend into a concealed space and burn an estimated 1-? to 2 hours before breaking out into the lobby. “The fire occurred when carbonized wood in the tongue-and-groove wood ceiling for a boiler room ignited.?The fire burned through the ceiling and entered the area between the wood joists.?It then spread horizontally through joist channels and vertically through the hollow spaces of the non-fire stopped walls.?The fire burned into the lobby where it ignited the couch and was finally discovered.”

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On 9/9/1885 a Lawrence, Massachusetts firefighter “died after he had fallen into a vat of hot oil at the Lee, Blackburn Chemical Company.”

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On 9/9/1900 a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firefighter “died of the injuries he sustained after he was caught in a floor collapse at Delaware Avenue and Dock Street.”

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On 9/9/1918 a Memphis, Tennessee firefighter “died while fighting a fire at the Buckeye Cotton Oil plant at Belt Line and Old Raleigh Road. He was operating a hose line on the porch of the seed house when a nearby shed collapsed, pinning him and four other firefighters under a pile of debris. He was crushed between two heavy pieces of iron and killed instantly. The plant, at the time, was located outside the city limits of Memphis.”

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On 9/9/1928 a Louisville, Kentucky firefighter was killed “while working at a fire at 18th and Cedar Street. The firefighter died in the performance of his duties. The effect of heat and smoke causing his death.”

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On 9/9/1935 a Baltimore, Maryland firefighter died “while pulling hose at a two-alarm fire involving a church under construction, he suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died of peritonitis hernia, the result of truss complications.”

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On 9/9/1959 a Malden, Massachusetts firefighter “died after he was asphyxiated by ammonia while operating at a restaurant fire.”

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On 9/9/1965 a Sioux City, Iowa firefighter “died from the injuries he sustained when a chimney fell on him during a live fire training exercise.”

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On 9/9/1989 a firefighter died, and one was injured in a vacant 1-?-story lumber warehouse fire in Seattle, Washington. Upon arrival, the fire department found a large, approximately 295’ X 180’ heavy timber structure that had been abandoned for about two years with visible flames involving a 75’ X 75’ shed attached at the building's southwest corner. The building was scheduled for demolition. The piping for dry sprinkler systems was still in place, but the main control valve for the water supply to all sprinkler systems had been shut off. A fire officer and a firefighter working in a smoky section of the main building became disoriented and separated as they attempted to leave the area.?“The firefighter was found and rescued by a firefighter from another engine company, the officer was not able to escape; he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.”

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On 9/9/1992 a Depue, Illinois firefighter “suffered a heart attack while advancing hose lines on the scene of a residential structure fire.”

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On 9/9/1997 a Los Angeles County, California firefighter “died on September 9, 1997, of cardiac arrest. On September 5, 1997, he was exposed to high concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO). The exposure to smoke and CO occurred over an approximate 45 to 60 minute period as he directed the interior extinguishment, salvage, and overhaul operations of a chimney and attic fire in a two-story condominium in the 5400 block of Las Virgenes Road in Agoura.”

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On 9/9/2006 a North Bergen, New Jersey firefighter died while he “and other firefighters were dispatched to a report of a fire in a 3-story apartment building in Union City. Upon their arrival at the scene, firefighters found light smoke and no visible fire. Based on reports that the structure had not been evacuated, the firefighter and other firefighters entered the building to perform a search. Due to the light smoke conditions, he was not wearing his facepiece. He was the first firefighter to enter an apartment. Conditions deteriorated rapidly as fire broke through a ceiling and caused a collapse. The firefighter was trapped by the collapse and by the rapid spread of the fire. Other firefighters came to his aid and removed him from the building. He was transported to the hospital but later died of a combination of smoke inhalation and burns.”

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On 9/9/2010 in San Bruno, California natural gas explosion killed four and destroyed a dozen homes. “The White House is seeking to tighten oversight of the nation's 2 million-plus miles of pipelines and more than double penalties for some safety violations. Legislation sent to Congress on Wednesday would pay for an additional 40 inspectors and safety regulators over the next four years. However, a spokesman for the American Gas Association, the industry trade group, said utility companies already spend billions every year to keep the network of gas pipes safe and that more inspectors and harsher fines won't improve safety.”

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On 9/9/1947 the Island Queen, a five-deck Ohio River excursion steamer explosion and fire killed twenty-three near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at her Monongahela River dock just 45 minutes before departing on a scenic three-hour river cruise.

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On 9/9/1907 near San Francisco, California the Cliff House, one of the best-known, resorts in America, was destroyed by fire. “The Cliff House was ranked as one of the best known, resorts of America. Located on a rocky promontory outside the city, directly above the surf of the Pacific and overlooking the famous Seal rocks, it was a strong attraction for visitors, and from its broad porches hundreds of thousands of people obtained their first view of the Pacific.”

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On 9/9/1905 a five-story frame grain elevator containing 845,000 bushels of grain was destroyed by fire in Chicago, Illinois at 27th and Wood Streets that may have started by spontaneous combustion in a wheat bin on the top story.

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On 9/9/1971 a riot at Attica prison, a maximum-security correctional facility near Buffalo, New York started on 9/9 and ended on 9/13 with forty-three dead including ten prison guards.

On 9/9/1956 Elvis Presley made his first appearance on CBS-TV's The Ed Sullivan Show.

On 9/9/1893 President Grover Cleveland's wife, Frances, becomes the 1st first lady to give birth in the White House when the couple's daughter Esther was born.

On 9/9/1863 the Union army captured Chattanooga, Tennessee.

On 9/9/1543 Mary Queen of Scots was crowned at Stirling Castle.