Today in Fire History 9/29
On 9/29/1902 a Stockton, California firefighter “was fatally burned as he attempted to drive the horse cart between two burning structures at the Pavilion fire. The Pavilion fire was one of the largest fires in Stockton.”
On 9/29/1908 a Dallas, Texas firefighter died “while working at a fire, he was hit by falling debris and killed. Three other firefighters were also hurt that evening at the fire, all of which recovered.”
On 9/29/1921 an Atlanta, Georgia firefighter died “while directing operations at a smoky fire in an old abandoned piano factory at the corner of Powell Street and the Georgia Railroad that was being used by the Fulton Bag & Cotton Mill and was used to store baled cotton. He fell three stories after stepping into an open elevator shaft. He suffered a broken back, fractured skull, a fractured leg and shoulder, and critical internal injuries. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died a short time later.”
On 9/29/1970 a Chicago, Illinois firefighter “died after suffering a heart attack during a residential fire at 1743 W. Washburne Avenue. He was using a power saw to cut a ventilation hole in the building when he complained of chest pains and collapsed. He had just rescued an elderly woman trapped by the fire by carrying her down a ladder from a second-story apartment. The firefighter was transported to Illinois Research Hospital where he was pronounced dead.”
On 9/29/1996 a Herrin, Illinois firefighter died “while fighting a fire in Hurst, Illinois, shortly before 10:00 p.m. The Herrin Fire Department was one of several mutual aid departments that responded to a fire in a vacant building in downtown Hurst. Because the vacant structure was attached to the Hurst Municipal Building, firefighters initially adopted an offensive fire attack, but by 11:00 p.m. they moved into defensive positions to protect the adjacent municipal building. As firefighters backed away from the vacant building, the eastern wall, which appeared structurally sound to all observers, suddenly collapsed. The firefighter, who had been contributing to ventilation operations by cutting and prying plywood off of window openings, was caught in the collapse of the two-story brick wall, and he suffered severe injuries when he was buried under bricks and other debris. After firefighters pulled him from the rubble, he was transported to Herrin Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.”
On 9/29/2007 a Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania firefighter died from injuries he received on September 26, 2007, while he and other firefighters were operating at a fire in a detached garage. “The fire started when a homeowner accidentally spilled gasoline while performing repairs on a motorcycle. The fire had been knocked down and firefighters were overhauling and putting out hot spots. A sudden structural collapse occurred and trapped a firefighter. At least two other firefighters were trapped by the collapse. Other firefighters freed the trapped firefighters and one was transported to the hospital for treatment. The firefighter did not recover from his injuries, he died on September 29th.”
On 9/29/2017 a Hamilton County, Florida fire claimed three lives, two children, a 7-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, and their mother, around midnight on Southwest 57th Lane, which is a few miles outside of Jasper. The fire is believed to have started in the back of the family's mobile home.
On 9/29/1991 shantytown hut fires killed at least fifteen in New Delhi, India in the Govindpuri slum colony in a southern suburb of the city that destroyed 2,000 huts that started from the explosion of a cooking gas cylinder. Around 25,000 people live in the shantytown.
On 9/29/1889 in Butte, Montana a fire started on the first floor of the Bowes Block in a four-story brick building under construction on the southeast corner of Granite and Utah Streets and spread quickly to several downtown buildings.
On 9/29/1957 a passenger train collided with an oil tanker train in the Gambar province of western Pakistan, killing 300 people and seriously injuring another 150.
On 9/29/1915 a hurricane claimed 275 lives in Mississippi Delta.
On 9/29/1982 Cyanide-laced Tylenol killed six.
On 9/29/1780 the British spy John André, an accomplice of Benedict Arnold, was court-martialed, found guilty, and sentenced to death by hanging. “John André was executed by hanging in Tappan, New York, on October 2, 1780. He was 31 years old.”