9/21/1904 four Denver, CO firefighters “were killed from inhaling nitric acid fumes at the Denver Post after nitric acid spilled and fire on ensued on September 20, 1904. A 16-gallon container of nitric acid burst open in the etching room of the Denver Post. A fire ensued which … [Read more...]

9/20/1929 in Detroit, MI the Study Club, a prohibition speakeasy (nightclub), fire killed twenty-two and injured over fifty in a three-story retrofit mansion. The cause of the fire remains undetermined but may have started in the stairwell by a cigarette. Most windows and the … [Read more...]

9/19/1902 in Birmingham, AL the yell of “fire” in a church caused over 100 people to be trampled to death at the Shiloh Baptist Church around 9 o’clock after Booker T. Washington concluded his speech to the National Convention. The Shiloh Church was a large place of worship, with … [Read more...]

9/18/1926 two Philadelphia, PA firefighters died “while operating at a five-alarm fire at Freihofer Baking Co. at 19th & Indiana Avenue, they were killed when they were caught under a collapsing wall.” 9/18/1945 an aircraft hangar fire at the Naval Air Station Richmond … [Read more...]

9/17/1872 the first sprinkler system patent was issued to P.W. Pratt of Abington, MA. The world’s first sprinkler system was installed in the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane in the United Kingdom in 1812 by its architect Benjamen Wyatt, FSA. The system designed by William Congreve … [Read more...]

9/16/1920 the first documented vehicle bombing occurred in New York City on Wall Street. The explosion killed forty in front of the headquarters of the J. P. Morgan Company caused by a bomb in a one-horse wagon. Around noon, a horse-drawn wagon passed lunchtime crowds and stopped … [Read more...]

9/15/1963 a bomb exploded during Sunday morning services in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL killing four young girls. “The church bombing and the fire was the third in Birmingham in 11 days after a federal order came down to integrate Alabama's school system. … [Read more...]

9/14/1815 the first use of gooseneck piping for fire engines was reported in Boston, MA. Early American handpump fire engines with a solid medal playpipe were called a gooseneck. 9/14/1875 three Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighters died during a “public demonstration that … [Read more...]

9/13/1970 the Ponet Square Hotel fire killed nineteen residents in Los Angeles, CA. The four-story 12,000 square feet per floor South Grand Avenue hotel was built in 1907 with an unsprinklered basement that was once a ballroom. An open stair extended flames to the upper floors. … [Read more...]