10/7/1979 the first Fire Fighters Memorial Sunday was held. 10/7/1908 a Buffalo, NY firefighter was operating at a fire at the Nowak Elevator on Broadway at the Belt Line Crossing. After battling the blaze for over 5 hours, a collapse suddenly occurred burying men from Engines … [Read more...]

Fire Prevention Week is October 6-12, 2019, the NFPA continues to focus on home fire safety, as the majority of U.S. fire deaths (four out of five) occur at home each year. In fact, the fire death rate (per 1000 home fires reported to the fire department) was 10 percent higher in … [Read more...]

10/5/1894 six Detroit, MI firefighters “lost their lives while battling a fire at the Keenan & Jahn’s Furniture Store at 213-217 Woodward Avenue. The fire destroyed the furniture store, and after the four-story building was gutted the front and rear walls fell, killing the … [Read more...]

10/4/1648 the first volunteer fire department was established in what will become New York City by Peter Stuyvesant. 10/4/1839 two Philadelphia, PA firefighters and five civilians were killed when “a fire destroyed 40 buildings and seriously damaged many others. The two … [Read more...]

10/3/1933 Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA a brush fire killed twenty-nine, while 3,780 men, part of a welfare project, were clearing brush. A fire broke out in the Mineral Wells area. Without knowledge or training in fighting fire many of the workers ordered to fight the fire, a … [Read more...]

10/2/1922 the first National Fire Prevention Week was proclaimed by President Warren Harding. 10/2/1888 a Chicago, IL firefighter died “while fighting a fire on the John Breedon tow barge. The boat’s coal elevator caught fire as it was unloading coal at the Chicago River docks … [Read more...]

9/30/1896 a Brooklyn. New York (FDNY) firefighter died while he “was working from an extension ladder at the Greenpoint Telephone Office, a four-story building fire, at Manhattan Avenue and Greene Street. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, a distance of thirty feet. He … [Read more...]

9/29/1902 a Stockton, CA firefighter “was fatally burned as he attempted to drive the horse cart between two burning structures at the Pavillion fire. The Pavillion fire was one of the largest fires in Stockton.” 9/29/1908 a Dallas, TX firefighter died “while working at a … [Read more...]

9/28/1800 the first fireboats arrive in the U.S. New York, NY; “New York City volunteer firefighters first mounted a crude hand-operated pump on a small boat, the era of the American fireboat was born. The fireboat would not become a mainstay of the American fire service; … [Read more...]