1/23/2005 “BLACK SUNDAY” in New York the FDNY lost three firefighters at two separate fires.
The 1st fire in the Bronx, was a three-alarm fire in an apartment building at 236 East 178th Street in the Tremont section. It took the lives of two firefighters both of Ladder 27 and seriously injured six other members when they were forced to jump from the 4th floor of the building after they were trapped by the fire.
Four other firefighters from Ladder 27 and Rescue Company 3 were also critically injured at the fire. The six firefighters were searching the rear of the fourth floor for reported trapped occupants. The firefighters jumped from a fourth-floor rear window after they became trapped above the fire. The fire was reported at 7:59 a.m. and was brought under control at 10:13 a.m. Thirty-five units and 150 firefighters were called to scene. A third firefighter died on November 22, 2011 from his injuries he received at this fire.
The 2nd fire in Brooklyn, a two-alarm blaze (Box 1770) at 577 Jerome Ave and took the life of a firefighter assigned to Ladder 103. Ladder 103 was among the first firefighting units to arrive on the scene of the fire located in a private dwelling, which was reported at 1:36 p.m. They entered the basement where the fire started and began searching both for the location of the fire and to rescue any trapped occupants. During these search operations, the firefighter became separated from his colleagues. He was found minutes later unconscious and in respiratory arrest on the cellar staircase.
1/23/1947 four Minneapolis, MN firefighters died in at a fire in the Hull-Dobbs Auto Sales garage at 2610 Hennepin Avenue South. “They were on the building’s first floor cutting holes to get at flames in the basement when the floor suddenly collapsed. Flames and smoke prevented rescuers from reaching them for more than an hour. When found, all but one was dead, and he was so seriously injured that he later died.”
1/23/1841 two Philadelphia, PA firefighters died of injuries they sustained while operating at a fire at Third and Market Street.
1/23/1891 two Buffalo, NY firefighters “died of the injuries they sustained while they were operating at a multiple alarm fire at the Clothing Exchange building on Pearl St. The interior floors had collapsed, bringing along with it an arch from the top of the building, crushing two, and injuring several other firefighters.”
1/23/1907 a Queens, New York (FDNY) firefighter died of smoke inhalation while operating at a four-alarm fire.
1/23/1929 a Chicago, IL firefighter died “while fighting a fire at the abandoned McAvoy Brewery at the intersection of 24th Street and South Park Way. He fell down a flight of steps while calling for more water pressure for the Engine 9 hoses.”
1/23/1961 a Boston, MA firefighter died from the inhalation of smoke and gas, while operating at Box 1537, (Berkeley & Marlborough Streets), during a fire at 31 Marlborough Street, in the Back-Bay, around 9:30 p.m.
1/23/1983 Peoria, IL firefighter “died from injuries he received after a wall fell during a multiple-alarm arson fire at 717-719 Main Street in the area of Main and Perry Streets. Firefighters encountered a large volume of fire in the brick structure.”
1/23/1983 an Avon, New York firefighter died at a fire involving a two-story tavern, which was adjacent to the firehouse. “He helped effect the rescue of several people who were trapped on the second-floor rear roof from the apartments over the tavern. The rescue mission completed; he then took a line in through the front door to attack the fire on the first floor. Shortly after entering the structure, he fell into a hole that was burnt through the floor and became tightly wedged between the joists. Firefighters worked for an hour to free him, with no results. His SCBA was damaged in the fall, and after three changes of bottles, he became overcome by smoke and lost consciousness. His limp body slipped through the joists into the water-filled basement before firefighters could rescue him. Rescuers were able to gain access to the basement and removed him to a waiting ambulance. He was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the hospital. The fire was caused when an ashtray was carelessly dumped into a plastic trashcan when the bar closed.”
1/23/2014 a fire at Quebec, Canada in the small town of L’Isle-Verte, seniors’ home fire killed thirty-two, many dependent on wheelchairs and walkers. The fire started in the three-story building around 12:30 a.m. in -4ºF (-20ºC) temperatures, causing equipment to freeze. Parts of the Residence du Havre, opened in 1997, with a partial fire sprinklers system, that triggered the fire alarm and allowing firefighters to gain access to about one-third of the building.
1/23/1985 the Shell refinery explosion at lubricating unit in Roxana Illinois killed one and injured seventeen including six with severe burns.
1/23/1916 a fault (short circuit) in an electrical switchboard in the rear stage of the Tremont Theatre ignited a fire that damaged the stage area and the front of the auditorium to the balcony in Boston, Massachusetts.
1/23/1911 Aberdeen, SD a fire destroyed the freight depot, division headquarters, local freight houses and passenger station of the Milwaukee Railroad.
1/23/1910 Phoenix, NY the Sweet Brothers’ Paper Manufacturing Company was destroyed by fire that started in the boiler room around 1:00 a.m.
1/23/1907 Middletown, NY the business section of town was destroyed by fire that started at 8:45 a.m. on the second floor of the clothing store and quickly extended through the wooden partition into the cigar factory where twenty-one men were working.
1/23/1894 eight inmates died in a fire at the Boone, IA Insane Asylum caused by an overheated furnace during a furious winter storm. “The thermometer indicating 30 degrees below zero”
1/23/1892 Llano, TX the Courthouse was destroyed by fire at 5:00 a.m. the building was completed in 1885