The name “Black Friday” originated in Philadelphia, when it was coined by the Philadelphia Police Department in 1966 to describe the chaos caused by massive traffic jams, car accidents, and congested sidewalks that resulted from the shopping day after Thanksgiving. Contemporary use of the term now refers to it as the point in the year at which retailers begin to turn a profit, thus going from being “in the red” to being “in the black”. There have been several deaths and injuries as a result of Black Friday events.
On 11/25/1886 a Boston, Massachusetts firefighter “was suffocated by smoke while ventilating during a fire at 232-234 Friend Street, Downtown, at a two-alarm, Box 8, (Merrimac House, Merrimac Street). Two other firefighters were also overcome by smoke and had to be resuscitated.
On 11/25/1911 a Birmingham, Alabama firefighter was killed when he was caught under burning debris while operating at a factory fire.
On 11/25/2000 a Pensacola, Florida firefighter died, and two other firefighters were injured in a flashover during a residential fire that was approximately 50 percent involved upon arrival. “The fire was caused when a pan caught fire on top of the kitchen stove and extended. The occupants of the house had evacuated before the arrival of the fire department.”
On 11/25/2002 three Coos Bay, Oregon firefighters lost their lives in a building fire that contained an auto and truck supply store with a machine shop. “The fire was first discovered by building occupants who smelled smoke and discovered warm walls and fire behind the wall in an upstairs bathroom. The occupants attempted to fight the fire before calling the fire department. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they reported a light smoke condition. Firefighters advanced 2 attack lines into the building.” The three firefighters were “working on the second floor of the building. Finding no visible fire, the firefighters opened up the walls and ceiling to expose and extinguish the fire. When the fire hidden in these concealed spaces was exposed to fresh air, it progressed rapidly. Firefighters on the roof reported that the roof was feeling spongy, and the incident commander (IC) ordered an evacuation of the building. At approximately the same time, the roof and other structural supports over the second floor collapsed. The fire spread rapidly throughout the building” trapping two firefighters under the debris on the second floor and propelling the other “down the stairs by the force of the collapse and ended up behind a customer service counter. A personnel accountability report (PAR) found that three firefighters were missing. Other firefighters advanced attack lines into the building to search for the trapped firefighters.” “All three firefighters died of asphyxiation and exposure to heat and smoke. The fire was caused when heat from the flue of a propane-fueled incinerator/parts cleaner ignited structural components in the wall and ceiling of the building’s second floor. The fire may have burned in these concealed spaces for as long as 4 hours before discovery. The cleaner had been installed without a permit, and it was improperly installed. The owner of the business and the installer were later charged with criminally negligent homicide.”
On 11/25/1990, an accidental fire in a flammable liquid tank farm that supports Denver’s Stapleton International Airport burned for 55 hours, destroyed seven tanks, and consumed over 1.6 million gallons of jet fuel, there were no injuries. At 9:22 a.m., the control tower reported the fire, firefighters found a large pool fire in a pit containing piping and valves and flaming fuel apparently under pressure “spewing high into the air.” The pool fire was contained with AFFF, but firefighters were unable to extinguish the fire involving the pressurized fuel. It is believed that a damaged pump in the valve pit near the storage tanks caused the initial leak and fire. After 12 hours a friction coupling parted, allowing fuel from one storage tank to increase the fire and spread to an impounding area and involving two more fuel tanks
On 11/25/1984 a gas pipeline under repair exploded killing five and injuring seventeen in Saint Francisville, Louisiana.
On 11/25/1951 the Austin Drug Store was destroyed by a fire in Gainesville, Texas that damaged the “telephone company building on the east of the store and the Home Furniture Company on the west.”
On 11/25/1924 in Wellsville, New York a fire destroyed the high school building. “Five recent fires of incendiary origin near the high school led authorities to believe that the fire was of suspicious character.”
On 11/24/1912 in Bennington, Oklahoma four buildings were destroyed by a fire.
On 11/25/1910 a paper box factory fire leaves twenty-four dead, most were girls in Newark, New Jersey.
On 11/24/1889 two-hundred-fifty buildings were destroyed by fire in Lynn, Massachusetts that started at 11:55 a.m. on Almont Street.
On 11/25/1864 The Confederate Army of Manhattan, a group of eight Southern operatives, led by Jacob Thompson, infiltrated Union territory from Canada and attempted to burn New York City, during the final stages of the American Civil War. The group intended to simultaneously start fires in 19 hotels, a theater, and P.T. Barnum’s museum, to overwhelm the city’s firefighting resources on Friday night around 8:45 p.m. Most of the fires either failed to start or were contained quickly.