2/19/1901 four New Haven, CT firefighters were killed after they were crushed in a wall collapse.
2/19/1902 two Milwaukee, WI firefighters were killed by a falling wall at Smith Steel Casting fire, on Barclay Street.
2/19/1912 a Saint Paul, MN firefighter “died in a fall from ladder at a fire in the Grand Opera House, 6th & St. Peter. He was working on a 36′ ladder at the rear of the building, when he was thrown to the ground and instantly killed.
2/19/1926 two firefighters, one from Valparaiso, IN and the second from Gary, IN “were killed fighting one of Valparaiso, Indiana’s largest fires. It involved the Academy of Music Block and the Kauffman clothing store at the corner of Washington Street and Lincoln Way. They were killed when a wall fell over on top of the Kauffman building. At least 10 other firefighters from Gary and Valparaiso were injured.”
2/19/1933 a Philadelphia, PA firefighter “died from injuries he sustained after having fallen from a broken ladder at 32nd and Oxford Street.”
2/19/1936 five Columbus, OH “were killed when they were caught under a collapsing wall while operating at a major fire involving a temple. Two other firefighters were severely injured were placed on disability pensions.”
2/19/1938 a Minneapolis, MN firefighter died “at a fire in a row of stores at 4809 Nicollet Avenue. Overcome by smoke early in the fire, he appeared to have recovered and resumed work, but soon collapsed and could not be revived. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital.”
2/19/1942 a Chicago, IL firefighter died “while fighting a basement fire (BOX # 546) 2128 North Damen Avenue. He was overcome by smoke while fighting the fire, which started in a trash pile.”
2/19/1943 a Seattle, WA firefighter “died while fighting a fire at Frye Plant, caused by a plane crash.”
2/19/1952 a Brooklyn, New York (FDNY) firefighter “suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of smoke inhalation he sustained while operating at a fire the previous day.”
2/19/1954 “an explosion in the Miller Motor Company Auto Dealership caused a major fire that left two Durango, CO firefighters dead after the ceiling in the dealership collapsed. The blaze may have been started in the paint room by lacquer thinner or gasoline. Firefighters on the roof noticed the beams on the roof were on fire and starting to sag. As they tried to warn their comrades who were advancing a hoseline into the showroom the ceiling collapsed.”
2/19/1965 a West Adams County, CO firefighter “was fighting a structure fire when he was overcome with smoke and exertion. He suffered a heart attack and died before he reached the hospital.”
2/19/1969 a Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighter “died as a result of injuries sustained while operating at an alarm.”
2/19/2001 a Montello, WI firefighter “was assisting with pulling a back-up line for an interior attack when he collapsed. He was immediately transported to Divine Savior Hospital in Portage, and then airlifted to University of Wisconsin Hospitals in Madison where he died Monday evening.”
2/19/2005 a Houston, TX firefighter died at a structure fire in a residential occupancy. “The first arriving units found a working fire in a single-story residence. Members of the engine company stretched an attack line and made entry into the front of the structure. Interior visibility was good in the front area; but decreased as firefighters advanced toward the kitchen at the rear. Movement inside the structure was complicated by debris left in the building by vagrants. Roof ventilation was not possible, due to fire conditions, and ladder company firefighters entered the interior of the structure. A second attack line was extended into the building. At approximately 6:10 a.m., the roof of an addition at the rear of the structure collapsed into the rear portion of the building. The collapse caused rapid fire progress in the interior and forced firefighters to exit the building quickly. A standard fireground evacuation signal was sounded. A personal accountability report was completed, and a second alarm was ordered. A Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) was directed into the structure to assist firefighters. An electronic accountability system indicated that one firefighter’s PASS device was in alarm. The RIT began to search for him by following hose lines into the fire area. He was located at approximately 6:29 a.m., under 23 feet of debris. The cause of death was listed as smoke inhalation and thermal injuries. The fire was arson-caused.”
2/19/2009 two Craigsville, WV firefighters “died while fighting a mobile home fire. They were completing a search of the mobile home when the roof collapsed killing them. The initial fire was believed to have begun by a candle in a camping trailer adjacent to the mobile home and spread to the home.”
2/19/2013 a gas explosion at JJ’s restaurant at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Mo killed one and injured over a dozen after a construction crew apparently struck a natural gas line.
2/19/2010 Houston, TX four people were killed in an apartment fire.
2/19/2009 A 46-year-old woman, a 20-year-old man, and two girls, ages 9 and 13-years-old were killed in an apartment fire Lawrence, NY.
2/19/1920 three of the 106 patrons perished in an early morning fire that damaged the three upper floors of the Hotel Lorraine on Aborn Street in Providence, RI that started in a room on the third floor.
2/19/1919 A small fire started in the acid storage room of the huge Cove Mills, a complex of about 25 “fireproof” buildings sprawled over western Cove Island and well up Cove Road in Stamford, CT. “It rapidly became the most spectacular, most destructive fire in Stamford history. About 100 workers were in the plant. A strong northwest wind spread the flames quickly as firebrands leap-frogged across the giant complex. Firefighters and firefighting apparatus from Stamford, Noroton Heights, Glenbrook, and Springdale were called to the scene. The strategic fire hydrants, and the firewalled brick construction proved powerless. The flames lit up the sky with vivid colors, drawing thousands of spectators to the high ground around the plant. The drama was startling as boilers blew up, extract vats popped, and massive brick walls tumbled. Fortunately, the terrifying sparks flew mostly toward the Sound, away from nearby homes, though some owners took furniture outside for safety. Firebrands hit General Skiddy’s Pound Rocks mansion and the Holly House, now Sound Waters Inc. HQ, but residents on the roofs and firefighters saved them. Spectators were most concerned when two barges, loosed from their wharves, were blown into the Sound with two women and three men needing rescue. All major factory buildings, machine shops, laboratories, storage buildings, etc. were destroyed. Among them were three large three-story brick buildings up to 300 ft. long, a metal-clad steel building 200 feet long, and a large two-story wooden building. Three tall chimneys, one 126 feet high, stood “like loyal, weary sentinels” over the jumbled kilns and smoldering, twisted rubble. The office building survived, as did a small brick building to the north that still stands. Started in 1792 as a small tidewater gristmill on the eastern edge of Cove Island, Stamford Manufacturing Co. grew to become Stamford’s largest industry and the world’s largest dye extracting concern. At its peak in 1890 it employed about 500 workers, with state-of-the-art facilities on 70 acres at the Cove, thousands of feet of mechanized wharves hosting big deep-sea schooners, a shipping company with four schooners, and a number of houses on Weed Street. The mill’s main products were textile dyes extracted from exotic tropical woods, drugs from barks, tanning extracts, and licorice paste used in drugs, brewing, tobacco and confections.”
2/19/1910 four buildings including the town school in Imperial, Pennsylvania were destroyed by fire.
2/19/1906 Rutland, VT six blocks in the business section were destroyed by fire displacing a score of firms and many smaller tenants.
2/19/1906 Maitland, CO a mine gas explosion killed sixteen in the Victor Fuel Company.
2/19/1888 Providence, RI the Daniels Building was destroyed by fire.
2/19/1878 the Insane Asylum of Sheboygan County, located at Winooski, WI was destroyed by fire that killed four of the inmates.
2/19/1885 Wallingford, CT the Temperance Hall was destroyed by a fire that started about 2:00 a.m. leaving one dead.
2/19/1846 Spencer Mine explosion killed seven near Pottsville, PA.