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. On arrival, firefighters found a three-story brick and frame Grand Opera House heavily involved in fire. A general-alarm was sounded immediately, bringing the entire department to the scene. As the lieutenant of Engine 9, and one firefighter, opened the nozzle of a line that they had stretched to the top of a ladder, it kicked back, almost throwing the two men to the ground below. Only their life belts kept them from falling. While waiting for the engineer to lower the pressure, they attempted to shut the nozzle down and it kicked back even more violently. Feeling the ladder starting to go down, both men promptly slipped out of their life belts and fell 30 feet to the ground. The lieutenant was killed instantly when he struck the pavement, and the firefighter was seriously injured.”
2/19/1922 a Detroit, MI firefighter died of burns in the course of conducting his duties.
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. Two firefighters, both assigned to Truck 1, took a hose line down to the basement in an attempt to extinguish the new fire. Ammonia fumes overcame the both of them and they had to be rescued. One firefighter did not survive, dying from smoke inhalation. Altogether 32 people died in the disaster.”
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 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, Box # 66-1577, Lenox Ave. & W. 138th Street.”
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. About 100 workers were in the plant. A strong northwest wind spread the flames quickly as firebrands leap-frogged across the giant complex. All the firefighting apparatus from Stamford, Noroton Heights, Glenbrook and Springdale, 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 SoundWaters Inc. HQ, but residents on the roofs and firemen 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 ft. long, and a large two-story wooden building. Three tall chimneys, one 126 foot 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. 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.
ed with treason for plotting to annex Spanish territory in Louisiana and Mexico to establish an independent republic.