2/28/1889 a Milwaukee, WI firefighter died “as firefighters battled a blaze in the four-story brick J. E. Jenner Co. millinery factory on Broadway, a rumble was heard, and the roof and top three floors collapsed with a roar, burying nine firefighters who were working in the building. One firefighter was killed in the collapse and the eight other men were seriously injured.”
2/28/1890 a Portland, Oregon firefighter “was fatally injured while testing a new fire engine at the corner of 7th and Salmon Street. He was struck in the head by a hose nozzle and did not regain consciousness.”
2/28/1912 a Philadelphia, PA firefighter “died as a result of critical injuries sustained the previous day, when he was caught under a collapsing wall while operating at a two-alarm fire in a tool factory.”
2/28/1926 a Houston, Texas died at a house fire at 2707 Grant Street. “When the crew arrived on the scene, the structure was totally involved. He took his crew around to the rear of the house to attack the fire. He gallantly led his crew onto the back porch of the house. Without warning, the chimney came loose from the house, crashing onto the porch, tearing it away from the house, and sending the firefighters scurrying for their lives. The firefighter took most of the brunt of the flying brick and debris and suffered critical injuries. He was taken to Saint Joseph Hospital where he died the next morning.”
2/28/1939 a Seattle, Washington firefighter “died after being trapped.”
2/28/1972 a Lakewood, CO firefighter “was electrocuted while operating on a public service call attempting to rescue a cat from a utility pole. Attempts by crews on the scene and hospital teams to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.”
2/28/1975 a Philadelphia, PA firefighter “died after collapsing on the fireground at 9th and Glenwood.”
2/28/1984 an Irving, TX firefighter “died of second and third degree burns over 70% of his body, and smoke inhalation, which he sustained in a roof collapse at a four-alarm fire the previous day.”
2/28/1985 a North Carrollton, MS firefighter died “while operating at a major fire involving a hardware and lumber store, he sustained a fractured skull and died as a result, when he was caught under a collapsing wall and canopy.”
2/28/2014 a Wallington, NJ firefighter died while he was cutting a hole in the roof of a two-alarm fire when he fell from the roof.
2/28/1949 Gambier, OH a Kenyon College dormitory fire killed nine that “routed 100 students from their beds.”
2/28/1917 Hollidaysburg, PA Court House was destroyed by fire.
2/28/1913 twenty died in the Dewey Hotel fire in Omaha, NE in the three-story building that burned like a “tinder box” “with exit doors locked and fire escape ladders not in their positions” the “temperature was far below zero and the work of the firefighters was hampered by frozen hydrants.”
2/28/1906 the armory in Manchester, NH was damaged by two-alarm fire; the building was erected only two years earlier that was practically confined to the basement.
2/28/1906 Exeter, NH Barn fire that started from the explosion of a lantern in a haymow.
2/28/1904 Tillamook, OR Steamer Queen fire killed nineteen.
2/28/1912 the school house in Tracy, MN was destroyed by fire believed to have started from an overheated chimney and spread rapidly to the upper stories of the building.
2/28/1918 The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) was chartered. The IAFF is a labor union representing firefighters and emergency medical services personnel in the United States and Canada, and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO in the United States and the Canadian Labour Congress in Canada. The IAFF has more than 300,000 members in more than 3,200 affiliates in every U.S. state and in Canada. IAFF members protect 85 percent of the U.S. population.
2/28/1810 the 1st joint stock fire insurance company was started in Philadelphia, PA; capital was raised through the sale of shares and distribute dividends.