2/8/1933 seven Omaha, NE firefighters were killed, and seventeen others were injured in a spectacular fire that destroyed the four-story Millard Hotel when the hotel walls collapsed. The loss was estimated at $250,000; all 45 guests made it to safety. The four-story historic structure located on the northeast corner of 13th and Douglas Streets was a downtown landmark. “The Mid-West Hotel Reporter (Omaha), of February 10, 1933, included a report, written shortly after the event, of the burning of Omaha’s historic Millard Hotel. “With the mercury down to 15 below zero fire broke out in the Millard Hotel at a late hour Wednesday night. The fire spread rapidly in spite of the full fighting force of the Omaha department. Water froze wherever it touched exposed places where there was no fire, and the weight of ice brought a collapse of several sections of the burning building.”
2/8/1861 a Manhattan, New York firefighter was “killed while operating at a fire in the Ocean Spice and Coffee Mill on Fulton Street. The fire extended to 208 Fulton Street because of an inability to put water on the fire due to the extreme cold temperature. The fire was just about out when the chimney came down injuring several members of Ladder 15, killing one firefighter that was crushed when it fell. Companies were pulled from the building earlier when the chimney became unstable. The members of Ladder 15 did not hear the call to get out of the building.”
2/8/1865 “a disastrous Philadelphia, PA fire involving 2,000 barrels of coal oil occurred in a coal oil plant. Due to the streets being filled with snow, the flaming oil became banked up and formed a sea of fire which destroyed 50 dwellings from Washington to Federal Streets and on both sides of 9th Street. In addition to nine civilians, a firefighter was killed while operating at the conflagration.”
2/8/1876 two Manhattan, New York (FDNY) firefighters were killed, and a third critically injured, when they were caught under a collapsing wall while operating at a fire. The third firefighter died three day later on February 11th as a result of injuries sustained.
2/8/1935 a Cleveland, OH firefighter “died as a result of injuries sustained while operating at a fire involving a steel firm.”
2/8/1963 a Park Forest, IL firefighter died while fighting a fire at a construction site. At 6:32 p.m., Park Forest firefighters responded to a fire at a Sears, Roebuck & Company store under construction near the intersection of Western and Victory Avenues. Firefighters faced heavy smoke as they moved through the building to extinguish the fire, and, because of the low visibility, a firefighter accidentally entered an open elevator shaft and fell from the building’s second floor to the basement. He was quickly rescued from the elevator shaft, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
2/8/1976 three Queens, New York (FDNY) firefighters died as a result of injuries they sustained during a collapse.
2/8/2014 a fire that occurred at the Ishraq Al-Madina Hotel in Saudi Arabia killed fifteen and injured 130 others; there were about 700 guests in the hotel at the time the fire broke out; a large number of people had gathered in front of the hotel, obstructing rescue efforts.
2/8/2010 St. Joseph, MO a fire started from a space heater killed a 59-year-old woman, her 14-year-old granddaughter and two great-grandchildren in their home.
2/8/1996 a fire occurred in a large board and care facility that left three residents dead and seven others were injured just before midnight in Shelby County, TN. The building six wing irregularly-shaped, two-story, wood-framed structure with sprinklers installed in central core and office areas, but, not installed in wings containing 162 apartments with 180 residents. The building had unmonitored fire alarm system with single-station smoke detectors installed in the apartments units. The fire occurred on the second floor in the “extended care” wing containing 16 apartments with one resident per unit. After rescuing the victim in the room of origin the staff left the door open allowing by-products of combustion to escape into the corridor and into two other apartments with the doors choked open. Resident in each of these units died of smoke inhalation. The occupant of the room of origin died several days later from his injuries.
2/8/1946 the Loebel’s Volksgaststatte (Restaurant) fire in Berlin, Germany killed eighty-nine and hospitalized forty-four in a rambling stucco dance hall and restaurant with about 800 dancers were celebrating, a fire suddenly appeared from an overheated stovepipe and rapidly spread, the windows remained barred, the establishment was used as a prison during WW II, trapping many inside.
2/8/1946 Joplin, Missouri a welding torch igniting a large quantity of stored paper bags at the Eagle-Picher Lead Co. Plant around 10:30 a.m. The fire injured a firefighter.
2/8/1932 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, Prince of Wales College and the Provincial Normal School were destroyed by a fire in the two-story brick and stone building that left 370 students without classrooms shortly after 3:00 a.m.
2/8/1923 Dawson, New Mexico a terrific explosion at coal mine No. 1 of the Phelps-Dodge Corporation killed seventy around 2:30 p.m. about 5,000 feet from the portal of the mine.
2/8/1922 Washington, DC the historical Treasury Building fire, apparently started by a gas blow torch or a barrel of kerosene used in roofing work; threatened explosive chemicals are stored in test room of the Prohibition Bureau at 4:00 p.m. The building’s “vaults are packed with millions of dollars in currency and gold and silver bullion, is in the heart of the Nation’s Capital and all the fire apparatus in the city was summoned to the scene.”
2/8/1916 a gas explosion killed nine men working in the Ross vein of the No. 5 slope of the Nottingham mine, in Plymouth, PA.
2/8/1902 Paterson, NJ conflagration “burned its way through the business section of the city and claimed as its own a majority of the finer structures devoted to commercial, civic, educational and religious use, as well as scores of houses;” “hundreds were left homeless and thousands without employment” around midnight driven by a northerly gale.
2/8/1899 Winnipeg, MB the seven-story Manitoba Hotel built in 1891 that could accommodate 400 guests was destroyed by a fire that extended to the rail office Northern Pacific Railroad with the “mercury 43 below.”
2/8/1897 Ryan OK at 2:30 a.m. a fire that started in the drug store to four businesses.
2/8/1890 a “taxpayer” dwelling house fire in 259-261 North Street Boston, MA killed eleven, fatally injured three and seriously injured six; the fire started in Maurice Rubey’s clothing store on the first floor and extended up the stairway to the residence on the three upper floors shortly after midnight.
2/8/1865 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a petroleum storage fire at Washington Avenue above Ninth Street destroyed several buildings and over 3,000 barrels of coal oil burned.