On 9/30/1896 a Brooklyn, New York (FDNY) firefighter died while he “was working from an extension ladder at the Greenpoint Telephone Office, a four-story building fire, at Manhattan Avenue and Greene Street. He lost his balance and fell to the ground, a distance of thirty feet. He was taken to the hospital, where it was discovered that he had a contusion of the hip and a severe scalp wound. He died of the injuries he sustained.”
On 9/30/1907 an Atlanta, Georgia firefighter died as a result of injuries he sustained on June 21, 1907, when he and several other firefighters were caught in the collapse of a front porch at a dwelling fire. The firefighter suffered a fractured skull, in addition to severe cuts, burns, and bruises. Another firefighter, who was also in the collapse, died on September 7, 1907.
On 9/30/1939 a Saint Paul, Minnesota firefighter “died from inhaling toxic gas from a refrigerator fire at 1161 Fauquier.”
On 9/30/1951 a Dayton, Ohio firefighter died “while fighting a fire at a factory/warehouse located at 101 Pine Street. The firefighter was overcome by smoke and collapsed. He was treated by his fellow firefighters and then taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital where he died within thirty minutes of arriving at 3:30 p.m.”
On 9/30/1959 a Shakopee, Minnesota firefighter died at the Hughes garage fire. “A Shakopee volunteer firefighter was the victim of a $200,000 six-hour blaze which gutted the former Hughes garage on Second and Lewis Streets. He was killed when he fell through the roof of the structure at about 1:50 a.m. shortly after the alarm had been sounded. According to observers on the scene, he was breaking the skylight on the roof during “venting” operations which would have allowed the firefighters to douse the center of the blaze above the firm’s main office area. He landed on the top of a concrete records vault only several feet below the roof level, a circumstance which made it impossible for rescuers to find him until the flames had subsided. Heroic rescue attempts were made by firefighters who entered the burning building in a vain search for the victim. One firefighter led a crew of rescue workers into the building again and brought out the body at about 4:30 a.m. Rescue would have been much more likely had the firefighter dropped through almost any other place on the roof. Had such been the case, he probably would have dropped into the garage where rescuers could have found him.”
On 9/30/2002 a Terre Haute, Indiana firefighter died while “fighting a fire at a garage and auto body shop when there was a large explosion causing debris and a facade to collapse forward on several firefighters, including him, who was trapped under large cement blocks killing him. The cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma to the head and chest. An employee of the body shop was arrested and charged with murder and 2 counts of arson resulting in serious bodily injury.”
On 9/30/1987 a dwelling fire killed twelve people in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after a pre-dawn blaze in a 93-year-old wood-frame house not equipped with smoke detectors. The house was overcrowded and escapes were hindered, non-compartmented construction allowed smoke and fire to spread rapidly; a lack of fire prevention education and escape planning characterized the victims.
On 9/30/1999 radiation released at the Japanese Tokaimura nuclear plant killed one and injured forty-nine.
On 9/30/1893 Crystal Falls, Michigan mine disaster killed forty.