From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Below is a list of the deadliest firefighter disasters in the United States , in which more than five firefighters died. "Firefighter" is defined as a professional trained to fight fires. Hence the 1933 Griffith Park fire is excluded, as it killed 29 untrained civilians.
List
Rank
Event
Date
Firefighter Fatalities
Coordinates
Reference
1
September 11 attacks
September 11, 2001
343
40°42′46.8″N 74°0′48.6″W / 40.713000°N 74.013500°W / 40.713000; -74.013500
[ 1]
2
Great Fire of 1910
August 22, 1910
78[ N 1]
47°25′34″N 116°6′13″W / 47.42611°N 116.10361°W / 47.42611; -116.10361
[ 1] [ 3]
4
Texas City disaster
April 16, 1947
27
29°22′39″N 94°53′29″W / 29.37750°N 94.89139°W / 29.37750; -94.89139
[ 4] [ 2]
5
Chicago Union Stock Yards fire (1910)
December 22, 1910
21
41°49′8.31″N 87°39′40.08″W / 41.8189750°N 87.6611333°W / 41.8189750; -87.6611333
[ 4] [ 2]
6
McKee refinery fire
July 29, 1956
19
35°57′21.28″N 101°53′11.49″W / 35.9559111°N 101.8865250°W / 35.9559111; -101.8865250
[ 4] [ 2]
Yarnell Hill Fire
June 30, 2013
19
34°14′47.84″N 112°45′20.94″W / 34.2466222°N 112.7558167°W / 34.2466222; -112.7558167
[ 2]
8
Blackwater fire of 1937
August 21, 1937
15
44°24′43″N 109°44′30″W / 44.41194°N 109.74167°W / 44.41194; -109.74167
[ 5]
Rattlesnake Fire
July 9, 1953
15
39°39′19.05″N 122°38′9.67″W / 39.6552917°N 122.6360194°W / 39.6552917; -122.6360194
[ 4] [ 2]
10
South Canyon Fire
July 6, 1994
14
39°34′26.48″N 107°25′36.82″W / 39.5740222°N 107.4268944°W / 39.5740222; -107.4268944
[ 4] [ 2]
11
Strand Theatre fire (Brockton, Massachusetts)
March 10, 1941
13
42°4′58.40″N 71°1′9.58″W / 42.0828889°N 71.0193278°W / 42.0828889; -71.0193278
[ 4] [ 2]
Mann Gulch fire
August 4, 1949
13
46°52′46.56″N 111°54′17.64″W / 46.8796000°N 111.9049000°W / 46.8796000; -111.9049000
[ 4] [ 2]
Friedlander Leather Remnants Factory fire
December 21, 1910
13
39°58′5.50″N 75°8′29.35″W / 39.9681944°N 75.1414861°W / 39.9681944; -75.1414861
[ 4]
Bowen-Merrill Bookstore Fire
March 17, 1890
13
39°46′02.7″N 86°09′32.0″W / 39.767417°N 86.158889°W / 39.767417; -86.158889
[ 6]
15
Kingman explosion
July 5, 1973
12
35°12′54.10″N 114°1′48.95″W / 35.2150278°N 114.0302639°W / 35.2150278; -114.0302639
[ 4]
23rd Street Fire
October 17, 1966
12
40°44′27.39″N 73°59′20.01″W / 40.7409417°N 73.9888917°W / 40.7409417; -73.9888917
[ 4]
Loop Fire Disaster
November 1, 1966
12
34°20′05″N 118°23′47″W / 34.33472°N 118.39639°W / 34.33472; -118.39639 [ N 2]
[ 7]
18
Inaja Fire
November 25, 1956
11
33°5′54″N 116°39′50″W / 33.09833°N 116.66389°W / 33.09833; -116.66389
[ 8]
W. T. Jennings Fire
April 25, 1854
11
40°42′44″N 74°00′29″W / 40.71233°N 74.008109°W / 40.71233; -74.008109
[ 9] [ 10]
20
West Fertilizer Company explosion
April 17, 2013
10
31°48′58″N 97°05′17″W / 31.816°N 97.088°W / 31.816; -97.088
[ 11]
21
Charleston Sofa Super Store fire
June 18, 2007
9
40°44′27.39″N 73°59′20.01″W / 40.7409417°N 73.9888917°W / 40.7409417; -73.9888917
[ 12]
Hotel Vendome fire
June 17, 1972
9
42°21′4.55″N 71°4′43.09″W / 42.3512639°N 71.0786361°W / 42.3512639; -71.0786361
[ 4] [ 2]
Collins Block Fire (Syracuse, New York)
February 3, 1939
9
43°3′4.79″N 76°9′12.92″W / 43.0513306°N 76.1535889°W / 43.0513306; -76.1535889
[ 13]
24
Great Boston Fire of 1872
November 9, 1872
8
42°21′13.75″N 71°3′30.80″W / 42.3538194°N 71.0585556°W / 42.3538194; -71.0585556
[ 1]
1975 Philadelphia Gulf refinery fire
August 17, 1975
8
39°54′7″N 75°12′17″W / 39.90194°N 75.20472°W / 39.90194; -75.20472
[ 14]
Jackson Pyrotechnic Explosion (Chester, Pennsylvania)
February 17, 1882
8
39°50′46″N 75°21′24″W / 39.84611°N 75.35667°W / 39.84611; -75.35667
[ 15]
27
Woolworth Fire- Charleston WV
March 4, 1949
7
38°20'.970"N 81°38'.139' W
28
Waldbaum's supermarket fire
August 2, 1978
6
40°35′33.93″N 73°57′0.48″W / 40.5927583°N 73.9501333°W / 40.5927583; -73.9501333
[ 16]
Queens soap plant fire
October 26, 1962
6
40°43′39″N 73°55′24″W / 40.72740°N 73.92338°W / 40.72740; -73.92338
[ 17] [ 18]
Kansas City ammonium nitrate explosion
November 29, 1988
6
39°50′47.98″N 94°34′22.49″W / 39.8466611°N 94.5729139°W / 39.8466611; -94.5729139
[ 19]
Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire (Worcester, Massachusetts)
December 3, 1999
6
42°15′36.23″N 71°47′34.17″W / 42.2600639°N 71.7928250°W / 42.2600639; -71.7928250
[ 4]
Notes
^ Another source says that there were 86 deaths, but this seems to count almost all of the civilians as well.[ 2]
^ Angeles National Forest . Approximately 2,500 feet (760 m) southwest of the Pacoima Dam . Page 12 & 43 of The Loop Fire Report reference has map with the location marked relative to the dam.
Citations
^ a b c "Deadliest incidents resulting in the deaths of 8 or more firefighters" . National Fire Protection Association .
^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Worst Firefighter Tragedies: Where Deadly Ariz. Blaze Ranks" . NBC 10 Philadelphia . 1 July 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013 .
^ Inferno "Inferno > English > Historical Fires > 1910 Fire Season" . Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2013-07-01 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "FOX Facts: Deadliest Firefighter Disasters" . Fox News . 19 June 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2013 .
^ "Staff Ride to the Blackwater Fire" . Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013 .
^ https://www.firehero.org/2021/03/29/memorial-monday-bowen-merrill-bookstore-fire/#:~:text=On%20the%20afternoon%20of%20March,other%20incident%20in%20Indianapolis%20history .
^ Pyles, Hamilton; Spaulding, Alfred; Wilson, Carl; Moore, William; Brunton, George (n.d.). "The Loop Fire Disaster" (PDF) . Fireleadership.gov . United States Forest Service . Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2019 .
^ "America's Most Devastating Wildfires | American Experience | PBS" . www.pbs.org . Retrieved 2017-10-18 .
^ "Jennings Building Fire and Collapse" . New York City Fire Museum . April 25, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2022 .
^ "DREADFUL LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY!; LARGE FIRE IN BROADWAY. Falling in of the Wall. Firemen Buried Under the Ruins. TEN MEN KILLED! AND SEVERAL DANGEROUSLY INJURED. $20,000 worth of Property Destroyed" . New-York Daily Times . April 26, 1854. p. 4.
^ "Memorial held for firefighters killed in West Texas Fertilizer Company explosion" . 22 April 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013 .
^ "Remembering the Charleston Sofa Super Store Fire Six Years Later" . International Association of Fire Fighters . 18 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013 .
^ "Syracuse Post Standard, Syracuse NY, Jan 31, 2015" "Rochester Democrat Chronicle, Rochester NY, Feb 4, 1939"
^ "Gulf Oil Refinery- Philadelphia, Pa. 30 Years Ago. Tragic Fire Revisited" . Firehouse. Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2014-04-02 .
^ "Chester Daily Times, Chester PA, Feb 17, 1882" "Chester Daily Times, Chester PA, Feb 19, 1912"
^ Spak, Steve. " "The Waldbaum's Fire and Tragedy" " .
^ "Queens Auto Shop Memorializing Tragic Fire At Location" . CBS News . October 12, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2022 .
^ Holden, Robert F. (March 23, 2013). "They came because they always do. Maspeth Remembers and Dedicates Site of Tragic Fire 50 Years ago" . Juniper Park Civic. Retrieved July 13, 2022 .
^ "Six Kansas City firefighters killed in 1988 explosion" . The Kansas City Star . Retrieved 18 October 2017 .