Lessons from the Fireground; December 27,1983 Buffalo, New York Five Firefighter Line-of-Duty Deaths As Buffalo (NY) firefighters arrived at the scene of a reported propane leak in a four-story radiator warehouse (Type III Ordinary and Type IV Heavy Timber construction), a massive explosion occurred, killing five firefighters and injuring nine others, three of them critically. […]

The Waldbaum’s Supermarket Fire and Collapse: FDNY 1978 Honor, Remembrance, Learning’s The Waldbaum Super market fire, Brooklyn, New York occurred on August 2, 1978. Six firefighters died in the line of duty when the roof of a burning Brooklyn supermarket collapsed, plunging 12 firefighters into the flames. The fire began in a hallway near the […]

As we approach the July 4th holiday period, two significant LODD incidents previously occurred during this time frame

Lessons from the Fireground: The Strand Theater Fire Brockton (MA) 1941; 13 Firefighter LODD 1941-2017 The 76th Anniversary and Remembrance of the Strand Theater Strand Theatre Background The Strand Theater was first erected in 1915 on the site of a previous theatre which was destroyed by fire on April 7, 1915. The Strand Theatre opened […]

Remembering the “23rd Street Fire” October 17, 1966-2016; 50th Anniversary and Remembrances On October 17th, 1966, Manhattan Dispatch recorded an alarm from a resident at 7 East 22nd Street for smoke on the 4th floor of a brownstone. Box 0598 was transmitted at 2136 hours. Engine 14, 3 & 16, Ladders 3 & 12, Battalion […]

  Lessons from the Fireground: FDNY Lt. Howard Carpluk, Jr.,  and FF Michael C. Reilly August 27.2006 Box 33- 2797  1575 Walton Avenue, Bronx, New York On August 27, 2006, FDNY Lieutenant Howard Carpluk, Jr., and FF Michael C. Reilly died in the line-of-duty after the floor they were operating on during fire suppression operations […]

Lessons from the Fireground: Buffalo (NY) Fire Department On August 24, 2009, 45-year-old Lieutenant Charles “Chip” McCarthy and 34-year-old Firefighter Jonathan S. Croom died in an early morning fire after a partial first floor collapse at a mixed occupancy commercial/residential structure.   Basement fires in both residential and commercial occupancies are one of the most […]

Fire escapes can be readily found on numerous buildings of heritage and legacy construction, are you aware of some safety considerations?

Lessons from the Fireground- Third Avenue Collapse FDNY 1956 4065 Third Avenue Bronx (NY) April 4, 1956 FDNY- Box 4-4- 2904 Bronx (NY) Box 2904 was struck at 20:40 hours on April 4, 1956 for a reported fire in the basement that had communicated vertically into the first floor and had spread into the wall […]

Eleven Minutes to Mayday: Lessons from 2008 Resonate Today