List of the deadliest firefighter disasters in the United States

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 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]
14 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] [6]
16 Inaja Fire November 25, 1956 11 33°5′54″N 116°39′50″W / 33.09833°N 116.66389°W / 33.09833; -116.66389 [7]
17 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 [8]
18 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 [9]
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 [10]
21 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 [11]
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 [12]
24 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 [13]
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 [14]
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[]

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 
Download coordinates as: KML

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Another source says that there were 86 deaths, but this seems to count almost all of the civilians as well.[2]
  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[]

  1. ^ a b c "Deadliest incidents resulting in the deaths of 8 or more firefighters". National Fire Protection Association.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Inferno "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2013-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Staff Ride to the Blackwater Fire". Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "America's Most Devastating Wildfires | American Experience | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Remembering the Charleston Sofa Super Store Fire Six Years Later". International Association of Fire Fighters. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Syracuse Post Standard, Syracuse NY, Jan 31, 2015" "Rochester Democrat Chronicle, Rochester NY, Feb 4, 1939"
  11. ^ "Gulf Oil Refinery- Philadelphia, Pa. 30 Years Ago. Tragic Fire Revisited". Firehouse. Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  12. ^ "Chester Daily Times, Chester PA, Feb 17, 1882" "Chester Daily Times, Chester PA, Feb 19, 1912"
  13. ^ Spak, Steve. ""The Waldbaum's Fire and Tragedy"".
  14. ^ "Six Kansas City firefighters killed in 1988 explosion". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
Retrieved from ""