This Month in Fire History — January 2025

January is often cited as a cold, cruel month and nowhere is that seen more than the fire service. The U.S. Fire Service has seen several tragedies that have taken the lives of many firefighters in January and an international event claimed 20 more.

Jan. 5, 1995, Seattle—Pang Warehouse Fire

On Jan. 5, 1995, a tragic fire occurred at the Mary Pang's frozen food warehouse in Seattle's Chinatown International District. This fire, which was intentionally set, resulted in the deaths of four Seattle firefighters, marking the worst loss of life in the department's history.

With the business in decline, and looking to collect the insurance money, Martin Pang, the adopted son of warehouse owners Mary and Harry Pang, set fire to the basement of the warehouse, which contained combustible materials including car-racing supplies and cardboard.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they were unaware of the building's layout and the presence of a basement. This lack of critical information led to a tragic turn of events. As firefighters battled the blaze on what they believed was the ground floor, the floor suddenly collapsed, causing four firefighters to fall 20 feet into the burning basement.

Martin Pang eventually pled guilty to four counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

We remember the four firefighters killed that day:

• Lt. Gregory Shoemaker, 43
• Lt. Walter Kilgore, 45
• Firefighter Randall Terlicker, 35
• Firefighter James Brown, 25

Jan. 14, 1969, Oahu, HI—USS Enterprise Fire

At approximately 8:18 a.m. on Jan. 14, 1969, a Zuni rocket accidentally detonated under the wing of an F-4 Phantom II aircraft on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise in Oahu, HI, about 70 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor.

The explosion perforated the aircraft's fuel cells, igniting leaking JP-5 jet fuel. Within about a minute, three more Zuni rockets exploded, blowing holes in the flight deck. Burning jet fuel poured through these holes into lower levels of the ship.

Subsequent explosions of 500-pound bombs created larger holes in the deck and ruptured a 6,000-gallon fuel tank.

The consequences were catastrophic as 28 sailors were killed, 314 others were injured, 15 aircraft were destroyed and damages were estimated at $126 million (the equivalent of more than $1 billion today).

Remarkably, the Enterprise was repaired over 51 days at Pearl Harbor and resumed its deployment later that year.

Jan. 19, 2017, Tehran, Iran—Tehran High-Rise Fire

On Jan. 19, 2017, the iconic Plasco Building, the tallest structure in Tehran, Iran, caught fire and eventually collapsed, killing 20 firefighters and injuring 70 others.

At approximately 8 a.m., fire broke out on the ninth floor of the 17-story building and quickly spread throughout the building.

Approximately 200 firefighters battled the blaze for several hours before the building’s north wall gave way leading to its sudden collapse.

Fire department officials claimed they had previously warned building managers about safety issues, but the building still lacked proper fire extinguishers and safety measures at the time of the fire. A government report later stated that the building's owners had ignored safety warnings.

An electric short circuit was reported as the trigger for the fire, along with unauthorized and non-standard wiring.

Jan. 23, 2005, New York City—FDNY Black Sunday

Three veteran FDNY firefighters died at two seperate fires on Jan. 23, 2005, a day that has become known as “Black Sunday.”

As Christopher J. Naum reported on Firehouse.com, two firefighters were killed and four others were badly hurt when they were forced to jump from a fourth-floor window of a burning building in the Bronx. Later that day, a third firefighter died after tackling a basement blaze in Brooklyn.

“Lt. Curtis Meyran, 46, of Battalion 26, and Firefighter John Bellew, 37, of Ladder 27, died after battling the Bronx blaze on East 178th Street in the Morris Heights section.

“The Brooklyn firefighter, Richard Sclafani, 37, died at a hospital after being injured at a two-alarm fire in the East New York section.

“Six Bronx firefighters became trapped in the building while searching for people on the fourth floor. When the fire from the third floor broke through to the fourth, they were faced with a horrifying choice. They jumped out a fourth-floor window, knowing that they would be critically injured.

“Firefighters Jeffrey Cool, Joseph DiBernardo, Eugene Stolowski, and Brandon Cawley were badly hurt in the Bronx fire. They were trapped on the fourth floor and were left with the life-or-death choice of leaping 50 feet or burning up.”

Paul Peluso reported on how the four survivors reunited at Firehouse Expo the following year to tell their stories.

Rescue 3's Joseph DiBernardo and Jeff Cool, and Ladder 27's Eugene Stalowski and Brendan Cawley candidly spoke about their emotions, the incident and what they learned from the tragedy.

"We thought about doing this for a while but kept telling ourselves, 'No, we're not going to do that,'" Cool said about talking to an audience about the incident. "But, we're here for the brothers. That's what it's all about. It can happen to you. You might think: 'It's not going to be me,' but if you're not on the top of your game, it could be you."

The firefighters went into great detail of their ordeal, as reported by Peluso, including this passage:

“As Stalowski, Cawley and Meyran were trapped in a bedroom, they were losing air. The three firefighters did everything they could do, sharing the remaining air. That's when they huddled at an open window to get a breath.

"’I really thought the side of my face melted with the heat,’ Cawley said. Soon after, Meyran fell from the window. ‘I watched Curt land and it was something I never want to see again,’ he said. ‘I thought for sure I'd be the next to fall, holding onto the window. Gene kept coaching me, telling me I could do it.

"’When I fell, I hit my left shoulder. I was told we were doing something like 40 to 45 mph going down.’ Out of the four survivors, Cawley's injuries were the least severe, with the other three confined to wheelchairs months after the fire.”

Cawley returned to work in November of 2007.

Tragically, DiBernardo, who was forced to retire from the department due to his injuries, was found dead in his Long Island home in 2011 from an accidental overdose of painkillers and anti-depressants.

Firehouse.com News Editor Susan Nicol wrote that Harvey Eisner, the late editor-in-chief of Firehouse, said in conversations with DiBernardo over the years, he knew he was still suffering. “The FDNY was his life.” Eisner recalled, more than 2,000 people attended the three-hour presentation, that was originally scheduled for 90 minutes.

“There was a standing room crowd, and I don’t think anyone walked out. It was just an amazing presentation. It was the first time they had talked about what happened.”

Firehouse.com reported on DiBernardo’s father’s efforts to honor his son.

“In his first interview since his 40-year old son was found dead in his Long Island bedroom--retired, FDNY deputy chief Joseph DiBernardo told PIX 11 he wants his son's name included on the FDNY's "Wall of Heroes"--which honors those who died in the line of duty.”

A secret FDNY report that was highly critical of the way the department responded to the Bronx fire was uncovered by a local news reporter.

Jan. 24, 2022, Baltimore, MD—Baltimore Row House Fire

On Jan. 24, 2022, fire broke out in a vacant three-story rowhouse on South Stricker Street in West Baltimore. Firefighters were called to the fire on the 200 block of South Stricker at 5:53 a.m. and arrived at 5:56.

Firehouse.com reported that a photo posted to Twitter by Baltimore Firefighters Local 734, showed fire from all floors of the three-story, middle-of-the-row home.

Just after 6:30, Local 734 tweeted that there had been a collapse and multiple maydays were called. In a photo they shared, fire was now through the roof of the structure. 

A second alarm was called to bring additional crews to the scene.

The collapse resulted in the deaths of three Baltimore City Fire Department members:

• Lt. Paul Butrim
• Lt. Kelsey Sadler
• EMT/Firefighter Kenny Lacayo

A fourth firefighter, John McMaster, was critically injured but survived the incident.

Shortly thereafter, remembrances of the firefighters began to pour in, and a GoFundMe was established.

Firehouse.com streamed the memorial service live.

In May 2024, the families of the deceased firefighters filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Baltimore City, alleging that the city maintained a policy of knowingly sending firefighters into structurally unsafe condemned buildings. The lawsuit was thrown out by a judge last month.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the fire and determined in October 2022 that it was ignited due to criminal activity and the deaths of the firefighters were ruled homicides.

Baltimore City Fire Chief Niles Ford resigned following the release of an investigative report into the line of duty deaths.

One year later, on the anniversary of the tragedy, the Baltimore Fire Department held a moment of silence.

Other Notable January Fires

Jan. 5, 1985, Erath, LA—Texaco Gas Plant Fire

The Texaco gas plant in Erath, LA, was destroyed by fire, forcing the evacuation of a two-mile area around the facility, the fire started in the hot oil system of the processing plant that produced butane and propane.

Jan. 6, 1961, San Francisco—Thomas Hotel Fire

A mattress fire believed extinguished suddenly erupted into a general alarm blaze in the Mission Street hotel. Fire officials reported 17 persons were killed.

Jan. 10, 1976, Fremont, NE—Pathfinder Hotel Fire

On January 10, 1976, a natural gas leak caused a massive explosion in the basement of the Pathfinder Hotel in Fremont, Nebraska. Twenty died; 40 were injured. Eight buildings were destroyed.

Jan. 11, 1820, Savannah, GA—Great Savannah Fire

Fueled in part by the usual combustibles, wooden roofs and buildings, and further energized by an unusual propellant, illegally stored gunpowder in City Market, the fire of Jan. 11, 1820, simply decimated downtown Savannah.

Jan. 12, 1908: Boyertown, PA— Rhoads Opera House Fire

The Rhoads opera house caught fire during a stage play sponsored by nearby St. John's Lutheran Church. Of the approximately 400 men, women, and children either in attendance or associated with the performance of the play, 171 died in various ways as they tried to escape.

Jan. 27, 1967, Cape Kennedy, FL—Apollo 1 Launch Pad Fire

On Jan. 27, 1967, tragedy struck on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy during a preflight test for Apollo 204 (AS-204). The mission was to be the first crewed flight of Apollo, and was scheduled to launch Feb. 21, 1967. Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee lost their lives when a fire swept through the command module.