List of the deadliest firefighter disasters in the United States

Below is a list of the deadliest firefighter disasters in the United States, in which more than five firefighters died.

List

Rank	Event	Date	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	[1][2]
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	[3]
3	1933 Griffith Park Fire	October 3, 1933	29	34°8′32.66″N 118°17′36.28″W / 34.1424056°N 118.2934111°W	[2]
4	Texas City disaster	April 16, 1947	27	29°22′39″N 94°53′29″W / 29.37750°N 94.89139°W	[1][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	[1][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	[1][2]
6	Yarnell Hill Fire	June 30, 2013	19	34°14′47.84″N 112°45′20.94″W / 34.2466222°N 112.7558167°W	[2]
8	Blackwater fire of 1937	August 21, 1937	15	44°24′43″N 109°44′30″W / 44.41194°N 109.74167°W	[4]
8	Rattlesnake Fire	July 9, 1953	15	39°39′19.05″N 122°38′9.67″W / 39.6552917°N 122.6360194°W	[1][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	[1][2]
11	Strand Theatre fire	March 10, 1941	13	42°4′58.40″N 71°1′9.58″W / 42.0828889°N 71.0193278°W	[1][2]
11	Mann Gulch fire	August 4, 1949	13	46°52′46.56″N 111°54′17.64″W / 46.8796000°N 111.9049000°W	[1][2]
11	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	[1]
14	Kingman explosion	July 5, 1973	12	35°12′54.10″N 114°1′48.95″W / 35.2150278°N 114.0302639°W	[1]
14	23rd Street Fire	October 16, 1966	12	40°44′27.39″N 73°59′20.01″W / 40.7409417°N 73.9888917°W	[1]
16	West Fertilizer Company explosion	April 17, 2013	10	31°48′58″N 97°05′17″W / 31.816°N 97.088°W	[5]
17	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	[6]
17	Hotel Vendome fire	June 17, 1972	9	42°21′4.55″N 71°4′43.09″W / 42.3512639°N 71.0786361°W	[1][2]
17	Collins Block Fire (Syracuse, NY)	February 3, 1939	9	43°3′4.79″N 76°9′12.92″W / 43.0513306°N 76.1535889°W	[7]
20	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	[8]
20	1975 Philadelphia Gulf refinery fire	August 17, 1975	8	39°54′7″N 75°12′17″W / 39.90194°N 75.20472°W	[9]
20	Jackson Pyrotechnic Explosion (Chester, PA)	February 17, 1882	8	39°50′46″N 75°21′24″W / 39.84611°N 75.35667°W	[10]
23	Waldbaum's supermarket fire	August 2, 1978	6		[11]
23	Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire	December 3, 1999	6	42°15′36.23″N 71°47′34.17″W / 42.2600639°N 71.7928250°W	[1]

Notes

Footnotes

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

Citations

1. "FOX Facts: Deadliest Firefighter Disasters". Fox News. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
2. "The Worst Firefighter Tragedies: Where Deadly Ariz. Blaze Ranks". NBC 10 Philadelphia. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
3. Inferno http://library.thinkquest.org/C0119184/english/historical_fires_1910.shtml
4. "Staff Ride to the Blackwater Fire". Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
5. "Memorial held for firefighters killed in West Texas Fertilizer Company explosion". 22 April 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
6. "Remembering the Charleston Sofa Super Store Fire Six Years Later". International Association of Fire Fighters. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
7. "Syracuse Post Standard, Syracuse NY, Jan 31, 2015" "Rochester Democrat Chronicle, Rochester NY, Feb 4, 1939"
8. "Deadliest incidents resulting in the deaths of 8 or more firefighters", from the National Fire Protection Association
9. "Gulf Oil Refinery- Philadelphia, Pa. 30 Years Ago. Tragic Fire Revisited". Firehouse.
10. "Chester Daily Times, Chester PA, Feb 17, 1882" "Chester Daily Times, Chester PA, Feb 19, 1912"
11. Spak, Steve. ""The Waldbaum's Fire and Tragedy"".