Fire Events

1666 Sep 2
to 1666 Sep 5
 Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gu...
1849 May 17 The St. Louis Great Fire
The St. Louis Fire of 1849 was a devastating fire that occurred on May 17, 1849 and destroyed a significant part of St. Louis, Missouri and many of the steamboats using the Mississippi Ri...
1854 Oct 6 Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead
On the morning of Friday, the 6th inst., between twelve and one o’clock, a fire broke out in the worsted manufactory of Messrs. Wilson and Sons, in Hillgate, Gateshead. After raging with ...
1876 Dec 5 Brooklyn Theater Fire
Miss Kate Claxton reclined on a pallet of straw as she played the part of Louise, the blind girl in the popular melodrama of the times, “The Two Orphans.” It was shortly after 11 p.m., ju...
1881 Sep 5 Great Thumb Forest Fire
In the Lower Peninsula of the state of Michigan, a widespread drought had begun to dry out pastures, crops, wells and, eventually, forests. The area was rich in timber, and a great deal o...
1887 Sep 5 Theatre Royal Fire
On the 5th September 1887, on the first night of a romantic comedy called Romany Rye, and with an audience of 800, a naked gas flame ignited some drapes in the fly's. Within moments, pani...
1894 Sep 1 Great Hinckley Fire
The Great Hinckley Fire was a major conflagration on September 1, 1894, which burned an area of 420 square miles (1,100 km2) centered on the town of Hinckley, Minnesota. The fire killed h...
1900 Jul 14 Prescott's Great Fire
Prescott is home to the historical area known as "Whiskey Row", until 1956 a notorious red-light district. In 1900, a great fire destroyed most of the buildings on Whiskey Row. As legend ...
1903 Aug 10 Couronnes Disaster - Paris Métro Fire
The first sign of trouble was at 6:53 p.m., when double train 43 completed the climb to Boulevard Barbès station with heavy smoke pouring from one of the motors on its front car, car M202...
1908 Mar 4 Collinwood School Fire
The COLLINWOOD SCHOOL FIRE occurred on 4 Mar. 1908, killing 172 children and 2 teachers at Lakeview Elementary School in the village of COLLINWOOD. The fire began shortly after 9 a.m when...
1909 Jan 20 Chicago Crib Disaster
The temporary Crib used in the construction of the Southwest Land and Lake Tunnel System, situated on the line of the tunnel seventy-five hundred feet from the shore, caught fire from som...
1929 May 15 Cleveland Clinic Fire
The Cleveland Clinic fire was a major structure fire at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on May 15, 1929. It started in the basement of the hospital and it was caused by nitrocellulose...
1930 Apr 21 Ohio Penitentiary Fire
On April 21, 1930, the Ohio Penitentiary experienced the worst disaster in its history. A terrible fire broke out in the early evening, eventually killing 322 inmates. Not only was the st...
1942 Dec 8 Seacliff Asylum Fire
At about 9.45 pm on Tuesday 8 December, 1942, fire broke out in Ward 5. This ward was a two-storeyed wooden building which had been added onto the original stone building when the hospita...
1943 Sep 7 Gulf Hotel Fire
Forty-eight men perished when fire swept a small, ancient hotel here today. Forty-four of them never got out of the three-story Gulf Hotel at Preston and Louisiana streets in midtown H...
1949 Apr 4 St. Anthony's Hospital Fire
The death toll in the St. Anthony's hospital fire, which investigators believed may have been fed by fresh paint and varnish, was set at 66 today by the Catholic Chancery office. The k...
1950 Jan 7 Mercy Hospital Fire
A fire in the mental ward of Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa killed 41 people today. "The flames spread rapidly through the 60-year-old brick structure, one of four buildings comprising...
1965 Aug 9 Titan Missile Silo Fire
On August 9, 1965, 53 contract workers were killed in a fire in the Titan missile silo outside of Searcy, in one the largest industrial accidents in US history.
1972 May 2 Sunshine Mine Fire
A fire of as yet undetermined origin was detected by Sunshine employees at approximately 11:35 a.m. on May 2, 1972. At that time, smoke and gas was coming from the 910 raise on the 3700 ...
1973 Aug 2 Summerland Disaster
More than 30 people have died in a fire which has gutted a £2m leisure resort in the Isle of Man. Initial reports suggest the blaze, which destroyed the seven-storey Summerland complex...
1977 May 28 Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire
The Beverly Hills nightclub in Southgate, Kentucky, was destroyed in a disastrous fire in 1977 in which 165 people perished. The club had a colorful history. From 1940 to 1961 the club, o...
1978 Aug 20 Cinema Rex Fire
On August 20, 1978, in the Cinema Rex fire, the Cinema Rex in Abadan, Iran, was set ablaze, killing over 400 individuals. The ruling shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, said that Islamic mili...
1986 Dec 31 Dupont Plaza Hotel Arson
A fire that occurred during the afternoon of 31 Dec. 1986 in the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, claimed 97 lives and injured more than 140 individuals. This fire was one of ...
1987 Nov 18 King's Cross Fire
On Nov. 18, 1987, a flash fire engulfed an old wooden escalator at the King's Cross underground station. Thirty one people perished in that disaster including a firefighter - Colin Townsl...
1995 Oct 28 Baku Metro Fire
A disastrous fire in the subway of Baku, the capitol of Azerbaijan, occured on Saturday the 28th of October 1995. The fire caused the death of 289 passengers. At least 750 people were sav...
1996 Mar 18 Ozone Disco Club Fire
The Ozone Disco Pub in suburban Manila, the site of a fire that killed at least 150 people, had been approved for occupancy by no more than 35 people, officials said today. About 400 peop...
1998 Oct 29 Gothenburg Discothèque Fire
On the evening of October 29 1998, a fire developed in the premises of the Macedonian Association in Gothenburg Sweden. On the evening of the fire, it was estimated that the number of pe...
2000 Aug 27 Ostankino Tower Catches on Fire
The tower caught fire on August 27, 2000, killing three people. In addition, television and radio signals were disrupted around Moscow. The fire broke out at a height of about 458 m (1,50...
2002 Oct 29 Ho Chi Minh City ITC Fire
State media said 120 people were injured in the fire which began at 1:15 p.m. local time (0615 GMT) on Tuesday. Initial reports indicated it may have been sparked by a short-circuit in th...
2004 Dec 30 República Cromañón Nightclub Fire
On 30 December 2004, a fire broke out in the club, killing 194 people and injuring 714 others. The venue was playing host to rock group Callejeros and around 3,000 people were in attendan...
2006 Dec 9 Moscow Hospital Fire
A suspicious fire combined with a blocked exit turned the women's ward of a Moscow drug treatment hospital into a deathtrap Saturday as flames and smoke overcame patients. At least 45 wom...
2008 Nov 13
to 2008 Nov 15
 Montecito Tea Fire occurs
The Montecito Tea Fire is a wildfire that began on November 13, 2008, destroying 210 homes in the cities of Montecito and Santa Barbara, California in the United States of America. It was...
2009 Jan 1 Santika Club Fire
At least 61 people are dead and more than 200 injured after a fire broke out during a new year's party at a Bangkok nightclub. The blaze began just as revellers were counting down the ...
2009 Jan 28 Nakumatt Supermarket Fire
The 2009 Nakumatt supermarket fire occurred when a supermarket in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, caught fire on 28 January 2009. Twenty-nine remains have thus far been located in the rubble of ...
2009 Jan 31 Kenyan Oil Spill Ignition
At least 111 people were killed when an overturned petrol tanker swarmed by locals trying to scoop up free fuel exploded in central Kenya. The deadly fire happened near the Rift Valley...
2009 Feb 4 Holy Name Cathedral catches fire
Firefighters managed to extinguished a three-alarm fire at Holy Name Cathedral, the Holy Name Cathedral is considered to be a Chicago landmark and has existed for 134 years, it is also th...
2009 May 5
to 2009 May 18
 The Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara occurs
The Jesusita Fire was a wildfire that began at approximately 1:45 PM on May 5, 2009 in the hills of Santa Barbara, California. The fire burned 8,733 acres (35.34 km2), destroyed 80 homes ...
2009 Dec 5 Lame Horse Club Fire
Russia was coming to terms last night with its most deadly fire since Soviet times after 109 people died and more than 130 were injured in a blaze at a packed provincial nightclub. Inv...
2010 Jul
to 2010 Sep
Russian Wildfires
Wildfires in Russia have killed 50 people to date as record heat and drought continue to plague the heartland. There are “signals” that the government may ban grain exports as early as Au...
2010 Sep 6
to 2010 Sep 16
 Fourmile Canyon Fire
The Fourmile Canyon fire west of Boulder so far has resulted in $217 million in insurance claims, making it the costliest wildfire in Colorado history in terms of insured damage, the Rock...
2010 Sep 9 San Bruno Pipeline Explosion
A San Bruno man who suffered serious injuries when a gas line exploded and spread flames through the Crestmoor neighborhood died Monday, making him the eighth fatality due to the Sept. 9 ...
2010 Dec 2
to 2010 Dec 5
 Mount Carmel Forest Fire
A 14-year-old boy from the Carmel region admitted Monday to throwing a piece of burning coal into the forest and causing what later became the largest and most devastating forest fire in ...
2011 May 29 Wallow Fire Begins
Since May 29, when the fire began, efforts to contain it have failed due to high heat and strong winds, at times up to 35 mph, that carried flames miles away.
2011 Jun 6 Arizona Towns Begin Evacuations as Fire Spreads
A forest fire continues to rage in Arizona, now covering 287 square miles with some 2,300 firefighters on the scene. The fire, located some 160 miles east of Phoenix, has been blazing for...
2011 Jun 15 Wallow Fire Officially Largest in Arizona History
The bad news: Arizona’s Wallow wildfire is now the state’s largest-ever. The good news: Firefighters got some control over it yesterday, and it is now 18% contained. But "the great news,”...