Date of death:
January 12, 1951
Department:
Montgomery Fire/Rescue (AL)
Number of Line-of-Duty Deaths:
2
On Friday, January 12, 1951, Montgomery firefighters were dispatched to a fire at Trinity Presbyterian Church in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. Flames had taken hold inside the church’s sanctuary, filling the historic structure with smoke and heat as crews moved quickly to contain the blaze. It was believed the fire originated in the basement and spread upward into the sanctuary.
Approximately 35 firefighters, led by Fire Chief Robert Lampley, battled the fire for hours. As conditions worsened, crews were ordered out of the building to regroup an effort to gain better control. Outside, thousands of spectators lined the sidewalks, watching as firefighters continued their determined fight against the flames.
After reorganizing their attack, firefighters from the Cloverdale station advanced a hoseline back into the sanctuary. At one point, the hoseline became caught on one of the columns on the church’s portico. Five firefighters went out to free the line and gain additional slack, working to allow Jackson and McKinney to continue their advance toward the altar in intense heat and zero visibility.
Just two minutes later, without warning, the roof collapsed, trapping firefighters inside. Firefighter J.J. Hall remembers, “We were out on the porch just seconds and a second later we would have been back in there.” A firefighter on the aerial ladder reported that after an explosion the walls bulged out 3 feet and the “roof fell like a brick.”
We had already gone through the first door and were in the foyer and I was just stepping into the main door when the roof came down. The blast of air picked me up and knocked me backwards. And flying through the air, I hit Lieutenant Day and Firefighter Hall and knocked them backwards. The roof came straight down. I never saw a roof come down like that.
Firefighters Curtis D. McKinney and James Eugene “J.E.” Jackson were killed in the collapse—sacrificing their lives in the line of duty while protecting their community. Investigators later determined the cause of the fire was a short circuit in the fuse box. The fire itself was contained to the sanctuary, and its walls remained standing after the fire was extinguished.
James Eugene “J.E.” Jackson was the son of Police Captain H.E. Jackson, and Curtis D. McKinney was the brother-in-law of Fire Chief Robert Lampley—connections that underscored the profound personal loss felt across both the fire and law enforcement communities.
In the days that followed, a fund was established to support the surviving families—an early expression of a community rallying around its own. Soon after the fire, a new firehouse on Cleveland Avenue was dedicated in honor of Jackson and McKinney, ensuring their names and sacrifice would remain part of the city they served.
