Incident Date:
January 28, 1961
Department:
Chicago Fire Department (IL)
Number of Line-of-Duty Deaths:
9
On January 28, 1961, nine Chicago firefighters were killed and fifteen injured when the wall of a burning warehouse collapsed onto the roof of a neighboring building where crews were operating. While rescue efforts were underway, the roof collapsed, further trapping and entombing firefighters. Temperatures hovered near zero, hampering rescue efforts and operations.