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List of British firefighters killed in the line of duty

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This article is a list of British firefighters killed in the line of duty since 1900. As such, it only lists those firefighters[note 1] killed or who sustained injuries from which they subsequently died whilst on duty and not those who were off-duty at the time of the event at which they died.[1][note 2][2] It also does not list the 997 firefighters killed during the Second World War,[3][4] nor any deaths relating to The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Military firefighter personnel are only listed if they died during non-combatant fires or accidents. Some links to the original fire authority areas may link to the present day authority that covers the geographic area.

Memorial plaque to Colin Townsley, who died in the King's Cross Fire

For example, the West Riding Fire Service became the West Yorkshire Fire Service in 1974,[5] and during this process parts of the former West Riding of Yorkshire area became part of East Yorkshire (Humberside Fire and Rescue Service), Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester.[6] See History of fire brigades in the United Kingdom

During the period between 1941 and 1947, all fire brigades in Britain were amalgamated into the National Fire Service (NFS).[note 3] This totalled over 1,600 individual brigades. Some links that point to the NFS may actually link to the fire service that covers the present day geographical area. When the NFS was broken up, it was decided that local county authority control would be the natural way to divide the brigades. This left Essex with one brigade covering the ceremonial county and Southend, which was a county borough, with its own independent fire service.[7]

As more than one firefighter has died at certain incidents, some listings for dead firefighters may refer to the first alphabetical entry from that event. Certain brigades may have been subsumed into other services (Bradford Fire Brigade into West Yorkshire) or completely dissolved altogether, such as the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Fire Brigade.

The Firefighter's Prayer

[edit]
National Firefighters Memorial, Cannon Street, London

When I am called to duty, God,
Wherever flames may rage,
Give me strength to save a life,
Whatever be its age.
Help me embrace a little child
Before it is too late.
Or to save an older person
From the horror of that fate.
Enable me to be alert,
And hear the weakest shout,
And quickly and efficiently
To put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling,
To give the best in me,
To guard my friend and neighbour,
And protect their property.
And if according to your will
I must answer Death's call,
Bless with Your protecting hand,
My family one and all.

- unknown

List

[edit]
Name Age Brigade Role Date of incident Circumstances
James Allan Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 The Cheapside Street whisky bond fire. Allan, along with 13 other Glasgow Fire Service colleagues and five from the Glasgow Salvage Corps, were killed at the whisky bond warehouse owned by Arbuckle, Smith & Co. Over a 1,000,000 imperial gallons (4,500,000 L; 1,200,000 US gal) of alcohol was stored on the site and a combination of secure-proof building design and narrow streets hampered the efforts of the firefighters. As the alcohol was superheated, a massive explosion ruptured the walls outwards and covered the firefighters on two different streets with falling masonry; one turntable ladder and its crew were completely covered in rubble. 19 firefighters died in all, in what was described as Britain's worst firefighter disaster since the Second World War.[8]
Derek George William Andrews 32 City of Birmingham Fire Brigade W 25 August 1972 Andrews was fighting a factory fire in Tenby street when the building collapsed onto him. He received fatal injuries.[9]
John Appleby London Fire Brigade 13 July 1969 The Dudgeon's Wharf Explosion; the London Fire Brigade had been called out to a tank farm on the Isle of Dogs in East London when one of the tanks being demolished caught fire. Whilst five firemen were atop the structure trying to pour water in from the top to cool the tank, a worker on the site used a cutting torch to remove an inspection plate at the base of the tank. A spark from the torch ignited the air/gas mix and the tank exploded killing the five firemen and the civilian torch-cutter.[10]
John Averis 27 Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service W 2 November 2007 The 2007 Warwickshire warehouse fire; A fire broke out at a vegetable packing warehouse near to Atherstone-on-Stour in Warwickshire in November 2007. Averis and two colleagues, Ashley Stephens and Darren Yates-Bradley, were not recovered for four days afterwards due to the instability of the structure after it had collapsed. A fourth colleague, Ian Reid, was pulled from the burning building alive, but died later in hospital.[11]
Ian Bagshaw Royal Air Force Fire and Rescue Service W 14 March 1986 Bagshaw, a Senior Aircraftman in the Royal Air Force, died when the emergency vehicle he was in crashed in Lincolnshire. He was serving at RAF Waddington at the time.[12]
Alan Bannon 38 Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service W 6 April 2010 Bannon and a colleague were responding to a fire in a tower block in Southampton. Firefighters had difficulties fighting the fire and the coroner's report stated that Bannon and Shears had died after being exposed to "sudden exposure to initially intense heat from 20.38 to 20.41 and thereafter to excessive heat while dealing with a fire in a flat on the 9th floor of the high-rise tower block Shirley Towers".[13][14]
David Barnes Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service 15 September 1977 Barnes was engaged in fighting a fire in Elgar Road, Reading, when the building collapsed onto him.[15]
George William Barrett 43 West Midlands Fire Service W 2 December 1976 Barrett was killed in a vehicle accident whilst en route to a fire inspection.[16]
Robert Bell 29 Kent Fire and Rescue Service W 8 November 1974 Bell and another firefighter, David Holley, were investigating smoke in a building full of latex mattresses on HMS Pembroke in Chatham Dockyard. It was believed that a flashover occurred and killed the men outright, but it was not known exactly what caused the flashover that resulted in their deaths. Investigations by the Fire Research Station later determined that a smouldering cigarette could cause latex to decompose at low temperatures and allow flammable fumes to accumulate. It was assumed that whilst searching for the seat of the fire, the two firemen turned over one of the smouldering mattresses which allowed an explosive mix of air and flammable vapour to mix and thereby cause an explosion.[17][18]
Iain Bermingham 29 Glasgow Fire Service W 25 August 1972 The Kilbirnie Street fire; Bermingham and five others had gone into a burning building to recover a missing fireman at a cash and carry warehouse on Kilbirnie Street in Glasgow. Fireman Rook was listed as missing and as the six-man team were trying to recover him, an extreme flashover event that caused the temperature to be instantly raised to over 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) occurred and all seven died.[19][20]
Joseph Edmund Binns 29 Bradford Fire Brigade W 21 August 1916 The Low Moor Explosion; Binns, along with five colleagues and a firefighter from a railway company, died as a result of a massive explosion at the Low Moor Munitions plant, Low Moor, Bradford, West Yorkshire in August 1916. The seven were killed during an attempt to control a fire which resulted in the explosion.[21]
Christopher Boyle Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Hylton Brearley 37 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service 9 December 1976 Brearley was killed in Netherton when the appliance that he was in overturned on ice whilst en route to a callout.[22]
Terence Breen London Fire Brigade 13 July 1969 The Dudgeon's Wharf Explosion; see listing under John Appleby[10]
Eli Buckley 29 Bradford Fire Brigade W 21 August 1916 The Low Moor Explosion; see Joseph Edmund Binns[21]
John J Buist 52 Angus Fire Brigade 13 April 1962 Buist, a Divisional Officer, was killed when a bale of jute fell on him whilst tackling a fire in Dundee.[23]
Robert Burrows 25 Salford Fire Brigade W 1 March 1951 Burrows and his crew were on their way to a call in Weaste on the west side of Salford. The fire appliance they were on was a type where the firefighters rode along the outside of the vehicle and held on to a handrail. Whilst en route, the handrail snapped, Burrows and a colleague fell into the road where Burrows sustained head injuries and died.[24] Investigations later determined that water penetration had rotted the wood where the screws affixed it to the appliance.[25]
Edmund Burt 23[note 4] Western Fire Brigade 7 October 1968 Firefighters from the Western Fire Brigade (later Strathclyde), had brought a fire at a papermill in Linwood under control when a wall collapsed and buried four people. Burt died from injuries sustained by falling masonry.[26][27]
James Calder Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
J Calderwood 58 Lanarkshire Fire Brigade 7 January 1963 Calderwood and a colleague, McIntosh, were fighting a fire in a paint store at Colville's Steel Works in Bellshill, Mossend. An explosion ripped through the building killing McIntosh instantly; Calderwood died in hospital eight days later.[28]
Ian Cameron Humberside Fire and Rescue Service 2 May 1980 Cameron was killed en-route to a call-out in a road traffic accident.[29]
Paul Carvosso London Fire Brigade 13 July 1969 The Dudgeon's Wharf Explosion; see listing under John Appleby[10]
Gordon Chapman Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
William Clark 47 Glasgow Fire Brigade 15 November 1967 Clark had been attempting to rescue four children from a house fire in Cumberland Place. All five died at the scene.[30]
Andrew Edmund Clinton 53 West Midlands Fire Service W 17 March 2003 Clinton was working at the top of a hydraulic platform at Bournbrook Fire Station when he fell sustaining fatal injuries.[31]
Francis Bull Cokayne 52 Gillingham Fire Brigade W 11 July 1929 The Gillingham Fair fire disaster; every year at the Gillingham Fete, the Gillingham Fire Brigade had a mock three-story house built in which one fireman would play a bride and another the bridegroom. They would entertain a crowd inside the house and deliberately set a small fire from which everyone could escape, then initiate a larger fire so that the brigade could demonstrate their skills in putting the fire out. On this occasion the larger fire was started before the evacuation had taken place and three firemen and 12 boys from the local Sea Cadet troop died.[32]
Ian Robert Collier 22 West Midlands Fire Service W 29 May 1977 Collier was fighting a fire on a railway embankment in Solihull. He was struck by a railway locomotive and suffered fatal injuries. He had only been a firefighter for five months.[33]
James Conn 49 Glasgow Fire Brigade 24 December 1927 Conn and three other firefighters, died at a warehouse fire in Gallowgate, Glasgow. It was three days before colleagues could recover their bodies.[34][35]
William Crocket Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Alastair Crofts 31 Glasgow Fire Service W 25 August 1972 See Iain Bermingham[19][20]
Archibald Darroch Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Daniel Davidson Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
John Davies 34 Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service R 6 September 1993 During a fire at the Sun Valley poultry processing plant in Hereford, a ceiling collapsed and trapped Davies and his colleague Dave Morris. Both died at the scene.[36][37]
Brian Dean 49 West Midlands Fire Service W 3 December 2008 Dean and his crew (Bluewatch) from Bloxwich Fire Station were returning after dealing with an overturned car incident. Dean suffered a fatal heart attack.[38]
Reginald Deveson 56 Kent Fire Brigade R 11 May 1965 Deveson was helping to put out a fire aboard a ship carrying jute and oil-cake stranded on Deal beach. He had already been at the scene for sometime when he said he was feeling unwell, by the time that a doctor had arrived on the Walmer lifeboat, Deveson had died.[39]
Alfred Dickinson Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Gordon Robert Dix 52 Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service W 16 February 1966 Dix and two colleagues died when they were overcome by smoke at a bunker on RAF Neatishead in Norfolk. The fire had been started deliberately and caused over one and half million pounds worth of damage. Because of the potential for confusion in smoke or complicated building layouts, a knotted guide line was introduced nationally after this fire to assist firefighters to identify the correct way to the exit.[40]
John Donley 26 County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service W 5 September 1982 Donley and his colleague, Tony Hall, were killed when their fire engine overturned en route to a chimney fire in South Hetton.[41]
Morrison Dunbar 23 Glasgow Fire Brigade 24 December 1927 See listing under James Conn[34][35]
Herbert James Durrant 52 Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service W 16 February 1966 The RAF Neatishead fire, see listing under Gordon Robert Dix.[40]
Albert Farrow 44 Kent Fire Brigade R 29 November 1957 A fire had engulfed the tailor's shop at Oakwood Hospital in Maidstone. The fire was successfully extinguished, but without warning, an adjacent 115-foot (35 m) tower collapsed on those performing dampening down operations. Many people were trapped under the rubble and three firemen and three hospital staff were killed.[42][43]
Billy Faust 36 London Fire Brigade W 20 July 2004 Faust and his colleague, Adam Meere, were in the basement of a burning building in Bethnal Green, London. An inquest into their deaths later stated that fire officers had not realised the strength of the flames and that a hose had been burnt through. It was also suggested that when colleagues opened doors to vent the building, a flashover occurred and burnt the men to death.[44][45]
Allan Finlay 20 Glasgow Fire Service W 25 August 1972 See Iain Bermingham.[19][20]
Jack Fourt-Wells 46 London Fire Brigade W 23 January 1958 Smithfield Poultry Market in the Smithfield district of London, burnt down in January 1958. Fourt-Wells and another firefighter, Richard Stocking, became lost in the basement labyrinth beneath the market and were not missed nor reported missing until it was too late.[note 5][46][47]
William Fraser 28 Aberdeen City Fire Brigade 4 March 1909 First Class Fireman William Fraser, met with a sudden death as the result of being struck with a heavy piece of water rhone. The material, weighing over one cwt, became dislodged from the roof, and swept the fireman from his position on the fire escape – on which he had been at work – to the ground, a distance of nearly 40 feet (12 m).[48]
Michael Gamble London Fire Brigade 13 July 1969 The Dudgeon's Wharf Explosion; see listing under John Appleby[10]
Joshua Gardner 35 Mid and West Wales Fire Service 17 September 2019 Died during a training exercise in Milford Haven after two boats collided[49]
Robin John Gleeson 29 West Midlands Fire Service W 19 August 1982 Gleeson sustained fatal head injuries whilst fighting a fire in a paper factory in Walsall.[50]
Neil Goldsmith Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service 15 September 1977 Goldsmith was engaged in fighting a fire in Elgar Road, Reading when the building collapsed onto his colleague (David Barnes). When Goldmsmith went in to try and rescue Barnes, the building suffered a total collapse and killed both men.[15]
Peter Goodwin 27 City of Manchester Fire Brigade T 8 June 1955 Trainee firefighter Goodwin, was attempting to perform a ladder rescue drill known as the carry down at the London Road fire station in Manchester. He lost his balance and fell 20 feet (6.1 m)[51]
Alexander Grassie Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Ernest David 'Dave' Gregory 46 Dorset Fire and Rescue Service R 16 October 1987 Gregory and his colleague Graham White were killed instantly when a tree fell on the front of the cab of their fire appliance, whilst driving between incidents on the night of the 1987 Great Storm[52][53]
Stephen Griffin 42 Gwent Fire Service R 1 February 1996 Griffin and his colleague, Kevin Lane, were killed in a flash-over at a house fire in Blaina, Wales. They had already rescued one 5-year-old boy (who subsequently died on the way to hospital) and had gone in again after information mistakenly led them to believe another child was trapped in the burning house.[54]
Tony Hall 24 County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service W 5 September 1982 See listing under John Donley[41]
Reginald Hartley 47 Salford Fire Brigade W 24 September 1950 Firefighters had been called out to a pickle factory in Salford and had successfully extinguished the flames. In part of the salvage operations later, a faulty wire electrocuted Hartley and he died from his injuries.[55]
John Hawkes 33 Kent Fire Brigade R 29 November 1957 See listing under Albert Farrow[42][43]
Colin Hill 39 City of Sheffield Fire Brigade 5 June 1950 Hill was in the process of rescuing a cat from a tree in Sheffield when it moved higher up the branches. Hill left his 35-foot (11 m) ladder and stood on a branch further up to effect a rescue. The branch snapped and Hill plunged an estimated 40 feet (12 m) to the ground and suffered fatal injuries.[56]
Michael Hill 32 London Fire Brigade W 10 May 1993 Hill was tackling a fire in a launderette in north west London when the roof of the building collapsed trapping Hill and two of his colleagues.[57]
David Holley 34 Kent Fire and Rescue Service W 8 November 1974 See listing under Robert Bell[17][18]
John Stuart Holman 23 Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service W 16 February 1966 The RAF Neatishead fire, see listing under Gordon Robert Dix.[40]
William Hooper 44 Glasgow Fire Service W 25 August 1972 See listing under Iain Bermingham[19][20]
John Humphries 41 Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service W 22 March 1989 Humphries and his crew were tackling a fire on a lorry that was carrying an explosive load in Peterborough. The fire caused a huge explosion and 107 injuries, 80 of which needed hospitalising. Humphries was only 49 feet (15 m) away from the truck when it exploded. A large chunk of debris killed him outright.[58]
Stephen Hunt 38 Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service W 13 July 2013 Hunt and his colleagues were responding to a fire at a hair salon on Oldham Street, Manchester City Centre which had been allegedly set alight by two teenage girls. Hunt took a wrong turn in the zero-visibility fire and was found collapsed and unconscious. He died in hospital.[59]
Terry Hunt 33 London Fire Brigade W 10 July 1991 Hunt along with a colleague, died after they ran out of compressed air in their BA sets. Two BA guide lines or safety lines had been laid into the burning building in Gillender Street, Bow, East London, and the two firefighters became confused and took a wrong turn.[60]
David Jeffrey 24 Glasgow Fire Brigade 24 December 1927 See listing under James Conn[34]
Daniel Jones 30 South Wales Fire and Rescue Service W 3 August 2020 Jones died from complications following an RTC in the fire engine he was travelling in [61]
Malcolm Kirton 38 Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue R 2 February 1992 Kirton died during a fire at the Paul Eyre carpet store in Gainsborough. Kirton and a fellow firefighter went in to search for two casualties believed to still be in the store, both firefighters suffered extreme heat exhaustion and Kirton was found by an emergency BA team collapsed inside the store.[62]
Kevin Lane 32 Gwent Fire Service R 1 February 1996 See Stephen Griffin.[54]
Vivian Lewis 37 Essex Fire Brigade R 5 November 1954 Whilst fighting a fire in a cabinet making works in Harlow New Town, Lewis collapsed and died.[63]
Fleur Lombard 21 Avon Fire and Rescue Service W 4 February 1996 Lombard died after a flashover occurred at the supermarket blaze she was fighting with a colleague in Bristol. Lombard was the first female firefighter in the United Kingdom to die on active service in peacetime.[64]
Paul Mallaghan 46 Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service W 16 June 2007 Mallaghan was part of a team of firefighters that had responded to a vehicle fire on the hard shoulder of the A1(M) near to Stevenage in Hertfordshire when he was struck by another vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was later sentenced to two years in prison for the offence, although it was observed that there was no criminality in the incident, moreover tiredness was the root cause.[65]
Leslie Marsh 35 City of Birmingham Fire Brigade W 12 February 1949 Marsh died after suffering multiple injuries when he fell through the first floor of a disused burning church.[66]
Barry Martin 38 Scottish Fire and Rescue Service W 23 January 2023 Martin died four days after suffering serious injuries whilst tackling a fire at the former Jenners department store building in Edinburgh.[67]
Neil McCulloch Kent Fire and Rescue Service W 9 January 1973 McCulloch had been fighting a fire with his colleagues in a science block at Upbury Manor School in Gillingham when a flashover caused a burning fluorescent light fitting to fall on him and one other colleague. Despite severe burns, he was able to crawl to the edge of the classroom where his colleagues dragged him to safety, however, McCulloch's injuries were too severe and he died at the scene.[68]
Archibald McLay 35 Glasgow Fire Brigade W 3 November 1969 A blaze had broken out in the Scottish Television Studios in the Theatre Royal, Hope Street, Glasgow. At its height, 130 firefighters were fighting the fire which had started due to an electrical fault. McLay slipped and drowned in the sub-basement, which was under 6 feet (1.8 m) of water.[69]
James McLellan Glasgow Salvage Corps W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Joe McCloskey 50 Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service W 1 November 2003 McCloskey was killed when the roof of the burning building he was on, collapsed and dropped him onto the flames below. He suffered 95% first-degree burns on his body.[70]
S McIntosh 48 Lanarkshire Fire Brigade 7 January 1963 See listing under J Calderwood[28]
George McIntyre Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Harry McKellar 31 Glasgow Fire Brigade 24 December 1927 See listing under James Conn[34][35]
Duncan McMillan 25 Glasgow Fire Service W 25 August 1972 See Ian Bermingham[19][20]
Edward McMillan Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Gordon McMillan Glasgow Salvage Corps W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Ian McMillan Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Ian James McPhee 22 West Midlands Fire Service W 28 July 1992 McPhee died whilst fighting a fire in a block of flats in the Lee Bank area of Birmingham. he suffered burns and internal injuries.[71]
John McPherson Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Douglas Mearns 45 Glasgow Fire Service W 2 December 1960 Mearns was in charge of the Glasgow Fireboat and had been called out with other crews to attend a ship fire on the MV Pagensand which was berthed at Prince's Dock in Glasgow. The ship's hold had been alight since it had left Gothenburg carrying matches, paper and other flammable material. The captain ordered that the hold be sealed and when the fire services attended they descended into the hold. Almost immediately there were cries for help and in all, 11 firefighters and one dockworker were overcome by fumes. Mearns could not be revived and died at the scene.[72][73]
Adam Meere 27 London Fire Brigade F 20 July 2004 See listing under Billy Faust.[44]
Paul Metcalf 40 Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service R 5 September 1999 Metcalf had responded with his crew from Ramsbottom fire station to reports of a boy who had disappeared beneath the water in Holcombe Brook, Bury, Greater Manchester. Whilst attempting to search for the boy, Metcalf's rope became entangled on branches in the water and both he and the boy died at the scene.[74]
Michael Miller 26 Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service W 2 February 2005 See Harrow Court fire – Miller and his colleague, Jeff Wornham, had already rescued one person from the flat when they went back for another occupant. The fire escalated and all three of them died due to the excessive heat.[75]
Robert Miller 44 Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service W 31 October 2002 Miller died when he fell through the floor of a burning factory in Leicester.[76]
Andrew Moore 50 West Midlands Fire Service W 16 February 2020 Moore committed suicide in the station and his body was found during the night shift with Red Watch at Wolverhampton Fire Station.[77]
Dave Morris 35 Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service W 6 September 1993 See listing under John Davies[36][37]
James Mungall Glasgow Salvage Corps W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Edward Murray Glasgow Salvage Corps W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Jeff Naylor 31 West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service W 27 April 1983 A house fire in Ingrow, West Yorkshire, was attended by the crew from Keighley Fire Station. Naylor was attempting to rescue three children from the blaze when he was injured. He died in hospital ten weeks later.[78]
Robin Neill 39 Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue R 9 September 1995 Neill had been involved in an attempted rescue of a man who had fallen down a well. The man, Neill and an ambulance worker all died.[79]
Wilfrid Nelson Lancashire County Fire Brigade 5 March 1955 Nelson was engaged in dampening down operations at Wellington Mill in Greenfield after an extensive fire. Nelson was trying to extinguish pockets of fire on the third floor when it collapsed and he fell 40 feet (12 m) to his death.[80]
Albert Joseph Nicholls 56 Gillingham Fire Brigade W 11 July 1929 The Gillingham Fair fire disaster; see listing under Francis Bull Cokayne.[32]
Roderick Nicholson 43 Tayside Fire and Rescue W 4 December 1995 Nicholson was attending a call at Perth Harbour where two men had become trapped in a silo containing sodium carbonate ash. Nicholson rescued the two men, but was trapped by the powdered chemical (described as being like "quicksand"), and suffocated.[81]
John Noble 46 Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service 23 January 2008 Road Traffic Collision en route to alarm call at Strathdevon Primary School, Dollar.[82]
Fred Normington Bradford Fire Brigade W 1 August 1916 The Low Moor Explosion; see Joseph Edmund Binns[21]
William Oliver Glasgow Salvage Corps W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Leslie Pearce 49 Kent Fire Brigade W 29 November 1957 See listing under Albert Farrow[42][43]
Charles Pearson London Fire Brigade W 3 January 1911 The Siege of Sidney Street; a wall collapsed on five fire brigademen; Superintendent Charles Pearson, had a fractured spine; he died six months later
Raymond Morris Pearson 40 ICI Works Fire Brigade 26 July 1963 A fire had developed in an electric furnace at ICI Hillhouse, near Fleetwood in Lancashire. The furnace was used to heat anthracite to make carbide electro paste. Whilst local brigades (Blackpool and Lancashire) also attended, the fire was fought by the on site ICI Works Fire Brigade. A rush of flames injured seven firefighters with Pearson dying a day later in hospital.[83]
Hamish Petitt 25 London Fire Brigade W 13 December 1974 The Worsley Hotel fire
James H Pilling Leeds City Brigade W 24 May 1954 Pilling, who was the chief fire officer of the Leeds City Brigade, fell through two floors of the General Electrics mill in Wellington Street, Leeds. Pilling suffered a haemorrhage and subsequently died of his injuries a year later.[84][85]
Knighton Pridmore 48 Bradford Fire Brigade W 21 August 1916 The Low Moor Explosion; see Joseph Edmund Binns[21]
Andrew Quinn 47 Glasgow Fire Service W 25 August 1972 See Iain Bermingham[19][20]
William Rae 35 Glasgow Fire Brigade W 24 November 1904 Rae was engaged in fighting a fire at the North British Railway's oil and gas works in Hunter Street, Glasgow. He was killed by an explosion.[86]
John Raven Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service 17 August 1975 Raven was operating a hydraulic platform, fighting a fire at the Kelloggs warehouse in Welham Green. A wall fell, fatally striking Raven.[87][88]
Ian Reid 44 Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service W 2 November 2007 See John Averis[11]
James Rook 29 Glasgow Fire Service W 25 August 1972 See Iain Bermingham[19][20]
Edgar Shaw 24 Bradford Fire Brigade W 21 August 1916 The Low Moor Explosion; see Joseph Edmund Binns[21]
John Sharp 31 Kent Fire and Rescue Service W 27 March 1977 Sharp was buried with two other colleagues when a building on fire in Dover collapsed onto them. Whilst the other two were freed in under twenty minutes, Sharp died of his injuries.[89]
Fred Sharpe 30 Dewsbury Police Fire Brigade 22 November 1918 Sharpe sustained spinal injuries whilst fighting a fire in a woollen mill in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. Though he survived the fire Sharpe died four months later from his injuries.[90]
James Shears 35 Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service W 6 April 2010 See listing under Alan Bannon[13][14]
John Singleton 33 Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service 5 May 1990 100 firefighters from the LF&RS were battling a blaze at a furniture store, when a flashover occurred killing Singleton, and injuring two others[91]
Alfred See London Fire Brigade 13 July 1969 The Dudgeon's Wharf Explosion; see listing under John Appleby[10]
Alan Soards 38 Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service W 2 October 2012 Soards died whilst undertaking a "swift water" training exercise at a white water rafting park in Hertfordshire.[92]
Ashley Stephens 20 Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service R 2 November 2007 See John Averis[11]
Neville Stocker 55 Kent Fire and Rescue Service W 5 August 1990 Ff.Stocker was engaged in fighting a field fire at Tiffenden Manor Farm High Halden in Kent when he died. The crew had gone into the field to spray water on the fire, when it suddenly took hold and was in the process of cutting them off. Stocker and the others ran for the safety of the fire engine, which was reversing out of the field; two of the fireman were able to clamber aboard, but Stocker fell and was run over by the fire engine. A coroner's report concluded that he had been overcome by smoke which led to him falling under the fire engine, rather than crush injuries being the direct cause of death.[93][94][95]
Richard Stocking 31 London Fire Brigade W 23 January 1958 See listing under Jack Fourt-Wells[46]
David Stokoe 25 London Fire Brigade W 10 July 1991 See listing under Terry Hunt[60]
Charles Sugden 44 Bradford Fire Brigade W 21 August 1916 The Low Moor Explosion; see Joseph Edmund Binns[21]
Arthur John Tabrett 40 Gillingham Fire Brigade W 11 July 1929 The Gillingham Fair fire disaster; see listing under Francis Bull Cokayne.[32]
Colin Townsley 45 London Fire Brigade W 18 November 1987 The King's Cross fire; Townsley and his crew had arrived on the scene at 19:42 and the fire didn't initially seem to be too serious however, a flashover event occurred three minutes later that killed Townsley. A total of 30 other people died as a result of the fire.[96][97]
Henry Richard Tunks Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Fire Brigade[note 6] W 21 August 1916 Killed in the Low Moor Explosion - see entry under Joseph Edmund Binns[21]
Nicholas Mark Walker 25 West Midlands Fire Service W 29 June 1985 Walker was en route to a rubbish fire at a hospital in West Heath, Birmingham. The fire engine he was travelling in was involved in a road collision, and he sustained serious head injuries. Walker died four days later from his injuries.[98]
Thomas Watson 27 Halifax County Borough Fire Brigade 27 June 1949 Watson was driving a fire appliance to a grass fire on the outskirts of Halifax when it skidded down a hill and collided with a bus. Both the driver of the bus and Watson were killed with other firefighters needing hospital treatment.[99]
William Watson Glasgow Fire Service W 28 March 1960 See listing under James Allan.[8]
Robert Watt 50 Edinburgh Fire Brigade W 24 April 1929 Sub-Officer Watt was fighting a fire near the university in Edinburgh, when he fell head first into the well of the building. His body was discovered in the burnt out building the following day.[100]
Brian Wembridge 63 East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service O[note 7] 3 December 2006 A fire had broken out at a fireworks factory in Shortgate, East Sussex, 3 December 2006. Wembridge, along with Geoff Wicker, was killed when a massive explosion sent debris and fireworks across the site. Twenty other emergency workers were injured during the blast.[101]
Graham White 46 Dorset Fire and Rescue Service R 16 October 1987 See listing under Ernest Gregory.[52][53]
John Whiteside 27 Lancashire Fire Brigade 26 July 1963 A fire had developed in an electric furnace at ICI Hillhouse, near Fleetwood in Lancashire. The furnace was used to heat anthracite to make carbide electro paste. Whilst local brigades (Blackpool and Lancashire) also attended, the fire was fought by the on site ICI Works Fire Brigade. A rush of flames injured seven firefighters with Whiteside dying in hospital on 15 August 1963.[83][102]
Geoff Wicker 49 East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service R 3 December 2006 See listing under Brian Wembridge.[101]
Ewan Williamson 35 Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service W 12 July 2009 Willimson died when the floor of the Balmoral Bar collapsed. [103]
William Edward Wilson 44 Lancashire County Fire Brigade R 9 January 1956 Wilson died after falling 20 feet (6.1 m) from a ladder during a practice drill at Nelson fire station in Lancashire.[104]
George Woods 48 Grimsby County Borough Fire Brigade 7 April 1955 Woods and his crew had been called out to a trawler moored in Grimsby harbour with reports of people being overcome by fumes. Woods and two trawler men died as a result of the fumes and other firefighters were incapacitated even though they were wearing BA sets.[105]
Jeff Wornham 28 Hertfordshire Fire Service W 2 February 2005 See listing under Michael Miller[75]
Darren Yates-Bradley 24 Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service R 2 November 2007 See John Averis[11]

Key: W = Wholetime firefighter, R = Retained firefighter, O = Other firefighter staff, T = Trainee

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The term firefighter is used as it is not gender-specific. Most deaths will have originally been reported as the gender-specific fireman or firewoman.
  2. ^ Alex Kent, 25, of Sussex Fire Brigade, died in January 2003 rescuing his brother from a fire in their parents house. Both men died, but the parents survived. Kent was off-duty at the time. Similarly, Divisional Officer James Treacher, 49, was injured by falling masonry in the Clifton Hall Tunnel collapse. He died seven months later whilst still on sick leave, but his death was due to cancer.
  3. ^ The Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade was the only fire service to retain its independence during the NFS years. It is still independent in modern times, though it answers to Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.
  4. ^ Age is disputed; either 22 or 23.
  5. ^ The two officers were wearing Proto Breathing Apparatus (BA) sets. Their deaths prompted the LFB to initiate a review into BA sets and they style and use was updated. Additionally, a BA tracking board was introduced which meant that someone set back from the fire, knew the location of firefighters wearing BA sets when entering any burning building.
  6. ^ Tunks worked for the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway as what was a called a fireman but he was a firefighter and his role should not be confused with the traditional role of fireman on the railway
  7. ^ Wembridge was the brigade's photographer and videographer

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Sources

[edit]
  • "Roll of Honour" (PDF). wmfs.net. 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  • Cooper, Geoffrey (2009). "Roll of Honour 1899–1990" (PDF). Kent Fire and Rescue Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  • Wallington, Neil (2014). Images of Fire; Into Action with the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service. Huddersfield: Jeremy Mills. ISBN 978-1-909837-15-7.
[edit]
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