Year |
Date |
Location |
Deaths |
Description |
64 | | Rome | n/a | |
406 | | Constantinople | | Fire destroyed much of Constantinople |
1135 | | London | | Fire destroyed a large portion of London |
1197 | 2/25 | Moscow | 45 | Rossiya hotel |
1204 | | Constantinople | | Fire destroyed much of the city during the Fourth Crusade |
1212 | | London | 3000+ | Fire destroyed a large portion of London |
1421 | | Amsterdam | | Great fire of 1421 destroyed large parts of Amsterdam |
1452 | | Amsterdam | | Second fire in 1452 destroyed three quarters of Amsterdam |
1788 | 3/21 | New Orleans | | 856 out of 1100 structures destroyed |
1666 | 9/2 | England | | “Great Fire Of London” Destroyed St. Paul's Cathedral, Etc. Damage: £10 Million - Nearly every housewife has made the same mistake, usually with no great consequence. But on September 2, 1666 the result was apocalyptic.
Thomas Farrinor, baker to King Charles II of England, neglected, in effect, to turn off his oven. He thought the fire was out, he later claimed, but apparently the smoldering embers ignited some nearby firewood and by one o'clock in the morning, three hours after Farrinor went to bed, his house in Pudding Lane was in flames. Farrinor, along with his wife and daughter, and one servant, luckily escaped from the burning building through an upstairs window, but the baker's maid paid dearly for his carelessness, becoming the Great Fire's first victim. The fire then leapt across Fish Street Hill and engulfed the Star Inn. The London of 1666 was a city of half-timbered, pitch-covered medieval buildings that ignited at the touch of a spark--and a strong wind on that September morning ensured that sparks flew everywhere. From the Inn, the fire spread into Thames Street, where riverfront warehouses were bursting with oil, tallow, and other combustible goods. By now the fire had grown too fierce to combat with the crude firefighting methods of the day, which consisted of little more than bucket brigades armed with wooden pails of water. The customary recourse during a fire of such magnitude was to demolish every building in the path of the flames in order to deprive the fire of fuel, but the city's mayor hesitated, fearing the high cost of rebuilding. Meanwhile, the fire spread out of control, doing far more damage than the most overzealous firefighters could possibly have managed.
Soon the flames were visible from Seething Lane, near the Tower of London, where Samuel Pepys first noted them without concern: Some of our maids sitting up late last night to get things ready against our feast today, Jane called up about three in the morning, to tell us of a great fire they saw in the City. So I rose, and slipped on my night-gown and went to her window, and thought it to be on the back side of Mark Lane at the farthest; but, being unused to such fires as followed, I thought it far enough off, and so went to bed again, and to sleep. . . . By and by Jane comes and tells me that she hears that above 300 houses have been burned down tonight by the fire we saw, and that it is now burning down all Fish Street, by London Bridge. So I made myself ready presently, and walked to the Tower; and there got up upon one of the high places, . . .and there I did see the houses at the end of the bridge all on fire, and an infinite great fire on this and the other side . . . of the bridge. . . .
So down [I went], with my heart full of trouble, to the Lieutenant of the Tower, who tells me that it began this morning in the King's baker's house in Pudding Lane, and that it hath burned St. Magnus's Church and most part of Fish Street already. So I rode down to the waterside, . . . and there saw a lamentable fire. . . . Everybody endeavouring to remove their goods, and flinging into the river or bringing them into lighters that lay off; poor people staying in their houses as long as till the very fire touched them, and then running into boats, or clambering from one pair of stairs by the waterside to another. And among other things, the poor pigeons, I perceive, were loth to leave their houses, but hovered about the windows and balconies, till they some of them burned their wings and fell down. Having stayed, and in an hour's time seen the fire rage every way, and nobody to my sight endeavouring to quench it, . . . I [went next] to Whitehall (with a gentleman with me, who desired to go off from the Tower to see the fire in my boat); and there up to the King's closet in the Chapel, where people came about me, and I did give them an account [that]dismayed them all, and the word was carried into the King. so I was called for, and did tell the King and Duke of York what I saw; and that unless His Majesty did command houses to be pulled down, nothing could stop the fire. They seemed much troubled, and the King commanded me to go to my Lord Mayor from him, and command him to spare no houses. . . .
[I hurried] to [St.] Paul's; and there walked along Watling Street, as well as I could, every creature coming away laden with goods to save and, here and there, sick people carried away in beds. Extraordinary goods carried in carts and on backs. At last [I] met my Lord Mayor in Cannon Street, like a man spent, with a [handkerchief] about his neck. To the King's message he cried, like a fainting woman, 'Lord, what can I do? I am spent: people will not obey me. I have been pulling down houses, but the fire overtakes us faster than we can do it.' . . . So he left me, and I him, and walked home; seeing people all distracted, and no manner of means used to quench the fire. The houses, too, so very thick thereabouts, and full of matter for burning, as pitch and tar, in Thames Street; and warehouses of oil and wines and brandy and other things. John Evelyn took even less note of the fire during its first hours than had Pepys. His journal entry for the 2nd, the day on which Pudding Lane first erupted, contains only the briefest of mentions. By the following day, however, Evelyn was drawn into the unfolding spectacle: I had public prayers at home. The fire continuing, after dinner I took coach with my wife and son and went to the Bank side in Southwark, where we beheld that dismal spectacle, the whole city in flames near the water side; all the houses from the Bridge, all Thames street, and upwards towards Cheapside, down to the Three Cranes, were now consumed: and so [we] returned exceeding astonished what would become of the rest.
The fire having continued all this night (if I may call that night which was light as day for 10 miles round about, after a dreadful manner) when conspiring with a fierce eastern wind in a very dry season; I went on foot to the same place, and saw the whole south part of the city burning from Cheapside to the Thames, and all along Cornhill, (for it likewise kindled back against the wind as well as forward), Tower street, Fen-church street, Gracious street, and so along to Bainard's Castle, and was now taking hold of St. Paul's church, to which the scaffolds contributed exceedingly. The conflagration was so universal, and the people so astonished, that from the beginning, I know not by what despondency or fate, but crying out and lamentation, running about like distracted creatures without at all attempting to save even their goods; such a strange consternation there was among them, so as it burned both in breadth and length, the churches, public halls, Exchange, hospitals, monuments, and ornaments, leaping after a prodigious manner, from house to house and street to street, at great distances from one the other; for the heat with a long set of fair and warm weather had even ignited the air and prepared the materials to conceive the fire, which devoured after an incredible manner houses, furniture, and everything. Here we saw the Thames covered with goods floating, all the barges and boats laden with what some had time and courage to save, as, on the other, the carts, &c. carrying out to the fields, which for many miles were strewed with moveables of all sorts, and tents erecting to shelter both people and what goods they could get away. Oh the miserable and calamitous spectacle! such as haply the world had not seen since the foundation of it, nor be outdone till the universal conflagration thereof. All the sky was of a fiery aspect, like the top of a burning oven, and the light seen above 40 miles round about for many nights. God grant mine eyes may never behold the like, who now saw above 10,000 houses all in one flame; the noise and cracking and thunder of people, the fall of towers, houses, and churches, was like an hideous storm, and the air all about so hot and inflamed that at last one was not able to approach it, so that they were forced to stand still and let the flames burn on, which they did for near two miles in length and one in breadth. The clouds also of smoke were dismal and reached upon computation near 50 miles in length. Thus I left it this afternoon burning, a resemblance of Sodom, or the last day. It forcibly called to my mind that passage--non enim hic habemus stabilem civitatum: the ruins resembling the picture of Troy. London was, but is no more! Thus, I returned.
Sept. 4th
The burning still rages, and it was now gotten as far as the Inner Temple; all Fleet street, the Old Bailey, Ludgate hill, Warwick lane, Newgate, Paul's chain, Watling street, now flaming, and most of it reduced to ashes; the stones of St. Paul's flew like [grenades], the melting lead running down the streets in a stream, and the very pavements glowing with fiery redness, so as no horse nor man was able to tread on them, and the demolition had stopped all the passages, so that no help could be applied. The eastern wind still more impetuously driving the flames forward. Nothing but the Almighty power of God was able to stop them, for vain was the help of man.
Sept. 5th
It crossed towards White-hall; but oh, the confusion there was then at that Court! It pleased his Majesty to command me among the rest to look after the quenching of Fetter lane end, to preserve if possible that part of Holborn, whilst the rest of the gentlemen took their several posts, some at one part, some at another (for they now began to bestir themselves, and not till now, who hitherto had stood as men intoxicated, with their hands across) and began to consider that nothing was likely to put a stop but the blowing up of so many houses as might make a wider gap than any had yet been made by the ordinary method of pulling them down with engines; this some stout seamen proposed early enough to have saved near the whole city, but this some tenacious and avaricious men, aldermen, &c. would not permit, because their houses must have been [among the first to be levelled]. It was therefore now commanded to be practised, and my concern being particularly for the Hospital of St. Bartholomew near Smithfield, where I had many wounded and sick men, made me the more diligent to promote it; nor was my care for the Savoy less. It now pleased God by abating the wind, and by the industry of the people, when almost all was lost, infusing a new spirit into them, that the fury of [the fire] began sensibly to abate about noon, so as it came no farther than the Temple westward, nor than the entrance of Smithfield north: but continued all this day and night so impetuous toward Cripplegate and the Tower as made us all despair; it also broke out again in the Temple, but the courage of the multitude persisting, and many houses being blown up, such gaps and desolations were soon made, as with the former three days consumption, [that] the back fire did not so vehemently urge upon the rest as formerly. There was yet no standing near the burning and glowing ruins by near a furlong's space. The coal and wood wharfs and magazines of oil, rosin, &c. did infinite mischief, so as the invective which a little before I had dedicated to his Majesty and published, giving warning of what might probably be the issue of suffering those shops to be in the City, was looked on as a prophecy. The poor inhabitants were dispersed about St. George's Fields, and Moorfields, as far as Highgate, and several miles in circle, some under tents, some under miserable huts and hovels, many without a rag or any necessary utensils, bed or board, who from delicateness, riches, and easy accommodations in stately and well furnished houses, were now reduced to extremest misery and poverty.
In this calamitous condition I returned with a sad heart to my house, blessing and adoring the distinguishing mercy of God to me and mine, who in the midst of all this ruin was like Lot, in my little Zoar, safe and sound. |
1835 | 12/16 | New York City | 0 | 530 Buildings Destroyed By Fire - The Great Fire of 1835 broke out on the night of December 16 and, raging for more than fifteen hours, destroyed virtually the entire downtown business district, including the Merchants' Exchange, the Post Office, and more than half the city's insurance companies. This and earlier catastrophic fires caused so much destruction in New York that by mid-century none of the city's earliest Dutch buildings remained standing. Surpassing the earlier disasters, the Great Fire of 1835 not only lasted longer but also caused unprecedented physical damage and resulted in sweeping reform of the city's fire-fighting methods, building codes, and fire insurance practices.
The fire started about nine o'clock on a wintry evening in a store filled with dry goods and hardware. The bitter December cold froze the water in the fire hoses and in all nearby cisterns and wells. The resulting water shortage, combined with a fierce northerly wind that whipped the flames from building to building and block to block, hampered the heroic efforts to combat the disaster. By the time it was finally brought under control, the fire had demolished 674 buildings in the city's commercial heart, an area that extended from the East River nearly to Broad Street and from Coenties Slip to Wall Street.
In a night of enormous losses, the destruction of the Merchants' Exchange, symbol of the energetic growth of New York's business community, seemed particularly crushing. 'The splendid edifice,' wrote diarist and New York mayor Philip Hone, ' & one of the ornaments of the city & is now a heap of ruins &. When the dome of this edifice fell in, the sight was awfully grand. In its fall it demolished the statue of Hamilton executed by Ball Hughes, which was erected in the rotunda only eight months ago by the public spirit of the merchants.'
New York's insurance industry staggered under these losses. A short time later, banks suspended payment, resulting in many bankruptcies. The general inability of the volunteer fire-fighting units to contain the blaze led the Board of Assistant Aldermen to adopt a statement declaring 'the absolute necessity of establishing a more perfect and proper organization of the Fire Department, and & the necessity and propriety of being better prepared to resist the ravages of fire.' Along with the reorganization of the fire department to minimize time-wasting competition among the volunteer companies, the Assistant Aldermen rewrote the building codes to allow fire wagons easier access through the streets and to impose more fire-resistant construction methods. The preeminent need for an improved water supply served to expedite development of the Croton Water System. This major engineering feat solved more than one problem in an era when fire, dirt, and disease were endemic to urban living. |
1836 | | St. Petersburg, Russia | 800 | Circus performing at the Lehman Theater |
1845 | 5/3 | Canton, China | 1670 | Theater |
1863 | 12/8 | Santiago, Chile | ~2500 | Church of the Company of Jesus |
1865 | 4/27 | Mississippi River | 1,547 | S.S. Sultana steamship boiler explosion and fire killed 1,547. |
1871 | 10/8 | Chicago | 250 | The “Chicago Fire” Burned 17,450 Buildings And Killed 250 Persons; $196 Million In Damage |
1871 | 10/8 | Peshtigo Wis | 1182 | Forest Fire |
1872 | 11/9 | Boston | 0 | Fire Destroyed 800 Buildings; $75 Million In Damage |
1875 | 5/27 | Holyoke, MA | 78 | Church |
1876 | 12/5 | New York City | 300+ | Fire In Brooklyn Theater Killed More Than 300 |
1877 | 6/20 | St John NB, Canada | 100 | N/A |
1881 | 12/8 | Vienna | 850 | At Least 620 Died In Fire At Ring Theatre |
1887 | 5/25 | Paris | 200 | Opera Cornique |
1887 | 9/4 | Exeter England | 200 | Theater |
1894 | 9/1 | Minnesota | 413 | Forest Fire |
1897 | 5/4 | Paris | 150 | Charity Bazaar |
1899 | 3/17 | New York | 45 | Windsor Hotel |
1900 | 5/1 | Scofield, UT | 200 | Explosion Of Blasting Powder In Coal Mine Killed 200 |
1900 | 6/30 | Hoboken, NJ | 326 | Piers Of North German Lloyd Steamship Line Burned; 326 Dead |
1901 | 5/3 | Jacksonville, FL | 7 | Metropolitan fire left 2,368 buildings destroyed, and 10,000 residents homeless. |
1902 | 9/20 | Birmingham, AL | 115 | Church |
1903 | 12/30 | Chicago | 602 | Iroquois Theatre Fire Killed 602 |
1904 | 6/15 | Chicago | 1,021 | The steamship General Slocum caught fire in New York Harbor, killing 1,021, primarily women and children. |
1906 | 3/10 | France | 1060 | Explosion In Coal Mine In Courrières Killed 1,060 |
1907 | 12/19 | Jacobs Creek, PA | 239 | Explosion In Coal Mine Left 239 Dead |
1907 | 12/6 | Monongha, WV | 361 | Coal Mine Explosion Killed 361 |
1908 | 1/13 | Boyertown, Pa | 170 | Rhoads Theater |
1908 | 3/4 | Collinwood OH | 176 | School |
1909 | 11/13 | Cherry, IL | 259 | Explosion In Coal Mine Killed 259 |
1910 | 8/20 | Northern Idaho and Western Montana | 87 | Largest forest fire in U.S. history burned three million acres of forest and completely destroyed seven small towns. |
1911 | 3/25 | New York City | 145 | Fire In Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fatal To 145 |
1913 | 7/22 | Binghamton, New York | 35 | Factory |
1913 | 10/14 | Mid Glamorgan Wales | 439 | Colliery |
1913 | 10/22 | Dawson, NM | 263 | Coal Mine Explosion Left 263 Dead |
1914 | 3/9 | St. Louis, MO | 37 | Athletic Club |
1917 | 12/6 | Nova Scotia | 1600 | Halifax Harbor Belgian Steamer Collided With Ammunition Ship Mont Blanc, Which Was Carrying Over 2,500 Tons Of Explosives. Explosion Leveled Part Of Halifax And Left About 1,600 People Dead. |
1917 | 4/10 | Eddystone, PA | 133 | Explosion In Munitions Plant Killed 133 |
1918 | 10/12 | Cloquet MN | 559 | Forest Fire |
1918 | 4/13 | Norman OK | 38 | State Hospital |
1919 | 6/20 | Mayaguez Theater | 150 | San Juan |
1923 | 5/17 | Camden SC | 76 | School |
1924 | 12/24 | Hobart OK | 35 | School |
1927 | 1/9 | Montreal, Quebec | 78 | Laurier Palace Theater fire was caused by a discarded cigarette and resulted in the deaths of 78 children, all of whom had been seated in the balcony. Children attempting to escape piled up against the exit doors, which opened inward. Additionally, one of the two balcony exits was locked. |
1929 | 5/15 | Cleveland, OH | 125 | Crile Clinic |
1930 | 4/21 | Columbus, OH | 322 | State Penitentiary |
1931 | 7/24 | Pittsburgh, PA | 48 | Home For Aged |
1933 | 10/3 | Gtiffith Park, Los Angeles, CA | 29 | A small brush fire quickly burned out of control, ultimately killing 29 workers that had been hired to clear dry brush in the area, and burning 47 acres of the park. |
1934 | 12/11 | Lansing, MI | 34 | Hotel Kerns |
1936 | 4/6 | Gainesville, GA | 57 | Hardware Company |
1937 | 3/18 | New London, TX | 294 | Explosion Destroyed Schoolhouse (Fire not a major factor) |
1938 | 5/16 | Atlanta GA | 35 | Terminal Hotel |
1940 | 4/23 | Natchez MS | 198 | Dance Hall |
1942 | 11/28 | Boston, MS | 491 | Coconut Grove Nightclub Fire Killed 491 |
1942 | 12/12 | St, John's, Newfoundland, Canada | 100 | Hostel |
1942 | 4/26 | Manchuria | 1549 | Explosion In Honkeiko Colliery Killed 1,549 |
1942 | | St John's Newfoundland | 100 | Hostel |
1943 | 9/7 | Gulf Hotel Houston | 55 | Hotel |
1944 | 10/20 | Cleveland | 130 | Liquid-Gas Tanks Exploded, Killing 130 |
1944 | 7/17 | Port Chicago, CA | 322 | 322 Killed When Ammunition Ships Exploded |
1944 | 7/6 | Hartford, CT | 167 | Fire And Ensuing Stampede In Main Tent Of Ringling Brothers Circus Killed 167, Injured 487 |
1946 | 6/5 | LaSalle Hotel Chicago | 61 | Hotel |
1946 | 12/7 | Atlanta | 119 | Winecoff Hotel |
1946 | 12/12 | New York | 37 | Ice Plant, Tenement |
1947 | 4/16–18 | Texas City, TX | 516 | Most of the city was destroyed by a fire and subsequent explosion on the French freighter Grandcamp, which was carrying a cargo of ammonium nitrate. At least 516 were killed and over 3,000 injured. |
1949 | 4/5 | Effingham, IL | 77 | Hospital |
1949 | 9/2 | China | 1700 | Fire On Chongqing (Chungking) Waterfront Killed 1,700 |
1949 | 8/10 | Bloomington, IN | 16 | Bus Fire |
1950 | 1/7 | Davenport LA | 41 | Mercy Hospital |
1953 | 3/29 | Largo FL | 35 | Nursing Home |
1953 | 4/16 | Chicago | 35 | Metalworking Plant |
1954 | 5/26 | Off Quonset Point, RI | 103 | Explosion And Fire Aboard Aircraft Carrier Bennington Killed 103 Crewmen |
1956 | 8/7 | Colombia | 1100 | About 1,100 Reported Killed When Seven Army Ammunition Trucks Exploded At Cali |
1956 | 8/8 | Belgium | 262 | 262 Died In Coal Mine Fire At Marcinelle |
1957 | 1/24 | New Haven, CT | 15 | 15 garment workers killed in a fire at the Baer Dress Factory |
1957 | 2/17 | Warrenton, MO | 72 | Home For Aged |
1958 | 11/8 | Montreal, Canada | 21 | Tenament |
1958 | 12/1 | Chicago | 95 | Fire At Our Lady Of Angels, A Roman Catholic Grade School, killed 92 students and 3 nuns |
1958 | 12/16 | Bogota Colombia | 83 | Store |
1958 | 3/19 | New York City | 24 | Loft Building |
1959 | 1/30 | Glen Ellyn, IL | 9 | Nursing Home |
1959 | 3/5 | Near Little Rock AR | 21 | Boys' Industrial School |
1959 | 6/23 | Stalheim Norway | 34 | Resort Hotel |
1960 | 1/21 | Coalbrook | 437 | South Africa: Coal Mine Explosion Killed 437 |
1960 | 3/12 | Pusan, Korea | 68 | Chemical Plant |
1960 | 6/11 | Liverpool, England | 22 | Store |
1960 | 7/14 | Guatemala City | 225 | Mental Hospital |
1960 | 11/13 | Amude, Syria | 152 | 152 Children Killed In Moviehouse Fire |
1961 | 1/6 | San Francisco | 20 | Thomas Hotel |
1961 | 5/15 | Hong Kong | 25 | Tenament |
1961 | 12/8 | Hartford CT | 16 | Hospital |
1961 | 12/17 | Niterol, Brazil | 323 | Circus Fire |
1962 | 2/7 | Saarland, West Germany | 298 | Coal Mine Gas Explosion Killed 298 |
1963 | 5/4 | Diourbel Senegal | 64 | Theater |
1963 | 11/9 | Japan | 447 | Explosion In Coal Mine At Omuta Killed 447 |
1963 | 11/18 | Atlantic City, NJ | 25 | Surfside Hotel |
1963 | 11/23 | Fitchville OH | 63 | Rest Home |
1963 | 12/29 | Jacksonville, FL | 22 | Roosevelt Hotel |
1964 | 5/8 | Manila | 30 | Apartment Bldg |
1964 | 12/18 | Fountaintown | 20 | Ind Nursing Home |
1965 | 3/1 | LaSalle Canada | 28 | Apartment |
1965 | 5/28 | India | 375 | Coal Mine Fire In State Of Bihar Killed 375 |
1965 | 6/1 | near Fukuoka, Japan | 236 | Coal Mine Explosion Killed 236 |
1965 | 8/11-16 | Los Angeles | 30+ | Watts riot fires |
1965 | 12/20 | Yonkers, NY | 12 | Jewish Center |
1966 | 3/11 | Numata, Japan | 31 | 2 Ski Resorts |
1966 | 8/13 | Melbourne, Australia | 29 | Hotel |
1966 | 9/12 | Anchorage, AK | 14 | Hotel |
1966 | 10/17 | New York City | 12 | Building (Firemen) |
1966 | 12/7 | Erzurum Turkey | 68 | Barracks |
1967 | 2/7 | Montgomery, AL | 25 | Restaurant |
1967 | 2/7 | Tasmania, Australia | 62 | With over 100 separate fire fronts, wildfires burned 652,000 acres, destroying close to 3,000 buildings. |
1967 | 5/22 | Brussels, Belgium | 322 | L'Innovation Department Store |
1967 | 7/16 | Jay, FL | 37 | State Prison |
1967 | 7/29 | Off North Vietnam | 134 | Fire On U.S. Carrier Forrestal Killed 134 |
1968 | 1/19 | Brooklyn, NY | 13 | Tenament |
1968 | 2/11 | Franklin, PA | 11 | Residence Fire |
1968 | 2/26 | Shrewsbury, England | 22 | Hospital |
1968 | 3/19 | New York City | 24 | Loft Building |
1968 | 5/11 | Vijayawada, India | 58 | Wedding Hall |
1968 | 11/18 | Glasgow Scotland | 24 | Factory |
1969 | 1/14 | Pearl Harbor, HI | 27 | Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Enterprise Ripped By Explosions; 27 Dead, 82 Injured |
1969 | 1/26 | Dunnville Ontario | 13 | Victoria Hotel |
1969 | 12/2 | Notre Dame, Canada | 54 | Nursing Home |
1970 | 1/9 | Marietta, OH | 27 | Nursing Home |
1970 | 3/20 | Seattle, WA | 19 | Hotel |
1970 | 11/1 | Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France | 146 | Fire In Dance Hall Killed 146 Young People |
1970 | 12/20 | Tucson, AZ | 28 | Hotel |
1971 | 3/6 | Burghoezil, Switzerland | 1128 | Psychiatric Clinic, |
1971 | 4/20 | Bangkok, Thailand | 24 | Hotel |
1971 | 10/19 | Honesdale, PA | 15 | Nursing Home |
1971 | 12/25 | Seoul, South Korea | 162 | Hotel |
1972 | 5/13 | Osaka, Japan | 118 | 118 People Died In Fire In Nightclub On Top Floor Of Sennichi Department Store |
1972 | 6/6 | Wankie, Rhodesia | 427 | Explosion In Coal Mine Killed 427 |
1972 | 7/5 | Sherbome, England | 30 | Hospital |
1973 | 2/6 | Paris France | 21 | School |
1973 | 5/13 | Osaka, Japan | 116 | Nightclud |
1973 | 6/24 | New Orleans, LA | 32 | bar |
1973 | 11/29 | Kumamoto, Japan | 101 | Fire In Taiyo Department Store Killed 101 |
1973 | 11/6 | Fukm Japan | 28 | Train |
1973 | 12/2 | Seoul Korea | 50 | Theater |
1974 | 2/1 | São Paulo, Brazil | 189 | Fire In upper stories of bank building killed 189 persons, many of whom leaped to their deaths |
1974 | 6/30 | Port Chester NY | 24 | Discotheque |
1974 | 11/3 | Seoul, South Korea | 88 | Hotel Discotheque |
1975 | 12/12 | Mina, Saudi Arabia | 138 | Tent City |
1975 | 12/27 | Dhanbad, India | 327 | Explosion In Coal Mine Followed By Flooding From Nearby Reservoir Left 372 Dead |
1976 | 10/24 | Bronx, NY | 25 | Social Club |
1977 | 2/25 | Moscow | 45 | Rossiya Hotel |
1977 | 5/9 | Amsterdam | 33 | Hotel Polen |
1977 | 5/28 | Southgate, KY | 167 | Fire In Beverly Hills Supper Club; 167 Dead |
1977 | 6/9 | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 41 | Nightclub |
1977 | 6/26 | Columbia, TN | 42 | Jail |
1977 | 11/14 | Manila Pl | 47 | Hotel |
1978 | 1/28 | Kansas City | 16 | Coates House Hotel |
1978 | 7/11 | Tarragona, Spain | 140 | 140 Killed At Coastal Campsite When Tank Truck Carrying Liquid Gas Overturned And Exploded |
1978 | 8/20 | Abadan, Iran | 400 | Nearly 400 Killed When Arsonists Set Fire To Crowded Theater |
1978 | 11/17 | London, England | 30 | Subway |
1979 | 7/14 | Saragossa, Spain | 80 | Hotel |
1979 | 12/31 | Chapels Quebec | 42 | Social Club |
1980 | 5/20 | Kingston, Jamaica | 157 | Nursing Home |
1980 | 11/21 | Las Vegas | 84 | Mgm Grand Hotel |
1980 | 12/4 | Harrison, NY | 26 | Stouffer Inn Hotel |
1981 | 1/9 | Keansburg, NJ | 30 | Boarding Home |
1981 | 2/10 | Las Vegas Hilton | 8 | Hotel |
1981 | 2/14 | Dublin, Ireland | 44 | Discotheque |
1982 | 9/4 | Los Angeles | 24 | Apartment House |
1982 | 11/8 | Biloxi, Miss | 29 | County Jail |
1982 | 12/18–21 | Caracas, Venezuela | 128 | Power-Plant Fire Left 128 Dead |
1983 | 2/13 | Turin Italy | 64 | Movie Theater |
1983 | 12/17 | Madrid, Spain | 83 | Discotheque |
1984 | 5/11 | New Jersey | 8 | Great Adventure Amusement Park |
1985 | 4/21 | Tabaco, Philippines | 44 | Movie Theater |
1985 | 4/26 | Buenos Aires Argentina | 79 | Hospital |
1985 | 5/11 | Bradford, England | 53 | Soccer Stadium |
1986 | 12/31 | San Juan, PR | 96 | Arson Fire In Dupont Plaza Hotel Was Set By Three Employees, Killing 96 People |
1987 | 5/6-6/2 | Northern China | 193 | Forest Fire |
1987 | 11/17 | London, England | 30 | Subway |
1988 | 3/20 | Lashio, Burma | 134 | 2000 building |
1989 | 6/3 | Ural Mountains | 500 | Liquefied Petroleum Gas Leaking From A Pipeline Running Alongside The Trans-Siberian Railway Near Uta, 72 Miles East Of Moscow, Exploded And Destroyed Two Passing Passenger Trains. About 500 Travelers Were Killed And 723 Injured Of An Estimated 1,200 Passengers |
1989 | 10/23 | Pasadena, Tex | 22 | A Huge Explosion Followed By A Series Of Others And A Raging Fire At A Plastics Manufacturing Plant Owned By Phillips Petroleum Co. Killed 22 And Injured More Than 80 Persons. A Large Leak Of Ethylene Was Presumed To Be The Cause. |
1990 | 3/25 | New York City | 87 | Arson Fire In The Illegal Happy Land Social Club, In The Bronx, Killed 87 People |
1991 | 3/3 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 260+ | munitions dump |
1991 | 9/3 | Hamlet, NC | 25 | Chicken-Processing Plant |
1991 | 10/20-21 | Oakland/Berkeley, Ca | 24 | Wildfire |
1993 | 4/19 | Waco, TX | 72 | cult compound |
1993 | 5/10 | Near Bangkok, Thailand | 187 | Fire In Doll Factory Killed At Least 187 Persons And Injured 500 Others. World'S Deadliest Factory Fire. |
1994 | 1/3 | Sabaneta, Venezuela | 108 | Prison |
1994 | 5/10 | Bangkok, Thailand | 213 | toy factory |
1994 | 7/4-10 | Glenwood Springs, CO | 14 | 14 Firefighters killed when fire suddenly changed direction and surrounded them. |
1994 | | Karamay, China | ? | Theater |
1994 | 11/2 | Durunka, Eygpt | 500 | burning fuel flood |
1994 | 12/10 | Karamay, China | 300 | theater |
1995 | 10/28 | Baku, Azerbaijan | 300 | subway train |
1995 | 12/23 | Mandi Dabwali, India | 500+ | school |
1996 | 3/19 | Quezon City, Philippines | 150+ | nightclub |
1996 | 3/28 | Bogor, Indonesia | 78 | shopping mall |
1996 | 4/11 | Dusseldorf, Germany | 16 | airport |
1996 | 10/22 | Caracas, Venezuela | 25 | Jail |
1996 | 11/20 | Hong Kong | 39 | Building |
1997 | 2/23 | Baripada, India | 164 | Worship site |
1997 | 4/15 | Mina, Saudi Arabia | 343 | Encampment |
1997 | 6/13 | New Dehli, India | 60 | Movie theater |
1997 | 6/7 | Thanjavur, India | 60+ | Temple |
1997 | 7/11 | Pattaya, Thailand | 90 | Hotel |
1997 | 9/29 | near Colina, Chile | 30 | Children's home |
1998 | 3/26 | Mazeras, India | 22 | School dorm |
1998 | 12/3 | Manila, Philippines | 28 | Orphanage |
1999 | 2/10 | Samara, Russia | 23 | Police headquarters |
1999 | 3/24 | Chamonix, France | 42 | Belgian Truck Carrying Margarine And Flour Broke Out Into Flames In The Mont Blanc Tunnel, Trapping Dozens Of Cars. Death Toll Was At Least 42. |
1999 | 3/24 | France and Italy | 40 | Mont Blanc tunnel |
1999 | 6/30 | Hwasung, South Korea | 23 | Camp dormitory |
1999 | 10/30 | S. Korea | 55+ | karaoke salon |
2000 | 3/10 | Tuvalu | 18 | School |
2000 | 3/17 | Kanungu, Uganda | 530 | Church |
2000 | 6/23 | Queensland, Australia | 15 | Hostel |
2000 | 10/12 | Aden, Yemen | 17 | U.S. Navy Destroyer Uss Cole Was Heavily Damaged When A Small Boat Loaded With Explosives Blew Up Alongside It. Seventeen Sailors Were Killed In What Was Apparently A Deliberate Terrorist Attack. |
2000 | 11/11 | nr. Kaprun, Austria | 156 | Cable Car Transporting Skiers To The Kitzsteinhorn Glacier Broke Into Flames While Moving Through A Mountain Tunnel. The Final Death Toll Reached 156, Including 90 Austrians, In What Was Termed Austria'S Worst Alpine Disaster. |
2001 | 3/26 | Machakos, Kenya | 68 | School |
2001 | 8/13 | Erwadi, India | 25 | Mental Home |
2001 | 8/17 | Quezon City, Philippines | 75 | Hotel |
2001 | 9/1 | Tokyo, Japan | 44 | Multiple Buildings |
2001 | 9/11 | New York City and Washington DC | 2,996 | Islamic terrorists hijacked commercial airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center towers in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington DC. The resulting intense fires in the World Trade Center towers weakened the structural framework of the buildings, ultimately leading to their complete collapse. Together with the Pentagon, the attacks and fires resulted in 2,996 deaths, including those in the airplanes. |
2001 | 12/29 | Lima, Peru | 291 | Shopping Center |
2002 | 6/26 | Agra, India | 42 | Factory |
2002 | 7/9 | Palembang, Indonesia | 42 | Karaoke Bar |
2002 | 11/2 | El Jadida, Morocco | 50 | Prison |
2002 | 12/1 | Caracas, Venezuela | 47 | Nightclub |
2003 | 1/23 | Tamil Nadu, India | 57 | Wedding Hall |
2003 | 2/20 | West Warwick, Rhode Island | 100 | Nightclub - The Station Nightclub fire started when a member of the band that was performing set off pyrotechnics, igniting sound insulating material surrounding the stage. The fire grew very rapidly, causing most patrons to panic and attempt to escape through the building's front exit. The narrow hallway leading to the exit quickly became blocked with the crush of people attempting to flee, causing many patrons and staff to be overcome by smoke and toxic gases before they could escape. Most patrons were unaware of the building's three other exits. When it was all over, 100 people were dead and well over 200 injured. |
2004 | 5/17 | San Pedro Sula, Honduras | 104 | Prison |
2004 | 7/16 | Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India | 94 | A small kitchen fire defied initial attempts to extinguish it, and soon spread to the thached roof of the school. The fire soon spread across the entire roof and, with only a single narrow exit in the building, many children were trapped as burning thatch fell into the school. Because a similar fire some years earlier in the same kitchen was quickly extinguished, school staff did not immediately begin evacuation of the school. As a result, 94 of the approximately 700 children in the school perished. |
2004 | 8/1 | Asuncion, Paraguay | 464 | Supermarket |
2004 | 9/3 | Beslan, Russia | 334 | Chechen and Ingush terrorists stormed Beslan School Number One on September 1, 2004, taking around 1,200 students, staff and parents hostage. On the third day of the seige, Russian security forces stormed the school when the terrorists detonated explosives in the gymnasium, where they held most of the hostages. The explosion and resulting fire, as well as the shootout between security forces and terrorists, killed at least 334 hostages, including 186 children, and injured more than 725. At least 10 Russian security forces were killed, along with nearly all of the terrorists, bringing the overall death toll for the tragedy to at least 380. |
2004 | 12/30 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 194 | Nightclub |
2005 | 3/7 | Higuey, Dominican Republic | 136 | Prison |
2005 | 12/15 | Jilin, China | 39 | Hospital |
2006 | 2/24 | Chittagong, Bangladesh | 65 | Textile Factory |
2006 | 12/9 | Moscow, Russia | 46 | Drug Rehab Hospital |
2007 | 3/19 | Kamyshevatskaya, Russia | 63 | Nursing Home |
2008 | 1/7 | Icheon, South Korea | 40 | Warehouse |
2008 | 4/25 | Casablanca, Morocco | 55 | Mattress Factory |
2009 | 1/1 | Bangkok, Thailand | 66 | Nightclub |
2009 | 1/31 | Molo, Kenya | 113 | Oil spill |
2009 | 2/7 | Victoria, Australia | 173 | Multiple bushfires during an extreme heatwave, fanned by winds up to 60 mph, destroyed over 5,000 structures, killing 173, injuring over 400 and leaving thousands homeless. One of the towns worst hit was Marysville, where 90% of the town was destroyed. |
2009 | 6/5 | Hermosillo, Mexico | 48 | Daycare Center |
2009 | 9/13 | Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan | 38 | Drug abuse clinic |
2009 | 12/4 | Medan, Indonesia | 20 | Karaoke Bar |
2009 | 12/5 | Perm, Russia | 152 | Nightclub |
2010 | 3/23 | Calcutta, India | 42 | Stephen Court building |
2010 | 6/3 | Dhaka, Bangladesh | 117 | A fire that started when an electrical transformer exploded destroyed many homes |
2010 | 11/15 | Shanghai | 58 | High-rise apartment building |
2010 | 12/8 | Santiago, Chile | 81 | Prison |
2011 | 12/9 | Calcutta, India | 90 | Hospital |
2012 | 2/14 | Comayagua, Honduras | 360 | Prison |
2012 | 8/25 | Punto Fijo (Paraguana Peninsula), Falcon, Venezuela | 48 | Oil Refinery |
2012 | 9/11 | Karachi, Pakistan | 312 | Garment Factory |
2012 | 9/11 | Lahore, Pakistan | 25 | Shoe Factory |
2012 | 11/24 | Dhaka, Bangladesh | 124 | Garment Factory |
2013 | 1/27 | Santa Maria, Brazil | 233 | Kiss Nightclub |
2013 | 4/26 | Moscow, Russia | 38 | Moscow Psychiatric Hospital |
2013 | 6/3 | Mishazi, China | 120 | Jilin Baoyuanfeng poultry plant |
2013 | 7/6 | Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada | 47 | The deadliest freight train accident in Canadian history. A runaway train rolled downgrade into the town of Lac-Mégantic and derailed, causing a fire and explosion that destroyed 30 buildings and killed 47 people. All but three remaining downtown buildings had to be demolished. |
2014 | 4/13 | Valparaiso, Chile | 15 | Brush Fire - Worst fire in the history of Valparaiso. |
2014 | 5/24 | Near Jangseong, South Korea | 22 | Hospital |
2014 | 12/29 | Lahore, Pakistan | 13 | Shopping Mall |
2015 | 5/13 | Valenzuela, Philippines | 74 | Manufacturing Plant |
2015 | 10/30 | Bucharest, Romania | 64 | Fire struck the Colectiv Nightclub during a free concert, when the band's pyrotechnics ignited flammable polyurethane acoustic foam and spread quickly, killing 64. |
2016 | 1/30 | Moscow, Russia | 12 | Factory |
2016 | 8/3 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 23 | Prison |
2016 | 11/1 | Hanoi, Vietnam | 13 | Karaoke Bar |
2016 | 12/2 | Oakland, California | 36 | A former warehouse that had been illegally converted into an “art collective workshop” (known as Ghost Ship) where local musicians and other performers could hang out and perform, caught fire and burned, killing 36. |
2017 | 6/14 | London, England | 72 | A public housing highrise (Grenfell Tower), occupied largely by immigrants, caught fire as the result of a malfunctioning refrigerator, and burned for hours. The supposedly fireproof cladding used externally on the building turned out to be flammable, allowing the fire to advance rapidly up the exterior, igniting the interior as it went. |
2017 | 9/14 | Kuala Lumpur | 25 | Several students started a fire at the Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah School in Kuala Lumpur that killed 25 students and teachers. Most of the victims were trapped in a dormitory with metal bars on its windows. |
2017 | 12/21 | Jecheon, South Korea | 29 | Duson Sporium Sport Center |
2017 | 12/28 | New York, NY | 13 | Fire in a Bronx apartment unit spread quickly to other parts of the build due to stairwell fire doors left open, allowing smoke and fire to quickly spread upward. |
2018 | 1/26 | Miryang, South Korea | 37 | Sejong Hospital |
2018 | 3/2 | Baku, Azerbaijan | 24 | Drug Rehab Center |
2018 | 3/23 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 13 | Condominium |
2018 | 3/25 | Kemerovo, Russia | 64 | Of the 64 victims of a fire in the Winter Cherry Shopping and Entertainment Center, 41 were children. The death toll was particularly high because a security guard had switched the fire alarm system off, and some emergency exit doors had been blocked shut. |
2018 | 3/28 | Valencia, Venezuela | 68 | Police Headquarters and Jail |
2018 | 11/8 | Butte County, California | 85 | The Camp Wildfire, the worst forest fire in California history, destroyed more than 18,000 buildings (including most of the town of Paradise and portion of several others), burned 153,336 acres and killed 85 people. |
2019 | 2/12 | Delhi, India | 17 | Hotel |
2019 | 4/15 | Paris, France | 0 | Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral fire. Although there were no fatalities, the fire did great damage to the famous historic church. |
2019 | 7/18 | Kyoto, Japan | 36 | A man dumped 11 gallons of gasoline around inside the front door of the Kyoto Animation Studio and ignited it, killing 36 people. Unlike in most fires, the majority of victims died from direct burns rather than smoke inhilation due to the extremely rapid spread of the fire. |
2019 | 9/18 | Monrovia, Liberia | 27 | Boarding School |