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# Structural Collapse Structural collapse is one of the most feared occurrences on the fireground. It is often swift, often deadly, and can occur with little apparent warning. Although collapses that injure and kill firefighters aren't a common occurrence, they account for a large percentage of mul...

# Structural Collapse Structural collapse is one of the most feared occurrences on the fireground. It is often swift, often deadly, and can occur with little apparent warning. Although collapses that injure and kill firefighters aren't a common occurrence, they account for a large percentage of multiple-casualty incidents. The following collapses have accounted for some of the largest firefighter death tolls in U.S. history: - Chicago Stockyards warehouse in 1910-23 dead - New York City's 23rd Street building in 1966-12 dead - Boston, Vendome Hotel in 1972-9 dead - Brooklyn, Waldbaum's Supermarket in 1978-6 dead - Hackensack, NJ, Ford dealership in 1988-5 dead - Wichita, KS, Chevrolet dealership in 1968-4 dead - Brackenridge, PA, two-story building in 1991-4 dead - World Trade Center (WTC), September 11, 2001-343 New York firefighters and medics dead The toll is likely to continue, if not increase, due to changes in the methods of construction that place a greater value on lightweight materials and lower cost than on the lives of firefighters and occupants when those materials are exposed to fire. Firefighters and officers have a responsibility to themselves, their fellow members, and their families to learn to and the causes of it, as well as to prepare