Louisville Fire Department Line of Duty Deaths
December 17, 1960 - LODDs
Louisville Fire Department. Louisville, KY
Captain Joseph K. Buren
Sergeant Jesse P. Wilson Sr.
Fireman Riley R. Pryor
In the late evening hours, a grill caught fire in a recreation center, which housed a 40-lane bowling alley, a bar, a nightclub, and a coffee shop. Employees unsuccessfully tried to fight the three-alarm blaze themselves before calling the fire department, resulting in a delayed alarm. While firemen were attempting an interior attack, conditions rapidly deteriorated and a backdraft occurred, trapping three firemen in the inferno. Captain Buren was pulled out of the building and died of smoke inhalation while en route to the hospital. The bodies of Sgt. Wilson and Fireman Pryor were later found in the rubble under the collapsed roof.
RIP. Never forget.
