NYFD Line of Duty Death
·February 8, 1861 - LODD
Volunteer Fireman Joseph Skillman, 30
Ladder 15
Manhattan, New York
Fireman Skillman died from the injuries he sustained after a chimney had collapsed on him and several firemen.
An early morning fire broke out in the Ocean Spice and Coffee Mill on Fulton Street. The fire extended to 208 Fulton Street because of an inability to put water on the fire due to the extreme cold temperature.
The fire was just about out when the chimney came down injuring several members of Ladder 15 (Baxter). Fireman Joseph Skillman was crushed when it fell.
Companies were pulled from the building earlier when the chimney became unstable. The members of Ladder 15 did not hear the call to get out of the building.
Skillman was thirty years old and an upholsterer by trade. He lived at 112 Avenue D.
(From "The Last Alarm" by Boucher, Urbanowicz & Melahn, 2006.)
RIP. Never forget.
