On the evening of December 27, 1983, firefighters in Buffalo, New York responded to a call regarding a propane gas leak.
The event remains the largest single day loss of life for the Buffalo Fire Department.
At 20:23 hours, the Buffalo (NY) Fire Department responded to a reported propane leak in a four-story radiator warehouse located to the corner of North Division and Grosvenor streets.
The force of the blast threw Ladder 5, an aerial tiller, nearly 35 feet into the front yard of a dwelling, instantly killing all five crew members (firefighters Mike Austin, Mickey Catanzaro, Red Lickfeld, Tony Waszkielewicz, and Matty Colpoys).
Two civilians, Alfred and Jessie Arnold, were also killed as they sat in their living room of their home, which neighbored the warehouse.