On February 15, 1999, firefighters in Lake Worth, Texas, and surrounding towns were alerted to a fire in a church on Roberts Cut Off Road in the area of Cowden Street just before 11 A.M.
The roof of the church would eventually collapse, trapping five firefighters inside, three of whom would die before they could be rescued.
Heavy winds caused the fire to spread to the roof area of the church.
The fire was noticed by a police officer in neighboring Samson Park, and he reported to his dispatcher.
The rescue team reported that they could not enter the building due to the worsening conditions.
Another crew from River Oaks arrived on scene and began a new search for the missing firefighters.
Accountability reports on scene indicated that two firefighters were missing and both were from River Oaks, Brian Collins and Phillip Dean.
Autopsy reports confirmed that the three firefighters were Collins and Dean from River Oaks and Sanders from Sansom Park.