[1] He was mortally wounded during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, when a neighboring building collapsed onto the fire station that housed the Chief's official apartment.

Sullivan was mortally injured by the 1906 earthquake when an adjacent building collapsed onto his firehouse residence.

When San Francisco built a new residence for its Fire Chiefs it was named after Sullivan.

There is also an Irish pub in north beach area in San Francisco that is named Chief Sullivan's in honor of him.

[1] The Memorial Home of Fire Chief Dennis T. Sullivan, built in 1922, stands at 870 Bush Street.