April 13, 1931
Four Chicago fire fighters lose their lives in a tunnel disaster. On April 13, 1931, a fire in the Sanitary District tunnel in Chicago caused a gas-filled death trap. Fire fighter and Local 2 member Irving Strohm went down in the tunnel 15 times to rescue men and faced a choking and blinding death. All told, 11 men lost their lives, including four fire fighters, and another 54 were injured. The fire deaths were due to “fire of unknown origin,” and carbon monoxide poisoning was deemed as the direct cause.
