October 17, 1966: A fire breaks out at 7 East 22nd Street, in the Flatiron District of Manhattan. It spreads to the building behind it, at 6 East 23rd. Firemen rush into that 2nd building, and a floor collapses, killing 10 of them. Two others die in a blaze that reaches 5 alarms before it is finally put out.
The lost:
Deputy Chief Thomas A. Reilly, FDNY 3rd Division
Lt. John J. Finley, FDNY Ladder Co. 7
Lt. Joseph Priore, FDNY Engine Co. 18
Firefighter John G. Berry, FDNY Ladder Co. 7
Firefighter James V. Galanaugh, FDNY Engine Co. 18
Firefighter Rudolph F. Kaminsky, FDNY Ladder Co. 7
Firefighter Joseph Kelly, FDNY Engine Co. 18
Firefighter Carl Lee, FDNY Ladder Co. 7
Firefighter William F. McCarron, FDNY 3rd Division
Firefighter Daniel L. Rey, FDNY Engine Co. 18
Firefighter Bernard A. Tepper, FDNY Engine Co. 18
It is the FDNY's deadliest day on record, until September 11, 2001. On October 21, 10 fire trucks each carried a coffin down 5th Avenue, to services at St. Patrick's Cathedral and St. Thomas Protestant Episcopal Church. There were 10,000 firefighters lining the route in salute, including 500 from Boston. Some came from across the country, and some even from Britain and Ireland.
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October 17, 1966 was a Monday. Basketball star Danny Ferry was born. This was also the day the game show The Hollywood Squares premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.
Baseball season had ended 8 days earlier, with the Baltimore Orioles completing a 4-game sweep of the defending World Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Football was in midweek: Monday Night Football was still 4 years away. The NBA season had just started, but no games were played on this day. And the NHL season was 2 days from starting. So there were no scores on this historic day.
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