Born: 1904 LODD: 1/16/1926 Burial: Gracelawn Memorial Park, New Castle, Delaware Fire Company: Cranston Heights Ogden was seriously injured while responding to a alarm in Marshallton around 11 p.m. on the evening of January 15, 1926. He succumbed to his injuries around 4 a.m. the following morning. Alfred was one of three Cranston Heights firefighters who died when the engine on which they were on, skidded on ice while attempting to make a turn at Foard’s
Born: 10/5/1968 LODD: 12/1/2016 Burial: Private Fire Company: Wilmington Fire Department Lt. Ardythe Hope was hired on August 2, 1993, as a member of the 28th Wilmington Fire Department Academy Recruit Class. Upon graduating from the fire academy, she was assigned to Engine Company 6, A-Platoon. Assigned throughout her career to various engine companies, her final assignment was to Engine Company 5 on the C-Platoon. She died on December 1, 2016 from injuries sustained at
Born: 6/10/1972 LODD: 4/30/2000 Burial: St. Johnstown Cemetery, Greenwood, Delaware Fire Company: Greenwood Arnold Blankenship, 27, was the loving husband of Dawn and doting father of 1 year old Zachary. Firefighter Blankenship, a 6 year member of the Greenwood Fire Company, was killed in a flashover during a training exercise that enveloped the attic of the 2 1/2-story farmhouse west of Bridgeville. The temperature in the building soared to about 1,200 degrees, trapping Blankenship. Blankenship
Born: 3/25/1905 LODD: 6/27/1953 Burial: Silverbrook Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware Fire Company: Wilmington Fire Department Lt. Arthur A Veal died during a 2 alarm fire at Maeson’s Record Store on Fourth Street in Wilmington. Lt Veal was carrying hose inside the building when the floor collapsed, plunging him into the water filled basement. He was dragged from the basement by fellow firefighters and taken to Delaware Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Doctors stated the cause
Born: 8/5/1887 LODD: 11/6/1959 Burial: Forest Presbyterian Church, Middletown, Delaware Fire Company: Volunteer Hose Arthur W. Boyles, 69, of the Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown was a firefighter and EMT. On July 23, 1959, Boyles was driving the Middletown ambulance, headed north on US 13 on an emergency transport, when a tractor trailer struck the emergency vehicle. Boyles was taken to the VA Hospital in Elsmere, where he died on November 6, never having recovered
Born: 1996 LODD: 8/22/2021 Fire Company: Wilmington Manor Volunteer Fire Company On Sunday August 22, 2021, Wilmington Manor Fire Company firefighter Cecilia “Ceci” Escobar-Duplan was struck and killed on I-95 assisting a distressed motorist. Cecilia came upon a vehicle that had spun out of control and was attempting to render assistance to the occupant when she was struck by a passing vehicle. She died from her injuries a short while later. Born in Toluca, Mexico
Born: 11/21/1909 LODD: 3/1/1931 Burial: East New Market Cemetery, Dorchester, Maryland Fire Company: Cranston Heights Fire Company John (Jack) Kridler Grafius was seriously injured on February 23, 1931, when the “Fire… Continue reading Untitled
Born: 11/21/1909
LODD: 3/1/1931
Burial: East New Market Cemetery, Dorchester, Maryland
Fire Company: Cranston Heights Fire Company
John (Jack) Kridler Grafius was seriously injured on February 23, 1931, when the "Fire Apparatus Upset at Front & Union Streets" (Wilmington). As the heavy engine rounded the corner at Lancaster and Union Streets, it's front wheels got jammed in a trolley switch. The steering gear of the fire engine locked and the engine came toppling over, pinning Grafius and three other men. He succumbed to his injuries on 1 March 1931, when "the fire truck made a sharp left turn, throwing off some firemen and killing Jackie Grafius". The Cranston Heights engine was responding to an alarm in Bellefonte that was called in by a "practical joker". Grafius was the stepson of Elmer J. Leach, warden of the New Castle County Workhouse. Jackie was 21 years of age.
