Name | Leo White |
Agency | Danville Fire Department |
Rank | Firefighter |
Type of Firefighter | Career |
Age Range | 46 to 50 |
Sex | Male |
Date of Birth | 6/22/1894 |
Date of Death | 1/26/1941 |
Cause of Death | Fall , Struck by object |
Nature of Death | Trauma |
Attribute of Death | [not applicable] |
Type of Duty | Firefighting operations , Hose operations , Ladder operations |
Incident Name | N/A |
Incident City | Danville |
Incident State | IL |
Incident Date | 1/26/1941 |
Incident Location | Public assembly |
Incident Attribute | Fires |
On January 26, 1941, Firefighter Leo Francis White of the Danville Fire Department died in the line of duty while fighting a fire at the Allen Chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church located at 5th Avenue and North Street.
The fire started when the furnace in the church’s basement overheated, and firefighters responded to the fire at around 8:45AM. At around 10AM, White was standing on a ladder to aim a hose stream through a church window when a large piece of decorative stone molding fell off the church. The molding smashed through White’s ladder, and he was fatally injured by his fall.
Funeral services for White were held at Berhalter Chapel on January 29, and he was interred at Springhill Cemetery. He was survived by his widow, father, and two siblings.
A member of the Danville Fire Department for fourteen years, including non-consecutive service during the 1920s and continuous service since 1931, White was a World War I veteran and was previously employed by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad.
Citations:
“Danville Fireman is Killed,” Commercial-News, January 27, 1941.
“Victim of Blaze at Church Was Veteran City Fireman With 14 Years of Service,” Commercial-News, January 27, 1941.