Zachary John Anthony

On March 21, 2018, the York City Department of Fire/Rescue Services fought a major fire in a large mill-construction building that was being converted to apartments.  The fire was eventually fought defensively, and the building sustained a number of partial collapses.  Although the main body of fire was extinguished over a period of hours, hot spots remained.

The next morning, fire officials, the building owner, and a contracted engineer made visual inspections of the building.  The decision was made to access upper floors of the building by aerial ladder to allow 3 firefighters (including Firefighter Anthony and Firefighter Flanscha) and an Assistant Chief to enter with a hose line to extinguish hot spots.  As the crew worked, a collapse occurred and dropped them 4 floors. 

After 29 minutes, the firefighters and fire officer trapped by the collapse were free from the debris.  Firefighter Anthony and Firefighter Flanscha received fatal injuries in the collapse.

For additional information regarding this incident, please refer to NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program report F2018-06 at https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/pdfs/face201806.pdf

Incident Location: 410 Walnut St, York, PA 17403 (U.S. National Grid: 18S UK 5312 2556)