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These Line of Duty Memorial pages are dedicated to the 18 Youngstown Firefighters and 1 Youngstown Volunteer Firefighter who have given their lives in the line of duty. Let it be a reminder to everyone of the dangers that firefighters must face. |
Volunteer Department (1868-1891)
No 1.
Alexander M.B. Davis, Assistant Chief
* Tod Volunteer Fire Company *
March 30, 1888
 Gravesite Photo |
Assistant Chief Alexander Davis was thrown under the wheels of the hook and ladder truck at the corner of Federal and Hazel Streets while it was in route to a false alarm. He later died from injuries received. He was the only Youngstown volunteer to die in the line of duty. |
Professional Department (1891-Present)
No 2.
Michael J. McDonough, Firefighter
November 2, 1901
Gravesite Photo |
Michael J. McDonough joined the fire department on April 11, 1901. McDonough was a member of the fire department for only 7 months when he responded to a fire at Stambaugh's stable on Belmont Ave. The date was November 1, 1901. It was 6:00am when the call came in. Fireman McDonough, Cowden and Smedley were operating a hose line on the structure when, without warning, the wall gave way and buried them. A short time later upon hearing of the accident, several of their colleagues began working as hard as they could to free the trapped firefighters. McDonough had sustained burns over much of his body. He passed away the next day at the city hospital. |
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No 3.
J. Smith Cowden, Firefighter
March 22, 1902
Gravesite Photo |
J. Smith Cowden was appointed to the fire department on July 8, 1901. He was assigned to Station 1. He had only been a fireman for 9 months when he responded to a fire at Stambaugh's stable on Belmont Ave. The date was November 1, 1901. It was 6:00am when the call came in. Fireman Cowden was operating a hose line on the structure when, without warning, the wall gave way and buried himself and two other firemen. He would pass away 20 weeks after the accident at the city hospital never having been well enough to leave. |
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No 4.
Albert M. Probst, Captain
June 23, 1904
Gravesite Photo |
Albert Probst became a member of the fire department on May 4, 1882. He was assigned to Station 1 as a driver and on December 15, 1896, Station 6 in Haselton was opened and Probst was promoted to the Captain in charge. At that time, the Captain was known as the Fire Marshall. At 5:30pm on the day of June 23, 1904, members of the Central Station responded to a large amount of smoke emanating from the Youngstown Consolidated Gas and Electric Companies offices at the corner of Boardman and Champion Streets. The fire started in the walls. The smoke was extremely thick and it took the firefighters several hours to finally find evidence of the fire. Smoke was said to be coming out from between the bricks. As the night progressed and the fire was beginning to get under control, Captain Probst decided to take one final check of the building for fire. The power was cut earlier and the building was dark. Capt. Probst entered the building unaware that the fire had burned a hole in the floor. He was later found in the basement having suffered a broken neck in the fall. |
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No 5.
Thomas C. Reilly, Assistant Chief
October 1, 1908
Gravesite Photo |
Thomas C. Reilly was a member of the Youngstown Fire Department for 17 years. He was appointed in May of 1891 when the department was reorganized from a volunteer department to the current paid department. He was assigned to Station 2 at Oak Street. In 1901 he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief and then was given the rank of first assistant chief. At 6:05pm on the night of Thursday, October 1, 1908, smoke was seen coming from the basement out of the radiators at the Knox 5 and 10 cent store at 108 to 112 West Federal Street. The men from the central station were sent to investigate. Shortly after their arrival, a general alarm was struck sending all of the fire units in the city to the scene. By 9:30pm, the fire had spread through all four stories. Assistant Chief Reilly was on the roof along with Captain Charles Vaughan and seven other firefighters when the roof caved in sending them plummeting 4 stories into the basement of the building. Six of the eight firefighters recovered and did not sustained any fatal injuries. Neither Assistant Chief Reilly nor Captain Vaughan survived the fall. |
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No 6.
Charles 'Charley' Vaughan, Captain
October 2, 1908
Gravesite Photo |
Charles Vaughan was a member of the Youngstown Fire Department for 24 years. He was appointed July 1, 1884 when the department was still volunteer. He was assigned to the Central Fire Station and served there for 4 years. In 1888, he was promoted to the rank of Captain and placed in charge of the newly opened Station 2 on Oak and Fruit St. After 8 years at Station 2, he was transferred to back to the Central Station. Next Vaughan was placed in charge of Station 3 which was being built. Vaughan was also placed in charge of Station 7 for six months. Finally, following the death of Albert Probst in June of 1904, Capt. Vaughan was placed in charge of Station 6 at Haselton. At 6:05pm on the night of October 2, 1908, smoke was seen coming from the basement out of the radiators at the Knox 5 and 10 cent store at 108 to 112 West Federal Street. The men from the central station were sent to investigate. Shortly after their arrival, a general alarm was struck sending all the units in the city to the scene. By 9:30pm, the fire had spread through all four stories. Captain Charles Vaughan was on the roof with several other firefighter when the roof caved in sending them plummeting 4 stories into the basement of the building. Six of the eight firefighters were recovered and did not sustained any fatal injuries. Captain Vaughan and Assistant Chief Reilly, however, did sustain fatal injuries in the fall. |
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No 7.
Michael J. Coughlin, Firefighter
July 30, 1919
Gravesite Photo |
Michael J. Coughlin had been a member of the city fire department for 18 years. He was appointed on July 12, 1901 and served at the central station downtown before transferring to Station number 2 at Oak and Fruit. At 4:40pm on the afternoon of July 30, 1919, a false alarm was sent from box 42 at Wilson and Shehy. Coughlin responded from Station Number 2 on the fire department's new Seagrave triple combination pumping, chemical, and hose truck. The apparatus was heading south on Hine Street approaching Himrod Ave. Meanwhile, a streetcar was approaching Hine Street from Himrod. Normally the streetcar would make a safety stop at the bottom of the hill at the intersection of Himrod and Hine but failed to do so. The streetcar was going too fast down Himrod and by the time the streetcar driver attempted to stop the car, it was too late. The streetcar skidded into the intersection just as the fire truck arrived and crashed into the rear section of the truck. The impact threw Coughlin off the truck, onto the pavement and directly into the path of the oncoming streetcar. He was run over by the streetcar which had left the rail and skidded 60 feet on the pavement before hitting the curb. |
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No 8.
John Raymond Webb, Firefighter
August 28, 1919
No Gravesite Photo Yet! |
John Raymond Webb had only been a firefighter for just under a year. He worked out of the central station downtown. He was appointed to the department November 25, 1918. On the night of August 25, 1919 at 11:40pm, Webb was responding on the combination hose and chemical engine to an awning fire at a business at 109 South Watt St. The fire truck, driven by William Griffith, was coming east down Front Street approaching Market Street. Meanwhile, a streetcar was coming northbound on Market Street. Both vehicles met at the intersection of Front and Market and there was little either could do to avoid colliding. The driver of the fire truck attempted to swerve the truck to keep from hitting the streetcar but it was of little use. Fireman Webb was standing at the point of the collision and was crushed against the chemical tank and the emergency brake of the apparatus. None of the other firemen on the truck were injured. |
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No 9.
Martin 'Marty' Welsh, Captain
January 25, 1928
No Gravesite Photo Yet! |
Martin Welsh was appointed to the city fire department on November 14, 1901. He was promoted to Lieutenant on July 22, 1907 and then to Captain on April 7, 1913. He worked at Station Number 1 for 24 years. At 4:10am on the morning of January 25, 1928, flames were discovered in a one story frame warehouse used by the Lee Tire Service Co. behind 448-450 W. Federal Street. The fire spread through the 60 cars stored in the warehouse. The fire then spread to the warehouse of Tamarkin Wholesale Grocery behind 460-462 W. Federal Street. Several firemen, including Welsh, were operating hose lines inside the structure when the roof and south wall caved in. Two other firemen escaped with only cuts and bruises. |
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