On New Year's Eve, December 31, 1986, three disgruntled employees at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, intentionally set a fire. The employees were involved in a labor dispute with the owners. The fire killed between 96 and 98 people and injured 140 others. It is the most catastrophic hotel fire in Puerto Rican history and the second deadliest hotel fire in U.S. territory in history, after the Winecoff Hotel fire in Atlanta in 1946.
Dupont Plaza Rescue by Phyllis Gottschalk
The ATF brought an investigation truck, by air, to the scene
ATF agents sifting through the rubble of the Dupont Plaza Hotel
Puerto Rico Firefighters Corps
The Puerto Rico Firefighters Corps (PRFC); is the statewide fire department that provides fire protection, rescue, and protection from other hazards in the U.S. Estado Asociado Libre of Puerto Rico. It was established in 1942 under the Puerto Rico Fire Services. In addition, it offers fire protection services to all the airports under the authority of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority, Rafael Hernández Airport, and Mercedita Airport and they serve as crash rescue divisions. A separate agency, the Puerto Rico Medical Emergency Corps, provides emergency medical services to all Puerto Rico.
Ponce's Parque de Bombas was Puerto Rico's first firehouse and today is a firefighting museum.
Puerto Rico Fire Fighters at Sugar Pine, Miles Fire, Bella Vista, California, 2018
The Cataño oil refinery fire on October 23, 2009.
One of the oil tanks in flames.
