Corporal Ellwood Milton “Woody” Gelenius

Firefighters responding to a fire at the Indianapolis Athletic Club were initially delayed by the annunciator panel indicating the fire was in the basement of the building. When they realized the fire was actually on the third floor they were further delayed by a fire hose standpipe the maintenance personnel had sealed shut with Teflon tape. While some firefighters worked on the standpipe, others were sent to attack the origin of the fire in the barroom. However, the fire had spread above and behind the firefighters through a false ceiling containing combustible materials, resulting in a flashover that trapped and killed Corporal Gelenius, Private Lorenzano and severely burned another. For a full report see:

http://www.interfire.org/res_file/pdf/tr-063.pdf