Reflections on years past are often most powerful through pictures, as we recall both our initial reactions and lingering emotions connected to these snapshots in time, whether major milestones or more personal moments.
For 2022, the year was unique due to its tragic start – two multiple-fatality fires, first in Philadelphia, then the Bronx, in the first part of January. But the year was not all pain, of course. Firefighters and other first responders showed time and time again their perseverance, bravery and skill in service to their communities. We tried to capture some of these milestone moments below, along with some of the more unique responses and events that marked the year.
Watch a video of the year in fire photos below.
Philadelphia fire kills 12
- 8 children, 2 mothers among 12 dead in Philadelphia house fire
- Boy, 5, told first responders he started fatal Philadelphia fire that killed 12
- Philly fire commissioner: ‘Root cause’ of fatal fire is lack of access to safe, affordable housing
Philadelphia firefighters clear debris from the scene of a deadly row house fire, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. Officials say firefighters and police responded to the fire at a three-story rowhouse early Wednesday around 6:40 a.m. and found flames coming from the second-floor windows.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
A special surprise
Bronx fire kills 19
-
Investigators blame faulty electric heater in NYC fire that killed 17, injured at least 60
-
‘There were many heroic actions’: FDNY training bureau releases statement about Bronx fire
-
FDNY: Constant use of multiple space heaters sparked fire that killed 17
-
NYC, Philly tragedies highlight need to strengthen CRR efforts, trauma support
Funding for wildfire damage
Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the federal government will provide California $600 million to help the state recover from a historically severe wildfire season. Harris appeared at a press conference at the U.S. Forest Service’s Del Rosa Fire Station in San Bernardino.
Photo/Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
Baltimore LODD
-
3 Baltimore FFs dead; 1 in critical condition after house fire
-
3 fallen Baltimore firefighters remembered for their passion, sacrifice
-
Report: Firefighters who responded to fatal Baltimore fire not alerted to home’s history
Firefighters embrace each other after a deceased firefighter was pulled out of a building collapse while battling a two-alarm fire in a vacant row home, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, in Baltimore. Officials said several firefighters died during the blaze. The U.S. Census estimates there are 17 million vacant homes across the U.S.
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
Pa. bridge collapse
A fire department wedding
Maryland apartment blast
Firefighters work the scene after an explosion and fire caused an apartment building to collapse in Silver Spring, Md., Thursday, March, 3, 2022. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service reports that multiple people were critically hurt in the fire that started at about 10:30 a.m. at a four-story building at the Friendly Garden Apartments in Silver Spring, Md.
Photo/Alex Brandon/Associated Press
Floating fire station opens
Russia-Ukraine War
-
Firefighters share support for Ukrainian fire crews on front lines of military action
-
Ukrainian FFs reportedly shot at while attempting to fight fire at nuclear power plant
9/11 Tribute Museum closes its doors
Left: A plea for financial support is posted in the window of the 9/11 Tribute Museum, in New York, Monday, March 21, 2022. Right: The helmet and turnout coat of a New City Fire Department firefighter and other artifacts from the Sept, 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trader Center, are displayed at the 9/11 Tribute Museum, in New York, Monday, March 21, 2022. Sixteen years and five million visitors later, what is now the 9/11 Tribute Museum, is poised to close within weeks, its leaders say, barring a last-minute rescue from millions of dollars in debt and a plan to meet future needs.
AP Photo/Richard Drew
Ind. Walmart blaze
‘Borderline miraculous’ rescue
Stadium fire
Honoring EMS
FDNY LODD
-
FDNY firefighter remember as selfless hero and fun-loving prankster
-
Video: Fallen FF Timothy Klein gave powerful eulogy for FDNY colleague in 2019
Presidential honors
Philadelphia LODD
Left: Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a building that caught fire then collapsed early Saturday, June 18, 2022 in Philadelphia. Right: The remains of Lt. Sean Williamson, a 27-year veteran of the Philadelphia Fire Department, are brought to Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church for funeral mass in Philadelphia, Monday, June 27, 2022. Williamson was killed in an early morning building collapse on June 18. He was 51.
Photos/Left: Philadelphia FD; Right: Matt Rourke
Hoover Dam blast
Wildfire threatens California’s giant sequoias
-
Yosemite fire grows to 2,340 acres, encroaches on giant sequoias, historic hotel
-
Preventative fires credited with saving Yosemite’s famed giant sequoias
A firefighter clears loose brush from around a Sequoia tree in Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, Calif., in July 2022. The U.S. Forest Service is taking emergency action to speed up approval of projects to clear underbrush in giant sequoia groves to save the world’s largest trees from the increasing threat of wildfire.
Garrett Dickman/NPS via AP
Tragedy in Pennsylvania
Cuban firefighters killed
Left: Helicopters hauling water fly over the Matanzas Supertanker Base, as firefighters and specialists work to quell the blaze which began during a thunderstorm in Matanzas, Cuba, Monday, Aug. 8, 2022. Cuban authorities say lightning struck a crude oil storage tank at the base, sparking a fire that sparked four explosions. Right: A firefighter walks past photos and caskets of those who died in the fires at the Matanzas Supertanker Base, an oil storage facility, during a funeral ceremony inside the Firefighters Museum in Matanzas, Cuba, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022.
AP Photos/Ismael Francisco
Ind. home explosion
Mississippi water crisis
September 11 anniversary
Apparatus collision in N.J.
A special rescue
September wildfires
Firefighters battle the Mosquito Fire burning on Michigan Bluff Rd. in unincorporated Placer County, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. Federal investigators have taken possession of a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility transmission pole and attached equipment as part of their probe into what started a blaze in Northern California that’s become the largest in the state this year., the utility said in a regulatory filing Monday, Sept. 26.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Hurricane Ian
-
Ian hits southwest Florida as Category 4 storm, trapping people in homes and knocking out power
-
‘The comeback is bigger than the setback’: Fla. firefighters forge ahead after Hurricane Ian
Left: Naples Fire Rescue Department firefighters look out at the firetruck that stands in water from the storm surge from Hurricane Ian on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022; Right: Firefighters in Orange County, Fla., help people stranded by Hurricane Ian early Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. Ian marched across central Florida on Thursday as a tropical storm after battering the state’s southwest coast, dropping heavy rains that caused flooding and led to inland rescues and evacuations.
Photos/Left - Naples FD; Right - Orange County Fire Rescue’s Public Information Office via AP
USFA Summit on Fire Prevention & Control
Memorial Weekend
Kavanagh makes history
New York state snowstorm
FDNY performs dramatic high-rise rescue
-
Video: FDNY firefighters rescue individuals from high-rise fire that injured 38
-
Video: ‘You have to work together,’ says FDNY firefighter describing dramatic high-rise rescue
FDNY firefighters honored for rope rescue
Thanksgiving with the president
Plane into power lines
- Photos: Md. providers rescue 2 people trapped for hours in plane dangling from electrical tower
- Rapid Response: Md. chief details plane-into-power lines rescue operation
Pa. firefighters killed during search efforts
- Coroner: 2 Pa. firefighters died of asphyxia, thermal injuries
- 2 Pa. firefighters die after battling house fire where a person was found dead
FDNY Firefighter suffers fatal injuries during training
- FDNY firefighter sustained fatal injuries in training fall
- FDNY firefighters salute fallen brother during dignified transfer
Watch the year in fire photos