67 Years Ago Today a Firefighter Died in JP

Here's an interesting bit of JP history, courtesy of fire photographers Bill Noonan and Stephen Walsh:

On Dec. 29, 1944, District Chief Timothy F. Donovan collapsed from the effects of the inhalation of smoke and gases while fighting a fire at 775 Centre St. That address today is . I don't know what was there in 1944.

Donovan was taken to Forest Hills Hospital (which was behind the ) by police ambulance and was dead on arrival. The fire was reported at 11:14 p.m. and went to three alarms. Donovan had 41 years of service, having joined the Fire Department in 1903.

Donovan was chief of District 12, which is today District 9.

I don't know if Donovan was responding from the closest station, which would have been at what is now . The station had moved there by 1884 and did not go to its current location until 1984.