As published in Firehouse Magazine.

April may be heaven for sports fans, but it has proven to be hell for the fire service, who has responded to mass-casualty events like the Boston Marathon bombing, the Oklahoma City terrorist attack, the Rhythm Nightclub fire and several other major incidents.

A day of Remembrance: April 19, 1995, Oklahoma, City, OK—Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building

At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, a massive truck bomb containing over 4,800 pounds of explosives detonated in front of the north side of the nine-story Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK. The blast killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured more than 850 others. One-third of the building was destroyed, and the explosion created a 30-foot-wide, 8-foot-deep crater on the street next to the building. The force of the blast damaged 324 surrounding buildings, overturned cars, and shattered windows in a 50-block radius.

The attack was carried out by Timothy McVeigh, a U.S. Army veteran, who was angry at the federal government over the Waco siege in 1993. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.

When the bomb exploded, the Oklahoma City Fire Department responded, clearing debris, providing medical triage, and conducting a thorough search of the damaged building. The search continued into the next day.

Twenty years later, in an article America Pauses to Remember Oklahoma City Bombing Victims on Firehouse.com, retired FBI agent Danny Defenbaugh detailed how his work led to the arrest of McVeigh.