01/10/2026
January 10, 1905 - LODD
Chief G.F.W. Schevers, 45
Springfield Fire Department. Springfield, IL
Chief Schevers died in the line of duty when his fire wagon collided with a train while responding to a fire alarm. The accident occurred around 9:30PM, as Chief Schevers was driving the wagon with two passengers at the intersection of Seventh and Madison Streets. Due to the darkness and heavy snow, he did not see the train until moments before the collision. Already traveling at considerable speed, Chief Schevers tried to turn the horse to run parallel to the train, but the wagon skidded and smashed into the side of the train engine. As the wagon came apart, one firefighter was thrown clear, and another was able to grab onto the train engine’s handrail, but Chief Schevers was caught under the train and was dragged for several hundred feet until the train could be stopped. Incidentally, Chief Schevers had been hit and dragged by a streetcar a few weeks earlier, and he had been thrown from his fire wagon in a different traffic accident the day before the collision with the train. Chief Schevers was unconscious when the other firefighters reached him, and he was immediately rushed to St. John’s Hospital. Doctors tried to revive him, but he succumbed to his severe injuries one hour later. He was survived by his widow, three sons (one a firefighter riding in the fire wagon at the time of the accident), and one daughter.
