Category: Public Safety

ACT UP CLEVELAND is the Cleveland chapter of the international organization, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). The coalition is a grassroots political group founded in March, 1987 at the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in New York City, with the goal of improving the quality of life for people with AIDS.

"BALLOONFEST "86" was held on 27 Sept. 1986 as a fundraiser for UNITED WAY. The organizers' goal was to set a world record for the simultaneous release of small helium-filled balloons.

The BLINKY MORGAN CASE, one of Cleveland's more notorious crimes, began on the night of 26 January 1887, when a well-known gang headed by "Blinky Morgan" (Charles Conklin) robbed downtown's Benedict and Ruedy store of a large quantity of valuable furs. Several weeks later one of the gang members, Harry McMunn, was captured in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania.

BLIZZARDS (snowstorms with constant winds over 35 mph) do not occur frequently in Cleveland, though heavy winter snowstorms are normal because of the proximity of Lake Erie and "lake effect" snows. In Cleveland, the worst blizzards listed in the National Weather Service records since 1871 occurred 9-11 Nov. 1913, 23-28 Nov. 1950, and 26-27 Jan. 1978.

CELEBREZZE, FRANK D. (May 12, 1899-August 21, 1953), assistant county prosecutor, parks director, safety director, and municipal court judge, was born in Cleveland, son of Rocco V. and Dorothy (Marcogiuseppe) Celebrezze (Cilibrizzi). The family returned to Italy in 1908 to find employment and Frank attended Italian schools. After they returned to Cleveland in 1912, Frank enrolled in Brownell School.

The CENTRAL VIADUCT STREETCAR ACCIDENT occurred on the dark, foggy night of 16 November 1895. CLEVELAND CITY RAILWAY CO. streetcar No.

CIVIL DEFENSE IN GREATER CLEVELAND can be divided into two distinct periods. It was first activated after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 to protect the local area from enemy air raids, although it was not probable that German or Japanese bombers would reach America's industrial heartland.

The CLEVELAND CLINIC DISASTER (also known as the CLINIC FIRE) occurred on 15 May 1929 and cost the lives of 123 people, but stimulated the development and enforcement of safety regulations in U.S. hospitals.

The CLEVELAND FILM EXCHANGE BUILDING at 2100-2112 Payne Ave., on the southeast corner of Payne Ave. and East 21st St., was built in 1920. When films were viewed on nickelodeons and when the movies shown in cinemas were silent, film studios sold their movies sight unseen. Sold films were not returnable or refundable.

The CLEVELAND FIRE DEPARTMENT evolved from the village's first firefighting organization, the Live Oaks No. 1 volunteer fire association, organized in 1829. Its equipment, obtained in 1833, was a hand-operated fire engine—an improvement over the cisterns and buckets used prior to that time. The city's first regularly organized firefighting company followed in 1834, when the volunteer company Eagle No. 1 was established.

The CLEVELAND POLICE DEPARTMENT was formed in 1866 under the auspices of the Metropolitan Police Act enacted by the Ohio general assembly. Prior to 1866 police services had been provided by an elected city marshal assisted by a small number of constables and volunteer night watchmen.

The CLEVELAND POLICE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC., AND MUSEUM was founded in 1983 when a group of Cleveland police officers and interested citizens began meeting as a steering committee with the purpose of creating a police museum.

CRIME. Although crimes were committed in Cleveland almost immediately after the arrival of the first settlers, it is hard to find criminal acts documented in any of the social or intellectual histories of the city or the WESTERN RESERVE.

The CUYAHOGA COUNTY JAIL is a detention facility for people who are charged with crimes and awaiting trial in Cleveland, Ohio. The jail has been housed in six different facilities since 1813, with its current facility located in the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, which also houses the Cleveland Police Headquarters and the Cuyahoga County and Cleveland Municipal Courts.

The CUYAHOGA RIVER FIRE (22 June 1969) dramatized the extent of the river's pollution and the ineffectiveness of the city's lagging pollution abatement program. The fire, which witnesses reported reached as high as 5 stories, began at 12 P.M. and lasted about 20 minutes before it was brought under control.

DAVIS, BENJAMIN OLIVER JR. (18 December 1912 - 4 July 2002) was an AFRICAN AMERICAN pilot, Airforce General, and WW2 commander who temporarily served as Cleveland’s

The EAST OHIO GAS CO. EXPLOSION AND FIRE took place on Friday, 20 Oct. 1944, when a tank containing liquid natural gas equivalent to 90 million cubic feet exploded, setting off the most disastrous fire in Cleveland's history. Homes and businesses were engulfed by a tidal wave of fire in more than 1 sq. mi. of Cleveland's east side, bounded by St. Clair Ave. NE, E. 55th St., E.

EVANS, FRED "AHMED" (1931-27 Feb. 1978) was convicted on seven counts of first-degree murder for his role in the GLENVILLE SHOOTOUT.