09/29/2025
Please take a moment today to keep Firefighter Reveal's family in your thoughts and prayers
Everyday, especially anniversary dates, are very difficult.
September 29, 1996 - LODD
Firefighter Kevin Woodrow Reveal, 31
Herrin Fire Department. Herrin, Illinois
Firefighter Kevin Reveal of the Herrin Fire Department died in the line of duty while fighting a fire in Hurst, Illinois. Shortly before 10PM, the Herrin Fire Department was one of several mutual aid departments that responded to a fire in a vacant building in downtown Hurst. Because the vacant structure was attached to the Hurst Municipal Building, firefighters initially adopted an offensive fire attack, but by 11PM they moved into defensive positions to protect the adjacent municipal building. As firefighters backed away from the vacant building, the eastern wall, which appeared structurally sound to all observers, suddenly collapsed. Reveal, who had been contributing to ventilation operations by cutting and prying plywood off of window openings, was caught in the collapse of the two-story brick wall, and he suffered severe injuries when he was buried under bricks and other debris. After firefighters pulled him from the rubble, Reveal was transported to Herrin Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Reveal, who was previously a member of the Williamson County Fire Protection District and the Lake Egypt Fire Protection District, was survived by his pregnant widow and five children.
