In November 1909, Captain Thomas P. Kenny of the Chicago Fire Department received an urgent call that would define his 44-year career. Racing 83 miles by emergency train in just 62 minutes, Kenny and his specialized crew arrived at the Cherry Mine disaster - America's deadliest mine fire. His technical expertise in fighting underground blazes helped create the conditions that enabled one of the most miraculous rescues in industrial history: 21 miners found alive after eight days entombed underground.

Part of the Storyline Genealogy series: Uncovering the extraordinary stories hidden in ordinary family histories, one ancestor at a time.