Roll of Honor
Francis Joseph Sears
Incident
Storekeeper-Gauger Francis Sears was killed in a massive explosion at the Publickers Alcohol Plant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The plant took up the entire block bounded by Water Street, Snyder Avenue, and McKean Street, and Swanson Street.
A mechanic was working on a cistern when a spark caused a massive explosion, destroying the entire plant. The mechanic and Storekeeper Sears were both killed, and several other people were injured.
Storekeeper Sears was a U.S. Navy WW I veteran and U.S. Navy Reserves veteran who served as a policeman at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and served with the United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Bureau of Prohibition.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, daughter, and son.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-A92B62A4- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Storekeeper-Gauger Sears served with the United States Department of the Treasury.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Francis Joseph Sears served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Storekeeper-Gauger Francis Joseph Sears is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Bureau of Prohibition, 16 of 37 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 43.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Francis Joseph Sears's cause is highlighted.
How Francis Joseph Sears Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Francis Joseph Sears is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
36 officers from United States Department of the Treasury - Internal Revenue Service - Bureau of Prohibition are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
