Jacob Albright
Agency patch
Police Officer

Jacob Albright

Philadelphia Police Department — Philadelphia, PA
Accident
End of Watch December 25, 1853
Age 49
The Vigil Panel 1 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Police Officer Jacob Albright was killed when he was caught in the second collapse of a double four-storied brick building on North Third Street between Callowhill Street and Wood Street.

He and another officer were attempting to rescue Officer Hiram Hammer who was caught in the first collapse of the building while attempting to rescue civilians who were caught in the fire. During the attempted rescue they were caught in the second collapse of the building. As a result, a large piece of burning timber fell on top of Officer Albright's legs pinning him.

Once Officer Albright was rescued he was taken to his residence on Duke Street (present-day Thompson Street) and was treated by doctors. He succumbed to his injuries at his home four days later. Officer Hammer's body was discovered the next morning after the fire.

Officer Albright was assigned to the Northern Liberties Division.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-PA-CDAFA3A5
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.

Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Jacob. Claim this record.

This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.

Tributes

173 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Police Officer Albright served with the Philadelphia Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the Philadelphia community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Philadelphia, PA
Platform Identity ppd.philadelphia.pa.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch December 25, 1853
Age 49
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident
Cause Detail Fire

Police Officer Jacob Albright 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 PA, 417 of 1,261 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.1% of this state's fallen. That is 2.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Philadelphia Police Department, 110 of 378 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.1% of this agency's fallen.

Philadelphia Police Department
110
of 378 officers
29.1% Accident
PA — Statewide
417
of 1,261 officers
33.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Jacob Albright's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Jacob Albright Compares

Age at End of Watch
49
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Jacob Albright is highlighted in Dec.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location