Meredith R. Williams

Meredith “Riff” Williams, 36, was a member of the Virginia Fire Department, Nevada Hook & Ladder Company No. 1,  when he died on October 20, 1872. Meredith went into the mines below Virginia City to fight a fire that broke out on April 7, 1869. Meredith was overcome by smoke and gas and rescued by a partner. Though he died three years later, doctors at the time said his death was the result of being asphyxiated during the mine fire. Meredith had served as chief of the Virginia Fire Department 1865-1866. He was survived by a wife and child, three brothers, and a mother.