| Name | William Roughton |
| Agency | Urbana Fire Department |
| Rank | Chief |
| Type of Firefighter | Career |
| Age Range | 56 to 60 |
| Sex | Male |
| Date of Birth | 6/3/1858 |
| Date of Death | 11/26/1916 |
| Cause of Death | Struck by vehicle |
| Nature of Death | Pneumonia |
| Attribute of Death | [not applicable] |
| Type of Duty | Emergency vehicle operations , Firefighting operations , Responding to/returning from incident |
| Incident Name | N/A |
| Incident City | Urbana |
| Incident State | IL |
| Incident Date | 11/16/1916 |
| Incident Location | Street/Road |
| Incident Attribute |
On November 16, 1916, Chief William H. Roughton of the Urbana Fire Department was fatally injured in the line of duty while responding to a house fire.
Shortly before noon on November 16, 1916, Chief Roughton and his truck crew responded to a house fire at 1306 Main Street in Urbana. As Roughton was stepping off of his fire apparatus to signal orders to his crew, he fell and his left leg was run over by the truck and severely injured. He developed pneumonia after the accident and succumbed to his injuries ten days later on November 26, 1916.
Roughton served as a firefighter for the Urbana Fire Department for 16 years and was Chief of the Department at the time of his death. He was just six months away from retirement. Roughton had been previously employed by W.I. Saffell and Co., and was also trained as a railway conductor among other vocations. Funeral services were held on November 28th at the Universalist Church in Urbana, IL. Roughton was a locally prominent Mason and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery with Masonic burial rites. He was survived by his two daughters, his mother, two brothers, and two sisters.
Citations:
“Chief Roughton dies of Injuries,” The Urbana Daily Courier, November 27, 1916.