For thousands of years, the world has managed to survive, and even thrive on fires. Time has shown that fires are a major force driving the development of civilizations and of society. As change arose and governments were formed, their primary duty has been to protect its people. Ever since technology has grown enough to allow humans to control fires to some extent, part of a government’s responsibility is to aid in quenching the fire, and thus protecting the people who would otherwise be threatened by it. The Great Boston Fire of 1872 was one of the nation’s deadliest and most destructive in its history, and it is clear that at the time, the local government had neglected to take the necessary precautions or heed warnings that could have prevented or mitigated the spread of the fire. In the Great Fire, the local government did not fulfill its responsibility to protect and direct both the people and their property, a Constitutional right of the people ever since the Fifth Amendment was instated in the 1900s.
Government is simply the organizing factor within a group of people. Without one, chaos ensues and efficient production is nearly impossible. Any government is responsible for protecting its people. One obvious example of this is shown in warfare. Throughout history, whenever a group of people is attacked, regardless of whether the conflict is internal or external, their government is called upon to intervene and provide military assistance. Just as the both the local and federal governments are responsible for dealing with protecting its citizens and from war, they are equally responsible for providing basic protection from fire.
Fearing a fire like the Chicago fire of 1871 , Chief Damrell of Boston’s fire department had been...
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...s, 2003. Print.
The source Boston on Fire focused on the results that the fire itself caused, for example the changes in industry and social status as well as politics and the economy. Also, this source describes the reasons why the fire grew to such a magnitude. The book seems to be less about the events themselves as the causes and results of the fire.
Schorow, Stephanie. "NFPA Journal." Boston Fire Trail. NFPA Journal, 1 May 2011. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. .
While this source is supposed to be about a trail that was centered around the Boston Fire of 1872, it talks about many of the events of the fire, and also the geographic relationships between them. This source turned out to be more like a historical summarization of the Boston Fire of 1872, as categorized by location.
One of the deadliest nightclub fires in United States history occurred on May 28, 1977, a busy Memorial Day weekend in the suburbs of Cincinnati. The Beverly Hills Supper Club was a popular nightclub located in Southgate, Campbell County, Kentucky in the greater Cincinnati area. It was located on a hill less than 1000 ft. from the highway on seventeen acres of land just three miles from downtown Cincinnati (Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire D-1). It has since become a case study for its numerous code violations and the behavior of the fire from ignition to building collapse. While there is no one contributing factor to the significant loss of life at this facility, a study of the building’s history, the sequence of the fire’s progression, and an analysis of the fire’s chemistry can provide some valuable lessons to the future firefighter.
On March 25, 1911, 146 garment factory workers their lives in a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. In less than an hour, these workers died from asphyxiation, burns, or jumping to their deaths in a futile attempt at escape (McGuire, 2011). The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory the eighth through tenth floors of New York City’s Asch building, and employed approximately 700 workers, 500 of them young women and girls (McGuire, 2011). A fire quickly broke out on the eighth floor shortly before the end of the work day. Loose fabric was strewn about the floor and stuffed under equipment, providing kindling for the fire to quickly become an inferno. As women attempted to exit, they were met with locked doors and forced to find other means of escape, including jumping from the eight floor windows, climbing down elevator cables, and scampering down the fire escape - each route of escape tragically failed, costing many their lives. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is an example of how quickly dangerous and neglectful conditions can quickly take many lives, but it has also served as the impetus for great changes in workplace and fire safety codes and regulations, including the development of Fire Safety Codes, implementation of state-based worker’s compensation laws, and the formation of New York State’s Industrial Code. The impacts of these changes and many others are still felt today, more than 100 years later. There is, however, still work to be done in the area of workplace fire safety, as evidenced in the Kader Toy Factory fire and the Imperial Chicken Processing Plant fire.
This chapter provided information from the trial of Captain Thomas Preston. The chapter asked the question, “What really happened in the Boston Massacre”. Chapter four focused on the overall event of the Massacre and trying to determine if Captain Preston had given the order to fire at Boston citizens. The chapter provides background information and evidence from Preston’s trial to leave the reader answering the question the chapter presents. Although, after looking through all the witnesses’ testimonies some might sway in Captain Preston’s favor, just the way the grand jury did.
Disasters can be so impactful; some can forever change the course of history. While many at the time thought this story would soon pass, and with it all the potential bad publicity, the story of the Triangle fire spread quickly, and outraged many people. On a beautiful spring day in March 1911 when 146 workers lost their lives, a fire would prove it could do what years of reformers had failed to do, get the government on the side of the workers. I would argue that the fire largely impacted the country. Specifically, the Triangle Fire ended up changing New York’s interconnected political and economic scene, and spurred on the creation of stricter safety codes. For the first time owners would hold responsibility for their actions. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris; being indicted for manslaughter was proof of this. Social change seemed to be spurred as well; the general public and newspapers would come back the workers of New York. Large institutions would suffer as well. Tammany Hall would be feared less and less by waves of new immigrants. The largest change brought about by the blaze would be legislation. Twenty-five bills, recasting the labor laws of the state
During the early 1900s industrial fires or accidents were common place; injuries and the loss of life may have outraged a few people but like all tragedies the outrage would pass quickly and it would back to business as usual. One such tragedy occurred on Saturday, March 25th, 1911, it was closing time at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and hundreds of employees were preparing to leave when a fire broke out on the 8th floor trapping Jewish and Italian immigrants, the majority of them young women. One hundred and forty-six people died in futile attempts to escape the burning ten story building. The main doors were during the day kept locked and only one doorway was opened for the hundreds of employees to file out, one by one, as their belongings were searched for pilfered goods. Blanck and Harris, owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, faced no consequences in regards to the unsafe working environment and the death of their employees. David von Drehle, in his book, Triangle, The Fire That Changed America, states that this particular fire changed the political and industrial landscape of the United States; it was no longer ignored by the working masses nor was it quickly dismissed by the public - the public consisted of a huge immigration population from Europe, the “transfer of labor power and brain power” that eventually lead to women’s striking in the garment industry and setting a precedent in New York (Triangle, 3, 4). Several groups like the moneyed, educated elite women, the muckrakers, the Labor Unions, and the political machines that controlled neighborhoods of New York pushed for political, economic, and legal changes to the industrial systems - in a democratic social time of reform – they were like much welcomed rain ...
In 1973, one of the most influential reports to ever come out of the fire service was created. This report would change the fire service forever and still to this day have a great impact on the way things are done in the fire service. One of the most impacted sectors within the fire service is the way firefighters perceive and implement fire prevention strategies and techniques. This report was called “America Burning” and was published by the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control. The report was sent directly to the president of the United States of America, who at the current time was Richard
The fire opened people’s eyes to a system that was in dire need of reform, Drehle even stating that, “it was the crucial moment in a potent chain of events…that ultimately forced fundamental reforms [in]…the whole nation” (Drehle, 2003, p.3). The tragedy lead to the strengthening of reform movements as more and more joined their cause, evidenced by, “By organizing themselves and asserting their strength, the workers were beginning to make progress…’[it] was more than a strike’; it was ‘an industrial revolution’” (Drehle, 2003, p.172). The fire urged people to fight for reform, and reforms were passed, Drehle stating that, “The work of 1912 produced a series of new laws in the 1913 legislature that was unmatched…in American history…twenty-five bills, entirely recasting the labor law” (Drehle, 2003, p.215). The reformers’ efforts proved fruitful as these great changes were accomplished, and they would forever change the nation for the better. Drehle proves to the reader that the fire was a turning point in American history thorough his explanation of the fire’s impacts on
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was one of the largest disasters in American history. Practically overnight the great city of Chicago was destroyed. Before the fire there was a large drought causing everything to be dry and flammable, then a fire broke out in the O’Leary’s barn and spread throughout the city. Many attempts were made to put out the fire but there were too many errors and problems in the beginning. After the fire many people were left homeless and had to help build their city again (Murphy, 39)
Polgar, Paul. "Fighting Lightning with Fire: Black Boston's Battle against "The Birth of a Nation"" Massachusetts Historical Review 10 (2008) 84-113. Web.
Boston Massacre was a street fight between the patriots and British troops that happened on March 5, 1770. It is remembered as an important event that helped gain America’s Independence. The riot was about the disagreement the settlers of America had on the Townshend Act. The Townshend Act was an act passed by the British ruler and it was about taxing on everything except tea. The Americans disapproved of the act, they believed it was an abuse of power. The Boston Massacre resulted in public protest and threats against Britain’s Townshend Act. During the Boston Massacre, there were five deaths. The town demanded a trial for Captain Preston and his men for murder. John Adam and Josiah Quincy the second were on the British side and didn’t believe
The town of Boston was a very unstable throughout the 1760’s. This instability quickly turned to violence in the early part of 1770’s. Tension had already begun to in the beginning of the year with various clashes between the British and the colonists. However, in early March the tensions erupted into bloodshed to create what we now know as the Boston Massacre. The occurrence of these events is a fact, however, the interpretations of them has changed over time. The reports are colored by events that are taking place during the period of time in which they were written and by the author’s own prejudices and opinions. However, we can use these imperfections as a way of tracking what is occurring in America and the state of politics.
In conclusion, on the night of September 25th, two beautiful churches burned and many other buildings were scorched by the flames. The fire brought fear to some residents who thought they would lose everything and exhaustion to the fire fighters. No deaths were reported, and only a few people were severely burned. It was a night that would not be forgotten easily by those who lived in the “Burning District.”
People around the city went to bed, everything seemed relatively normal. Smoke dwindling into the dark night sky, the faint smell of burning wood. All normal for Chicago. Fires were a daily part of life for this wooden city. Near the time of 2 a.m. the fire didn’t seem so normal and average anymore. A mean flame was being born, it was blazing to life.
'Is it true that long ago firemen put fires out instead of going to start them?’ ‘No. Houses. have always been fireproof, take my word for it.’ ‘Strange. I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames.’ He laughed.
Although it started as a small fire in a baker’s shop and the official death toll was low, nevertheless the Great Fire of London heavily impacted England’s social, political, and economic history because the outcome allowed for changes in many subjects from building codes and property insurance to the eventual revival of England’s economy.