Dbq Fire

In 1666, a great fire that lasted for three days desolated an enormous amount of London. More than 300 houses were destroyed; left under about a mile of ash. The people of the city could have lessened the amount of destruction that the fire brought on the city. However, according the Samuel Pepys’s diary the Mayor complained that they could not pull down houses fast enough in order to keep the fire from spreading so far. Three hundred and fifty years later— with the start of a man with thoughts of fighting fires and preventing them from destroying other cities—technology and firefighting techniques have saved a countless amount of lies.

The Roman Emperor Augustus instituted the first corps of fire watchmen in 24 B.C. Some of the early tools

used and their uses to fight fires were a bucket: delivered water to fire hand by hand, ax: to remove fuel and prevent fires from spreading, and long hooks and ropes: used to pull down buildings in the path of approaching fire to create firebreaks. Insurance companies created the first fire brigades in London. This was probably because the government did not seem to have any interest in forming any type of group so that the city would be ready for future fires. However, the government did become involved in 1865, the brigades of London became one big group: London’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade. America’s first fire department was built in Amsterdam—now New York—in 1664.

The first person to advocate and try to organize fire fighting in America was Benjamin Franklin.

He started in Philadelphia. Some of his methods of persuasion were consulting the Junto, a benevolent group dedicated to civic and self-improvement, and asked for their suggestions on better ways to combat fires. Benjamin always sought to raise public awareness to desire the need to improve fire-fighting techniques. His first establishment of a fire company was the Union Fire Company on December 7, 1736. His repertoire of tools used consisted of leather buckets, strong bags, and baskets.

Another fire that desolated another great city was Chicago from October 8 to October 10 in 1871. An old legend states that a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn and started the fire. However, other theories hold that humans or even a meteor might have been responsible for it. The damage to the city was more devastating than the Great London fire. The fire left about 4 miles and almost a mile of the windy city in ash and dust. The city did grow rather quickly after the fire. By 1890, the city was a major economic and transportation hub with an estimated population of more than 1 million people. In 1893, Chicago hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition, a tourist attraction visited by some 27.5 million people. The Chicago Fire Department training academy is located on the site of the O’Leary property where the Great Chicago Fire

started.
History is a great way to look back on the past and address situations that we maybe weren’t able to solve. Events like the fire in London and Chicago help us better solve problems and address situations better and easier. Technology has grown and researchers have bettered the techniques in making sure when fires start they have help on the way with some of the best tools to ensure that the lowest amount of people are harmed by any fire. Smoke monitors have been installed in most buildings that alert the building and 911 agents that a fire has started. However, for smaller fires a fire extinguisher can be used before the fire expands and causes a bigger problem. Although all these are great improvements with fire fighting you can’t forget about those that put their life in danger in order to stop fires and help save those that may be caught in a building of fire.