The Great Chicago Fire started on October 8th, 1871 and is said to be one of the biggest events in Chicago’s history. To this day, nobody really knows how the fire was started; however, most say it started in a barn behind the home of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. There are claims that their cow was the cause, but that’s just one of the many myths that were started. The way that most of the buildings were built during this time, it was only a matter of time before a major fire happened. With all the catastrophic events that took place during the fire, there were also many great effects that occurred after the fire was over and the reconstruction process began.
In the summer of 1871, was said to be very dry with little to no rainfall, leaving everything dry and hazardous to catching on fire. During this so-called drought, it wasn’t uncommon for a fire to break out; they were pretty regular throughout
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the city during this time. It was estimated that nearly a hundred days went by without the slightest drop of rain. As the seasons were changing, farmers had already begun stockpiling hay for their animals as well as wood and kerosene for heating and cooking in their homes. Most of the four to five story buildings in the city were made of wood and considered “firetraps”, the bridges were also made of wood, it was only a matter of time before the city went up in flames, all that was needed was a spark from something. Late in the evening on October 8th, 1871, there was a spark and the city did go up in flames. The Great Chicago Fire erupted causing havoc in the city. With the wind blowing so strongly, by the time the fire department got too the scene of the fire, it was to late and the fire was out of control. Gust of wind nearly thirty miles an hour were spreading the fire so quickly that the firemen couldn’t contain it and it didn’t take long before the city was engulfed in flames. The fire burned wildly, lasting roughly two long and grueling days. Within an hour of the fire starting, all the houses around where it started were destroyed and the fire was moving strongly towards downtown. Factories and warehouses caught fire which powered even higher flames, with the increase in heat it forced the cooler air down, then the columns of air began to give themselves spin which created tornado type winds. The columns of air were so strong that they began knocking down trees and ripping the roofs off buildings and tossing them into the air. Hunks of debris were blown across the Chicago River, causing the South Side to go up in flames also. Wood was burning, stone was reduced to dust, and the fire was so hot that even metal and steel melted down. On October 10th the city of Chicago finally got some relief as it began to rain. With the help of the rain and the hardworking firefighters they were finally able to contain the fire and end this nightmare. It’s estimated that over 100,000 people were left homeless, more than 17,000 factories and buildings were destroyed, and around 200 million dollars’ worth of damage. While the fire had ended, another disaster had arisen; there was an eruption of looting, lawlessness, and drunkenness. There were also outrageous demands being made and those that were hired during the fire to haul off belongings of the more rich were stealing their stuff. With all the crime going on companies, of soldiers were mobilized to the city and martial law was declared on October 11th, once everything settled down, nearly two weeks later, martial law was lifted and the city went back to normal. With as bad of a tragedy as the Great Chicago Fire was, it did have many effects on Chicago and America that were for the better and many great things came about because of the fire.
Days after the fire the rebuilding process began, some businesses stood back up in sheds and stands among the ruins, people also started driving again. They were able to pushed most of the rubble into the lake that was south of the river to create new real estate and basic services began again in temporary locations. Much of the city’s physical substructures stayed intact, including the cities transportation systems. As the reconstruction process and efforts continued, it encouraged great economic growth as well as population growth within the city. The population during the time of the fire was around 324,000 and within a couple of years it had grown to nearly 500,000 people. By the late 1800’s the city was a major economic and transportation hub. Joseph Medill was also elected mayor and promised to the people that he would establish stricter building and fire
codes. As the architects began laying the foundation of the new modern city, the world’s first skyscrapers were introduced. Most of the new buildings were combined with old masonry construction and new techniques that came about. The new technique of using steel and metal allowed the steel industry to skyrocket and made new construction cheaper. They were made with fireproofing, grillage footings, and the use of iron and steel skeleton construction. The opportunity for a new urban architecture in the city would end up sweeping across the nation as well, several factors allowed this to happen. Because the fire had wiped out most of the city, the need for new offices, houses, factories, and now skyscrapers had lead to more job opportunities. As more architects and engineers came into Chicago, their new innovations and techniques not only helped rebuild Chicago, but also helped shape the way things are built in today’s era. No longer would the buildings be held up by masonry walls, but with skeletal type structure, the use of skeletal construction came about for practical purposes. The tall office building were built as a real-estate investment and with the rapid construction, lower labor cost, increased floor and window space, led to greater and faster profitability. William LeBaron Jenney, Louis H. Sullivan, John Wellborn Root, and Daniel H. Burnham were the famous architects who helped rebuild Chicago and who developed the first skyscraper. They comprised one of the greatest concentrations of creative architectural talent in U.S. history. From their ideas and talents, the Chicago school was founded and is synonymous with the development of steel framing, skyscrapers, and the urban skyline. Furthermore, while the Great Chicago Fire was one of the most catastrophic events in American History during the 1800’s, because of the fire, many great things came about. With the way buildings were built in this era, it was only a matter of time before a fire broke out on this level and destroyed a city. With all the architects that came to Chicago after the fire to help in the rebuilding process also were able to spread their knowledge across the country and help other cities with fire prevention techniques. Also, stricter fire codes and fire inspection procedures were introduced for the first time. The economy in Chicago also skyrocketed after the fire; more jobs were available, and because of that, the population rose to an all time high. This carried forward many years after the fire too, and Chicago became one of the biggest cities in America. The Great Chicago Fire had a major impact and effect on American History, and had the fire not happened, things might have been different today.
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America is about Teddy Roosevelt’s attempt to save the beautiful scenery of the West. Roosevelt used his presidency as a springboard to campaign for his want of protection for our woodlands, while doing this he created the Forest Service from this battle. In this book, Timothy Egan explores the Northern Rockies to analyze the worst wildfire in United States history. This disaster is known as the “Big Burn,” the 1910 fire that quickly engulfed three million acres of land in Idaho, Montana and Washington, completely burned frontier towns and left a smoke cloud so thick that it hovered over multiple cities even after the flames had been extinguished. Egan begins this story about the Big Burn of 1910 with the story of how the United States Forest Service came into existence.
As of today, the city of Chicago is the third largest city in the United States, right behind New York and Los Angles. It is home to more 3 million people, but this was not always the case. When the city was created in 1833, it only "coveted less than half a square mile on either side of the main channel of the Chicago River and contained only 350 adventurous inhabitants, mostly male." (Abu-Lughod 49). As the years went on the city continued to grow and by 1870 its "economic base had evolved considerably" (51). However, the following year Chicago suffered a disaster that ultimately destroyed the city. This event is known as the Great Chicago Fire. The fire is said to have begun in a small farm owned by Catherine and Patrick O'Leary and lasted for 36 hours. The fire destroyed more than 18,000 buildings, leaving around 99,000 of the city’s residents homeless, and killed more than 300 people. Despite the destruction of almost the entire city, Chicago was able to rebuild and reestablish itself as a place that offered opportunities, and a future. Although Chicago continued to grow rapidly, the US entered an economic depression in 1893. Luckily for the country, this was the very year that Chicago had been selected to host the 1893 World’s Fair, also known as the World’s Columbian Exposition. This fair gave not only the city of Chicago, but also the US, an opportunity to show the world what this nation was capable of creating and building.
Fires were a very common obstacle at the time, but nothing was even close to the fire of 1871. On October 8th, firefighters received a call from the neighbor of Catherine O’Leary. Neighbors reported seeing a number of flames coming from the cow barn. Firemen instantly spotted the fire, but miscalculated how big it really was. This event was historically known as the Chicago Fire of 1871 (“People 7 Events”).
Before the fire broke out on Sunday night, October 8, 1871 there had been a large drought causing everything to be dry and extremely flammable. Many fires had been breaking out in Chicago. Records show that in 1870 the fire fighters went to nearly 600 fires. On Saturday night there had been a large fire that destroyed about four blocks and lasted for 16 hours. Another reason why everything in Chicago was so flammable was because almost the entire city was made out of wood. It was a lot worse in the middle class and poor sections of the town (19). Just about every house was made out of wood. Even buildings that claimed to be fire proof had wood roofs covered with tar. The richer part of town had stone and brick homes, but wooden interiors, wooden stables, and wooden storage buildings (Cromie, 81). Chicago was built on marshland and every time it rained the city flooded, so to help this problem the roads were made out of wood and elevated above the waterline. The day the fire started there were over 55 miles of pine-block street and 600 miles of wooden sidewalks. “Chicago in 1871 was a city ready to burn,” according to Jim Murphy, author of The Great Fire (Murphy, 18).
There are many contributing factors to Detroit’s fire epidemic, combinations of arson, poor fire prevention and education, and so on. “An arson epidemic, the closure of fire stations and failing hydrants have taken a heavy toll on Detroit’s neighborhoods. Between 2013 and 2015, fires broke out in more than 10,000 houses, apartments, businesses, churches, schools and other buildings in
Fire played a very important role in the lives of the early Fond du Lac pioneers. It provided people with heat, light, and a means to cook. Almost every home in Fond du Lac had some sort of stove or fireplace. If a fire got out of control, that house and surrounding homes were in danger of burning down. As the town’s population grew larger and larger, the number of fire sources went up as well. The chances of a fire getting out of control were growing quickly. People soon began to fear the inevitable.
Humans have interacted with our planet and its glorious sights and resources in both negative and positive ways; some ways have a negative effect on our land but a positive effect on our economic progression and visa versa. Unfortunately the Cuyahoga River has been made famous because of its complications that have been caused, which has created not only economical problems but environmental problems all throughout its troubled history and is still being fixed to this day.
Dry weather combined with many wooden buildings, sidewalks and streets were open to catching fire and eventually led to it happening (Chicago Fire, 1). The fire spread uncontrollably to the northeast and central of the city. The downtown and north of Chicago was taken in flames but the stockyards on the south and west were not touched by the fire (Fire of 1871, 2). 17,500 buildings have been destroyed, a total of 78 miles of pavements were covered in flames (Murphy, 100). That night the wind was at 30 miles per hour, but there were many whirl flames that traveled to and across the city (Great Chicago Fire, 2). Amid the day and age of the fire the populace was assessed roughly around 324,000 individuals. Inside nine years after the decimation the populace was 500,000 (Chicago Fire, 2). Before the tragic event of the fire, the summer of 1871 was extremely hot, and Chicago went threw a horrific drought. From July to the day of the fire there was only three inches of rainfall in Chicago. In fact, one night before the great downfall a different fire began that was battled out by all fire companies to compose it. Many residents felt that Chicago was saved from disaster after putting the fire to rest (The Great Fire, 2). There was a myth that mention that the fire started by a cow tipping over a lantern
To begin with, during the year of 1870 and 1871 Chicago was facing extreme drought. During that time period the city of Chicago was built mostly from wood, making everything extremely flammable. Richard Bales author of “The Great Chicago Fire” states in an online article, “October 8, 1871, just after nine o'clock, a fire broke out in the barn behind the home of Patrick and Catherine O'Leary at 13 DeKoven Street. How the fire started is still unknown today, but an O'Leary cow often gets the credit.” Although we are not certain what and how the fire started, we know that it quickly spread. Legends say that the O’Leary’s cow knocked over one of the fire lamps therefore starting this massive fire. You might be asking yourself, how is it possible for a small fire to spread so quickly? “Hot air rose from the flames and mixed with the cool air above it, creating convection whirls. Witnesses called them "fire devils." A fire devil could pick up a burning piece of wood and send it flying. New fires started where the flaming objects landed. (McHugh)” Firefighters were exhausted from fighting a large fire the night before; and were sent to the wrong neighborhood at first. After finally arrivin...
"Did the Great Chicago Fire Really Start with Mrs. O'Leary's Cow?" HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013.
fires in the first week of October, on Saturday night, October 7, a blaze broke
Throughout recorded history, fires have been known to cause great loss of life, property, and knowledge. The Great Fire of London was easily one of the worst fires mankind has ever seen causing large scale destruction and terror. Samuel Pepys described the fire as “A most malicious bloody flame, as one entire arch of fire of above a mile long… the churches, houses and all on fire and flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made.” (Britain Express 1).
A: The film begins with a fire. It narrates the story of men running from a fire when, suddenly, one of the men stop and sets fire to the ground in front of him and the steps into the new safety zone he had just created. The term for his discovery became known as an escape fire. The directors used the idea of an escape fire as a metaphor for our health care system. Currently, our health care system is like a raging fire. The consuming flames of rising costs and a “disease maintenance” mind-set are about to consume our country and we must find a way out, an escape fire, before we perish. Like the men running away from the eminent death by the flames, we as a nation are sprinting towards
Sunday September 2, 1666 at 2 a.m. was the day when the fire began (Cowie, 59). It had all began in a baker’s house due to a spark that was “left” in one of his ovens. ‘”, all that was needed was a spark. This was provided at the house of Thomas Farynor, the King’s baker in Pudding Lane…”’ (“London’s Burning: The Great Fire”, 1). In this area was known as a poor area and it was also very dirty. All the houses were made out of wood, which fed the fire and it started to spread. The baker’s house was the first house to burn down and that is also where the first tragedy took place. The wind was strong during this time and as it blew it would push the fire and help it spread through the city. The people started waking up due to the smell of the smoke and they tried to put the fire out as fast as they could. The fire fighters even tired to stop the fire but it was to big for one truck to handle. One of the residents ran to the Mayors house to warm him of what was happening. When told of what was happening, “…the L...
...r it is arson, an uncontrolled camp fire, or a cigarette butt it doesn’t take much for humans to spark a disaster. Yet there is as well a few set by good old Mother Nature. On top of the effects on the earth as well as humans, there is only one thing we all can do and that is listen to our old pal Smokey the Bear when he says, “only you can prevent wildfire.”