There have been many historic fires in the history, from the Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago in 1903 to the Station Nightclub in Rhode Island in 2003. Each fire has its own significant outcome, whether it was meager and non-historic or devastating and tragic. Every fire or flame that has burned on this world, mankind has more knowledge of this chemical reaction and the destruction it can cause. In 24 BC, the Roman emperor, Augustus instituted a corps of “watchmen”. This is when the regulations for checking and preventing fires came into effect. During this era, watchmen in the cities to sound off alarms if a fire where to happen. Their primitive equipment for fire suppression at this time was either a lone bucket or a supplementary amount depends on the size of the flame. Shortly thereafter, the Romans would start using axes in home burnings to have the smoke and flames escape the building. In a major forest fire Romans would use, long hooks attached to ropes to pull down buildings to stop incoming fire spread In 1666, after the Great Fire in London, fire brigades were first formed by insurance companies. It was not until two hundred years later the government was involved and created these brigades creating London’s Fire brigade. These brigades were the first public service to develop modern standards of operation. The fire chief at this brigade appointed 80 aides to participate in fire drills and night training. In 1830 he wrote the first book on fire operations. This book had nearly 400 standards and set forth how a good department should deliver exceptional service. It was until 1648 that the first public fire department was formed in the United States. After a disastrous fire in Boston 1631, the city prohibited thatc... ... middle of paper ... ...n are thinking of new ideas to prevent and suppress fires by going back and look at historic fires. It will be only be a matter of time until the single greatest fire disaster happens and a way to prevent and suppress fire in every situation with no loss of lives. Works Cited Sturzenbecker, Michael J., ed. Fire Detection and Suppression Systems. Forth ed. Oklahoma City: Fire Protection Publications Oklahoma State University, 2010. 9-11. Print. Fire Protection Handbook. 20thth ed. N.p.: National Fire Protection Association, 2008. N. pag. Web. 5 Feb. 2014. . NAED. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. http://www.emergencydispatch.org/. Web. 5 Feb. 2014. .
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire not only affected the city of New York, but also the rest of the country. It forever changed the way our country would look at safety regulations in factories and buildings. The fire proved to America what can and will happen if we over-look safety regulations and over-crowd buildings. Unfortunately, 146 lives are taken before we fully understand this concept.
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.
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”).
# Coleman, Ronny J., et al.Fighter's Handbook: Essentials of Firefighting and Emergency Response. Delmar/Thompson Learning, Stamford, CT, 2000.
'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.
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)
The most pressing issue facing Detroit, in regard to fire, is the steady amount of burning vacant or delipidated buildings, and second to that is the high rate of home fires. For the purposes of this project, the capabilities of
Fond du Lac decided to begin taking steps for fire readiness. John Bannister and A.L. Ellsworth were appointed fire wardens in March of 1848. After a few months, a petition was put in front of the Board of Village Trustees. It simply requested that the city buy one fire engine. The Board decided against the purchase, and as a compromise, they added three more fire wardens. Not many people took these wardens seriously...
The fire service was started by Benjamin Franklin in 1748. In order to have what they called the bucket brigade come to your home, you must have a plaque on the front of your home showing you have fire insurance. Today we respond no matter what. If you call 911, we will be there.
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...
The Great Chicago Fire occurred during October 8th and 9th of 1871. The weeks leading up to this disaster were spent with an extremely watchful eye on the city due to the lack of rain. So, one spark or one small fire could start an extremely large fire because of how much wood had been used to build the city. There were even warnings given in form of a building inspection department idea that would inform the city that the buildings were “shoddily constructed firetraps”, according to the Tribune at the time. However, the city did nothing about the proposed problem of a dangerous fire breakout and paid the price.
There are many rumors but no one is exactly sure how the Great Chicago Fire. On of the rumors is that Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lamp that started the fire. This is an excuse to blame the Irish immigrants. They weren’t in favor in 1871. (Stein, R. Conrad, 16) Daniel Sullivan, a visitor to the neighborhood, was outside. Mr. Sullivan cried out fire around 8:30. Flames were coming out of the barn filled with cows. (Pascal, Janet B., and Kevin McVeigh, 41) The origin of the fire wasn’t known to everyone. Police officers were able to shoot any person who looked suspicious. (Angle, Paul M. 22) Everyone was tense over how exactly the Great Chicago Fire started.
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).
Varone, J. C. (2012). Legal considerations for fire & emergency services (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar.
...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.”