THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON OF 1666

THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON OF 1666

The Great Fire of London of 1666 that was started by Thomas Farrinor’s bakery caused the destruction of 80 percent of London and led to the creation of insurance and firefighting companies. The fire marked a time of rebirth for the British capital since the city had to rebuild entirely. The fire was quite an interesting event owing the fact that it caused such an extreme amount of destruction and took the lives of only six people. Londoners remember the seventeenth century as a time of desolation, but the events that occurred have impacted the world today. With the creation of insurance and firefighting, not only are people protected, but their property also.

As a rule, builders in seventeenth-century London built houses from wood and pitch. Pitch is a sticky substance produced from tar and black in color. The strength of the pitch held the building materials together. Pitch also acted as a water proof coating for the wood, keeping moisture out, and preventing harm to the wood. Builders formed the roofs of houses from straw. It was not uncommon to see fires in London since not only were the houses highly flammable, but because open flame heated the homes. London used to be extremely crowded; with the houses being built close together, fire could easily spread from house to house and become a fire hard to contain (Alagna 12). Firefighting consisted of very simple techniques before the Great Fire. If there was a fire, designated workers pulled down houses with hooks to form a firebreak which would stop the fire from spreading any further. Other than the tools used to pull down the houses, there were not really any other firefighting devices (Alagna 13-14).

Furthermore, on the night of September ...

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...ent is a 28 square foot pedestal with Latin inscriptions on each side. One inscription describes London before the fire, while the other inscription describes London after the fire. A black marble staircase containing 345 steps that leads to a balcony runs through the core of the structure. Today, the structure stands in the center of London as a symbol of the strength and determination of London and its people (Alagna 40).

In conclusion, the Great Fire of London destroyed 80 percent of London, and led to the creation of insurance and firefighting companies. While a vast majority of the city was destroyed, the fire gave London the opportunity to rebuild and become a better city. To consecrate the desolation, an architect designed and constructed a monument simply called, the Monument. The Great Fire of London changed the world by setting an example of resilience.