Updates? More than 60 acres (25 hectares) of the commercial district had been destroyed, leaving 1,000 people homeless and another 20,000 without jobs. The fire was finally contained by midday on November 10. 2018 BFD Department Orders & Engine 46 Hose Wagon & Members, circa 1918. In October 1872, an outbreak of distemper sidelined many of the Boston Fire Department’s trained fire horses. But there was little he could do about the many new buildings that crowded Boston’s narrow, crooked streets. The city used the rubble from the fire to build Atlantic Avenue. So extensive was the outbreak of the virus across North America that it became known as the ‘Great Epizootic of 1872’. Later, a city investigation of the fire found the lack of horses only delayed the firefighters’ response by a few minutes. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. In addition, the city approved increased funding to expand the fire department. Gas lines exploded, streetlights popped and the city glowed like an ember. So the ever-vigilant Damrell hired 500 extra men to pull fire trucks to fires. The fire raged through the commercial district gobbling blocks at a time. Every Boston fire company arrived at the scene by 7:45 pm, but flames fully engulfed the building. Some credit the timely arrival of a Kearsarge Steam Fire Engine from Portsmouth, N.H., with saving the landmark. As the fire spread from one rooftop to another, fire chief John Damrell called for reinforcements from the surrounding areas. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., watched the fire from Beacon Hill and wrote a poem about it.
One of the conflicts about the Great Fire of Chicago was the debate about what caused the fire. Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Investigate the Cause and Management of the Great Fire in Boston, Remarks at the November 14, 1872 meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The Great Boston Fire consumed 65 acres and cost over $1 billion in today’s dollars. The fire consumed the Boston Globe building, the Herald, Shreve, Crump and Low and the Carter’s Ink Co. Wind and updrafts spread the flames even faster. Site Design by, Map of Boston and the Burnt District, 1872, Boston Public Library Photograph Collection. Massachusetts, constituent state of the United States of America. Nor was there much he could do about building owners who over-insured their buildings, which gave them little incentive to make them safe from fire.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'newenglandhistoricalsociety_com-box-3','ezslot_2',112,'0','0'])); Damrell worried especially about the city’s leaky old water mains, which couldn’t create enough water pressure to reach the tops of the new buildings. In 1871, a Boston fire department engineer name John Damrell traveled to Chicago to examine the smoking ruins of the Great Chicago Fire. Newspaper Story: 11/09/1902 – 30th Anniversary of Great Fire of 1872, Newspaper Story: 11/10/1912 – 40th Anniversary of Great Fire of 1872, Newspaper Story: 03/03/1898 – Portsmouth NH fireman who went to Boston dies, Newspaper Story: 03/30/1903 – Portsmouth NH fireman who went to Boston dies, Group Photos; Reunion Booklets; Fire Societies; Boston Protective Dept. Sailors could see the fire from the coast of Maine. John S. Damrell’s Address Before Boston Veteran Firemen, February 2, 1886, on Great Fire of 1872. It ranks among the most destructive fires in American history. Businesses, newspaper offices, and churches were among the 776 buildings destroyed, and about 30 people had been killed. Flames raced through the wooden elevator shaft and spread to cloth, hoop skirts, hosiery and gloves before setting the roof on fire.
Some came from as far away as Providence and New Haven. ; Fire Alarm Maps. The fire destroyed 776 buildings across 65 acres of land, with the assessed value of the properties at nearly $13.5 million and personal property loss of of $60 million dollars.
Many of the horses belonging to the Boston Fire Department were suffering from a type of epizootic flu. Pingback: This Week's New History Highlights for March 12, 2016 - New England Historical Society, Pingback: When the Music Stopped: Chickering and the Piano Wars of 1850 - New England Historical Society, You must be logged in to post a comment Login, Copyright © 2014 - 2020 New England Historical Society, city to invest in the first fireboat and to let him inspect buildings, Wonderland, Revere’s Brief, Brilliant Million-Dollar Amusement Park, When Connecticut Went in for Comic Book Burning, Silver Artifacts Discovered at Wheeler-Thoreau Shanty Site, This Week's New History Highlights for March 12, 2016 - New England Historical Society, When the Music Stopped: Chickering and the Piano Wars of 1850 - New England Historical Society, Edwin Henderson Proves Black Men Can Jump. In the end, at least 30 people died, including 12 firefighters.
Against Damrell’s orders, however, city officials blew up several buildings in an unsuccessful attempt to create a firebreak.
For months before the fire he worried about Boston’s susceptibility to a catastrophe. Efforts to save the Old South Meeting House finally put out the fire. In October 1872, an outbreak of distemper sidelined many of the Boston Fire Department’s trained fire horses. Besides the 48 conterminous states that occupy the middle latitudes of the continent, the United States includes the state of Alaska, at the northwestern extreme of North America, and the island state of Hawaii, in the…. Nevertheless, the firefighters worked steadily through the night to combat the blaze. For 17 long hours, firefighters from 27 towns pumped weak streams of water on the fire. Because most businesses had plenty of insurance they rebuilt quickly. Capt. The fire originated about 7:00 pm in a six-story building on the corner of Kingston and Summer streets in Boston’s business district.
The situation was exacerbated by several factors: the downtown consisted largely of tall wooden buildings that were full of flammable materials, the fire department was short staffed, the water supply was insufficient, and the city’s horses were just beginning to recover from an influenza epidemic, forcing firefighters to pull the steam-powered fire engines themselves. Corrections? The exact number of people who lost their lives was never determined but it is estimated at around thirty, including eleven firefighters. Boston fire of 1872, devastating fire that destroyed a large area in Boston’s commercial district on Nov. 9–10, 1872. In a little over a year, his fears were realized. Great Boston Fire of 1872 – November 9, 1872 November 4, 2016 ISFI 2016 - Fire Investigation Science. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... A Study of History: Who, What, Where, and When? It was one of the original 13 states and is one of the 6 New England states, lying in the northeastern corner of the country. According to the Boston Fire Historical Society the fire destroyed 776 buildings across 65 acres and caused an estimated $73.5 million (over $1.5 billion in today's dollars) in damages. So did a lookout tower and headquarters for the Boston Fire Department, now the Pine Street Inn. Omissions? The conflagration began at 7:20 p.m. on November 9, 1872, in the basement of a commercial warehouse at 83-87 Summer Street. So the ever-vigilant Damrell hired 500 extra men to pull fire trucks to fires. Onlookers stood watching for 20 minutes before the alarm sounded. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Boston-fire-of-1872, BlackPast.org - Chicago Race Riot of 1919. As many as 100,000 spectators, some drunk, came to watch the spectacle as the fire didn’t spread to the residential districts. In the aftermath, the city established an entirely new system of firefighting and prevention. He realized the probability of a catastrophic Boston fire. The Great Boston Fire.
This story about the Great Boston Fire of 1872 was updated in 2018. Businessmen interfered with the firefighters as they tried to salvage their goods, even as looters were stealing them. It ranks among the most destructive fires in American history. He lost his job in 1874 and went on to campaign successfully for a national building code. Fire alarm boxes had been locked to prevent false alarms. By the time the first alarm was sounded, the fire had already engulfed the building.
This page contains basic information about the Great Boston Fire of 1872, which occurred on Saturday and Sunday, November 9 & 10, 1872. Eventually destroying 775 buildings and causing millions of dollars in damage to the commercial section that we now know as Boston's business district. On November 9th in 1872, a fire in Boston destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed 14 people. Who was the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize? Massachusetts (officially called a commonwealth) is bounded to the north by Vermont and New Hampshire, to…, United States, country in North America, a federal republic of 50 states. The fire originated about 7:00 pm in a six-story building on the corner of Kingston and Summer streets in Boston’s Alexander Graham Bell submitted an eyewitness account to the Boston Globe, but the editors rejected him. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Later, a city investigation of the fire found the lack of horses only delayed the firefighters’ response by a few minutes.
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