Michael L. Cooper - Fighting Fire!. Ten of the Deadliest Fires in American History and How We Fought Them

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To my New York friends Russell and Jim who have always been so supportive

CONTENTS

BOSTON, 1760

NEW YORK, 1835

CHICAGO, 1871

BALTIMORE, 1904

NEW YORK, 1904

SAN FRANCISCO, 1906

NEW YORK, 1911

BOSTON, 1942

NEW YORK, 2001

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, 2007

INTRODUCTION

A dreadful city of fire is how one visitor described colonial Boston. Thats because fires frequently destroyed large sections of the city.

But it wasnt a problem only in Boston or in the colonial era. Major fires regularly leveled cities up until the early twentieth century.

Several of these fires shaped history. King Georges indifference to the suffering of Bostons citizens after the big fire of 1760, some historians believe, added to the tensions that sparked the American Revolution. New York Citys Great Fire of 1835 prompted the building of the Croton Aqueduct, one of the nineteenth centurys grandest engineering feats. And the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 cleared the way for a new style of architecture that reshaped skylines around the worldthe skyscraper.

Many smaller American fires were no less significant in terms of developing firefighting and fire-safety techniques. In the early twentieth century, a fire aboard the General Slocum, a popular excursion boat in New York City, killed 1,021 people. A few months later in the same city, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire killed 146 young garment workers. Big or small, each fire resulted in innovations as well as stronger laws and regulations. Science and technology improved fire protection, fire detection, and firefighting.

Despite these advances, fire is still a major threat. According to the National Fire Protection Association, U.S. fire departments responded to nearly 1.3 million fires in 2010. Thats one every 24 seconds. Those fires caused $11.6 billion in damage and killed 3,125 people, not including firefighters.

Even with todays technology, tragedies still occur. In late June 2013, a wildfire in central Arizona trapped and killed an elite group of 19 firefighters. Two months later, the Rim Fire, one of Californias biggest wildfires, burned more than 370 square miles of land, including a large portion of Yosemite National Park. It took some 1,500 firefighters about five weeks to fully contain the blaze.

The following chapters show the destructive nature of fire through ten of the deadliest fires in American history. The challenges of firefighting have changed as our country has grown and modernized, but over the centuries these major fires have taught us valuable lessons that help prevent fires and save lives.

COLONIAL AMERICAS BIGGEST FIRE

BOSTON, 1760

In the days of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, big fires regularly destroyed towns and cities, but no city burned more than Boston.

Between Bostons founding in 1630 and the start of the American Revolution in 1775, fires regularly devastated large sections of the city. Its not hard to see why. The Puritans who settled on Bostons hilly Shawmut Peninsula used wood from nearby forests to build practically everythinghouses, churches, and shops. They even used it to make chimneys. And the colonists cooked meals and heated their homes with open fireplaces full of wood crackling and popping. At night, candles and oil lamps provided light.

Colonial Boston had its first recorded fire in 1631, when a chimney caught fire and burned a house down. Soon afterward the colonies had their first fire code: noe man shall build his chimney with wood, nor cover his house with thatch. New regulations followed each big fire. Bostons Board of Selectmen, which was like a city council, required residents to clean their chimneys regularly. The selectmen also decreed that no dwelling house in Boston shall be erected and set up except of stone or brick and covered with slate or tyle.

In 1678, the selectmen purchased the latest firefighting equipment, an English-made hand tub fire engine. At the time the word engine simply meant a tool or instrument. It was a rectangular wooden vessel with a pump, a short leather hose, and handles on each side for carrying. During a fire, a line of men, women, and children, which was called a bucket brigade, drew buckets of water from a creek or well and passed them to firefighters to fill the engine. Several men pumped the engine while one held the hose, which spurted water 15 to 20 feet.

One of the first fire engines used in North America. [LOC, USZ62-99616]

The selectmen chose a dozen men to operate the engine. The man in charge was called the engineer. They were paid for each fire they fought, which gives Boston its claim to having had Americas first paid firefighters.

Some twenty Bostonians in 1718 organized a mutual fire society, pledging to help one another if a fire started in their homes or shops. The rules required that each Member confidently keep together in good Order in his Dwelling House, Two Leather Buckets, a Bed Winch, and two Bags. During a fire, the societys members filled their bags with dishes, clothing, and other small items. With the winches, they dismantled beds, often a familys most valuable possessions.