The Great Chicago Fire was definitely a devastating fire in the history of the United States. There was lots of death, destruction, devastation, and sadness followed in the inferno's wake in 1871. Those who bore witness gawked in horror as something so commonplace in Chicago, a fire, multiplied in size to a hungry beast set on devouring everything in sight. All of the water that the fire department spurted at the blaze vaporized, and even the Chicago River burst into flames. This catastrophe was something that could have been prevented, but wrecked much of Chicago.
It was such a destructive menace when the Great Fire had to have a cause, and reasons for the disaster date back to months before the fire even started on October 8. The entire summer in the Chicago area was hot and dry. When summers are hot and dry, they signify droughts and high temperatures for the autumn. These are perfect conditions that amplify the combustibility of materials, like wood. Actually, because Chicago was built on a swamp, and other substances were much too expensive, the entire city was made of chopped trees, including the buildings, sidewalks, and roads. Miles and miles of dry wood make quite a pile of kindling. On October 8, a small patch of flames lit up in the barn of the O'Leary's. Urban legend states that a cow knocked over a lit lantern, and some think it was a meteor, but the source of the fire is still unknown to us today. Citizens from a far distance noticed some signs of flames, one being a man named Mathias Schaffer. "Schaffer was showing some visitors around the tower when one of them pointed to smoke in the distance. Schaffer glanced at the smoke, but dismissed the sighting. It was just the smoldering embers from the previous night’s fire, he assured them. Nothing to worry about" (Murphy 32). Not only were commoners confused, but the fire department was exhausted from fighting the previous fire for 16 hours straight. Alarm boxes around the city instructed the firefighters where the blaze was, but many people were too far away to strike the right key, and the firefighters, drowsy, followed orders. Not only was this a problem, but some Chicagoans refused to strike their alarm boxes, and some boxes just malfunctioned. The waterworks, made of wood, burned easily, and that cut the supply of water to the fire engines, making them much more ineffective. Gusty winds spread the fire at too rapid a pace to keep up with. The inferno could have been stopped by the Chicago River, had it not been polluted and filled with greasy oil, turning it flammable, and allowing the fire to cross. While the Chicago fire department had a quality system for fighting fires, it only failed because many did not do their part, and the consequences were terrible.Being the worst fire in the history of fires, the Great Chicago Fire had quite a death toll. 300 people died in pain. While 300 does not seem like much today, one should remember that this was in 1871, and cities were far less populated. Only 300,000 people lived in the city of Chicago, so, statistically speaking, 1 in every 1,000 people died in the fiasco. Because of all of the homes that were turned to ash, 100,000 Chicagoan found themselves homeless. 100,000 out of 300,000 is an entire third of the population stranded without a roof or any of their hard-earned belongings. Houses were among the 70,000 structures destroyed in the blaze, and it cost the government 200 million dollars to repair. 200 million dollars in 1871 is more than a billion dollars presently. During the chaos that spread panic across the city, criminal activity, especially theft, thrived. With the police helping the fire department, and nobody looking after their belongings, robbers could take what they wish without being caught. After such a devastation, the Chicago City Council realized that it was time for an upgrade.
The most obvious thing to fix after the Great Chicago Fire was the management of the fire fighting system. Politician Joseph Medill promised to make these changes once he was elected as Mayor, and dutifully carried out his promise to the Chicagoans, who had grown significantly in numbers. After 9 years, urbanization caused 300,000 to grow to half a million citizens. There was more room, because construction had begun, and metal skyscrapers were beginning to appear in downtown. While the transportation and infrastructure had not been harmed, they were improved as well, and Chicago became known as a booming city of economics and transportation. With all of the repairs, Chicago was able to host the World's Colombian Exposition, and attracted more than 27 million people to the brand new, gleaming Chicago. Maybe the fire had damaged too much, but it triggered a revolution for the better, and Chicago was a changed city.
Answer:
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)
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…show more content…
An anarchist group called the Societe Internatianale was blamed, and even a fire extinguisher salesman was accused because people say he was showing people how his product was useful. The editor of one paper said that a higher being was responsible and that God was balancing the acts done by the North to the South in the Civil War. No one is sure how the fire started, but the O’Learys were the scapegoats and got a lot of bad treatment after the fire (126). The fire spread from the O’Learys’ barn to the yards nearby. Soon it was spreading throughout the neighborhood. William Lee, a neighbor a block away, saw the fire and ran to Bruno Goll’s drugstore to turn in the fire alarm. Bruno Goll refused to turn in the alarm because he said the fire truck had already gone past. So instead of arguing, Lee went home to his family. At the courthouse the lookout on duty saw smoke, but thought nothing of it, thinking it was just Saturday's fire and there was no reason to be alarmed. Then he looked up and noticed it was a different fire and had his assistant strike the Box 342 for the fire department. Soon fire trucks were at the scene and attempted to put out the fire. The fire department’s Chief Marshal, Robert A. Williams got the engines to circle the fire to contain it. They got as close to the fire as they could until their arm hair was being burned and their
Get Access
Related
1871: The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871
635 Words | 3 Pages
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 would forever alter the city of Chicago, as well as the community which called the city home. The fire left a path of destruction no Chicagoan had ever experienced. Despite the terrible destruction and loss of life, the fire led to the construction of the Chicago everyone knows and loves today. Throughout the mid 1800´s Chicago was undergoing substantial growth. The city had a population of 30,000 in 1850 and within 30 years had grown to nearly 90,000. Middle class
Read More
Fire In 1871 : The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871
994 Words | 4 Pages
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was a tragic event that impacted many people at the time. The fire raged through the city of Chicago, Illinois from October 8th to October 10th, destroying 3.3 square miles of downtown Chicago. While the fire was devastating, it laid the groundwork for rebuilding a stronger Chicago. Chicago, Illinois was a popular city in the early United States. Chicago was a center for trade due to the water sources running through it. The two rivers located in Chicago, the Chicago
Read More
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871
1752 Words | 8 Pages
The Great Chicago Fire was a major milestone in the city’s history. The fire started on October 8th, 1871 and did not end until October 10th, 1871. People never saw this fire coming which might have made it even worse. The only reason it spread so far was because everything was made out of wood, the ground was parched and the wind was blowing that night; the reason it stopped was because it had started raining. Although the fire destroyed most of the city, it was a positive turning point in history
Read More
The Spread Of The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871
381 Words | 2 Pages
On the date of October 8, 1871 the Great Chicago Fire was spreading through the city of Chicago. Rain was a big facture in the fire, there was no rain in the 2 weeks leading up to the fire. Plus before the fire, the people made most of the city of wood so all the dry wood was all flammable. Back then they really didn’t have a real fire department and the firefighters didn’t have a transportation system so they couldn’t get to a fire until late. The people didn’t take well care of the river nearby
Read More
Factors That Led To The Chicago Fire
700 Words | 3 Pages
Chicago Fire: What factors led to the chicago fire and what effects did they have? Did you know that the Chicago Fire burned 3.3 square miles and left more than 100,000 people homeless and killed more than 300 people. The Chicago Fire started on October 8, 1871, by a cow that kicked over a lantern into dry grass and started a barn fire, which spread quickly throughout the city . The firemen had a large effect putting out the Great Chicago Fire. The cow kicked over the lantern and the fire spread
