Learn Our History Today: On November 9, 1872, in a warehouse at the corner of Kingston and Summer streets in Boston, Massachusetts a fire broke out in the basement of the building. At this time, Boston contained a relatively even mix of residential and industrial buildings, the vast majority of which had wooden structures and roofs. Needless to say, the blaze spread quickly, with the wind blowing embers from roof top to roof top. The narrowness of Boston’s streets also contributed heavily to the scope of the fire allowing flames to “leap” from building to building and even across streets. Calls went out to firefighters throughout New England, from Maine to Connecticut, and hundreds poured into Boston to fight the fire. However, it rapidly became clear that their methods and equipment varied greatly from group to group and this greatly hindered their ability to fight the fire. All day the fire fighters tried desperately to curtail the blaze, and finally the next morning, as the fire reached Fanueil Hall they were able to stop it. Nearly the entire downtown area of Boston was destroyed or damaged, with fourteen people being killed in the inferno.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 16:21:37 +0000
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