# Great Fires



## LLoydGeorge (Jan 14, 2006)

Some famous fires that ravaged cities are London's Great Fire of 1666 that ravaged the city. Chicago's Great Fire of 1871 did the same.

NY has had many, but one of the early "great fires" occurred on September 21and 22, 1776. It consumed between 400 and 500 buildings — about one-quarter of the city.










Sadly, NY suffered another devastating fire in 1835.









What other cities have suffered such fates?


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## cbotnyse (Jun 13, 2007)

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 has to be one of the worst in history for any city. It completely leveled the entire central district of Chicago. But that gave architects a clean slate to come and design a "second city".


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## peeph0le (Dec 16, 2006)

1906 Fire in San Francisco from the earthquake.
I think 1989 or 1990 was the Oakland hills fire.


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## Tubeman (Sep 12, 2002)

LLoydGeorge said:


> What other cities have suffered such fates?


Tokyo / Edo is probably the most fire-ravaged city... Its been destroyed several times over historically.


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## LLoydGeorge (Jan 14, 2006)

Tubeman said:


> Tokyo / Edo is probably the most fire-ravaged city... Its been destroyed several times over historically.


That's interesting. I did not know that.


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## soup or man (Nov 17, 2004)

This picture was taken in 2003 when pretty much all of Southern California was on fire:


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## bma83 (May 21, 2006)

*Baltimore Fire*

Baltimore had a huge fire disaster in 1904.

From Wikipedia:


> The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 raged in Baltimore, Maryland, from 10:48 a.m. Sunday, February 7, to 5:00 p.m. Monday, February 8, 1904. Over 1,231 firefighters were required to bring the blaze under control.
> 
> The fire was reported first at the John Hurst and Company building at 10:48 a.m. and quickly spread. By 1:30 p.m., units from Washington, DC, were arriving. To halt the fire, officials decided to use a firewall, and dynamited buildings around the existing fire. This tactic, however, was unsuccessful.
> 
> ...


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## pilotos (Jan 24, 2007)

The Great Fire of Thessaloniki in 1917, from wiki:


> Most of the town was destroyed by a single fire on 18 August [O.S. 5 August] 1917 which was accidentally caused by some French soldiers that were camping there. The fire made some 72,000 people homeless (most of them were Turkish) out of a population of approximately 271,157 at the time."
> 
> 
> The fire destroyed 32% of the total extent of Thessaloniki, about 1 square kilometer. The burned region was located between the roads of Aghiou Dimitriou, Leontos Sofou, Nikis, Ethnikis Amynis, Alexandrou Svolou, Egnatia (from Aghia Sofia), and Aghiou Dimitriou. This region is reported in official documents as "pirikaystos zoni", "πυρίκαυστος ζώνη" (burned zone) and in the popular narrations simply as "kammena", "καμμένα" (burned). The extent of material damage within Thessaloniki was calculated to be worth 8,000,000 golden pounds.
> ...


Map showing the destroyed part of the city:










The great fire of smyrna in 1922:



> The Great Fire of Smyrna is the name commonly given to the fire that ravaged İzmir/Smyrna starting 13 September 1922 and lasted for four days until the 17 September. It occurred four days after the Turkish army regained control of the city on 9 September 1922, thus effectively ending the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) in the field, more than three years after the Greek army had landed on Smyrna on 15 May 1919. The reason of the fire is not fully determined and is still a widely disputed subject. There has been allegations from all sides, blaming, the Turks, Greeks or Armenians, conflicting press reports at the time as well as analyses later, and there is also a theory that it was an accident caused by chaos. Some sources treat the fire in isolation through its specific relevance to the situation in İzmir, while others view it as a culmination of the destruction caused by the Greek army which had been rapidly retreating across the Anatolian inland since the Battle of Dumlupınar.[1]
> 
> Accusations against the Turks are partially based on the 1926 account given by George Horton,[2] the U.S. Consul in the city during the three years of the Greco-Turkish War, as well as the content of the 1971 book by Marjorie Housepian Dobkin, "Smyrna 1922. The Destruction of a City". However, some doubt Horton and Housepian's impartiality, as Horton had switched to a diplomatic career from journalism and was always Greece-based as a diplomat (consul in Athens twice, in Salonica in between and finally in Smyrna during the Occupation of İzmir), and was married to a Greek-American (Catherine Sacopoulo)[3]. Furthermore, in his book's introduction, Consul Horton states that "he was [in Smyrna] up until the evening of September 11, 1922, on which date the city was set on fire", which would disqualify him as an eyewitness, since the fire had started on 13 September.[3]
> 
> ...


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## dhuwman (Oct 6, 2005)

The Great Seattle Fire -1889












> *Events of the fire*
> 
> At approximately 2:30 pm on June 6, 1889, an overturned glue pot in the carpentry shop of John Bachs started the most destructive fire in the history of Seattle
> 
> ...


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## zachus22 (Dec 4, 2006)

I remember learning in grade 7 history class that during the War of 1812, the Americans set the parliament buildings on fire, which was followed by pillaging, plundering, and all that fun stuff.

As for accidental fires, the Great Toronto Fire of 1904 did a healthy amount of damage to a pretty big portion of the city's core. There were no real long-term effects though.


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## LMCA1990 (Jun 18, 2005)

Does anyone think that an accidental great fire is possible in a developed city today?


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## LMCA1990 (Jun 18, 2005)

*Bogotá, Colombia - April 9th, 1948*










Riots followed the assasination of presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán while the 9th International Conference of American Countries was being held. All of the city's trolleys and 136 buildings were burnt resulting in 3,000 deaths. The FARC was born as a result of this and a 21 year old Fidel Castro was in town when this happened which inspired his uprise in Cuba.


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## BoulderGrad (Jun 29, 2005)

zachus22 said:


> I remember learning in grade 7 history class that during the War of 1812, the Americans set the parliament buildings on fire, which was followed by pillaging, plundering, and all that fun stuff.


In retaliation, the British burned several buildings when they overtook Washington D.C. (including the white house and treasury). But fierce thunderstorms with torrential rains that even spawned 2 tornadoes in the city extinguished many of the fires before they got out of control.


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## sprtsluvr8 (Aug 5, 2006)

Atlanta was burned toward the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865...it was a major production and transportaion center for the South and torching Atlanta crippled the Confederacy and essentially ended the war. The only significant structures left standing were the churches (many still in use today) and hospitals.


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

lmcm1990 said:


> Does anyone think that an accidental great fire is possible in a developed city today?


http://www.pbase.com/paul_teixeira/the_great_fire_in_lisbon_1988

The Great Fire destroys the oldest part of Lisbon, the Chiado in 1988


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

Tokyo is a city thats suffered hugely too, the 'blossoms of Edo' referred to by the residents through years past are the periodic fires that take out huge swathes of the city and killing hundreds of thousands.


*The Mereiki Fire, or Long Sleeves Fire of 1657 has a haunting history - a beautiful kimono was made by a woman, Kiku, in love with a royal page. The pattern he wore on his shoes she made into cloth, but died suddenly before she could wear it at age 16. Draped over her coffin on 16th January 1655 the kimono was later given to another teenager, Hana who died a year later without ever wearing it. Once again the kimono was draped over her coffin, her funeral coinciding once again on 16th January. The kimono found itself at a pawnshop where the young girl who worked there, Tatsu, took it for herself. On her subsequent funeral a year and 2 days later, 18th January 1657, the kimono deemed so unlucky was burnt at an exorcism ritual in Hongjyo Temple. A 'sudden wind' sprang up as it was lit spreading a fire that ultimately destroyed 2/3 of the city, including 300 palaces, 600 temples, 3000 shops, and the worlds largest castle ever built, Edo-Jo. The death toll was 107,000 (recorded)- 200,000 (estimated), or half the city's population.*











Then there was the Great Kwanto quake of 1923 that killed 140,000 and destroyed most of Japan's national treasures as the National Museum was lost - the damage was emmense, the worlds largest city hit by quake followed by tsunami and fire, makes it the worlds most costliest and damaging natural disaster to this day.
One European eyewitness reports standing on the docks of Yokohama - the pier was swaying so he didnt feel the quake, but was awestruck by a 'strange cloud' that started at one end of the seafront and spread its way from right to left across the horizon, in eerie silence - he was in fact seeing the dust sprung into the air by the collapse of thousands of buildings across the city. The fire that followed was marked by devastating firestorms, whirlwinds of fire that sucked people into them. In the aftermath 6000 Koreans were systematically massacred by the mobs and police 'to quell a Korean riot'.:





















































WWII








the new city of 1932

The most recent blossom was the destruction of, if it had survived, of the worlds greatest art deco city and newly rebuilt -by the worst bombing raids in the world - one night alone 80,000 were killed, burned alive in the densest firebombing in the war. The reason they didnt drop atom bombs on Tokyo was that it was already destroyed by then. 180,000 died in total and the dead choked the streets and rivers, where thousands sought refuge.







































































censored photos here- please be warned, (numerous burnt bodies): 

http://history.independence.co.jp/ww2/raid/f03.jpg
http://www.search.com/reference/Bombing_of_Tokyo_in_World_War_II
http://history.independence.co.jp/ww2/raid/f01.jpg
http://history.independence.co.jp/ww2/eng/phtop.html

The next 'blossom of Edo' is the 80 year cycle Big One Quake, that is now at least 4 years overdue


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## mdiederi (Jun 15, 2006)

peeph0le said:


> 1906 Fire in San Francisco from the earthquake.


I dug up some historical photos of that. Most of the damage was caused by the fire after the earthquake.




























Ariel shot a couple weeks after the fire.

















Painting of the fire by William Alexander Coulter


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## mdiederi (Jun 15, 2006)

Here's one I hadn't heard about before. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_Disaster
The Texas City Disaster occurred when 17 million pounds of ammonium nitrate aboard a docked ship accidentally exploded, killing 581 people in 1947. Over 500 homes were destroyed and hundreds of others damaged, leaving 2,000 homeless. The seaport was destroyed and many businesses were flattened by the blast or consumed in the fires. Over 1,100 vehicles were damaged or destroyed, 362 freight cars obliterated — the initial property damages were estimated in hundreds of millions of dollars. The 3,000 pound (1,400 kg) anchor of the ship was hurled 2 miles (3 km) and found in a 10-foot (3 m) crater. Massive amounts of burning wreckage ignited everything within miles, including dozens of huge oil storage tanks and other chemical tanks. The nearby, larger metropolis of Galveston, Texas, was covered with an oily miasma which left black deposits over every outdoor surface.


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## xlchris (Jun 23, 2006)

Bombing on Rotterdam in WW2;























































Remembering the bombing(2007);









Video's;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMdvK_Hgdv0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PVpLAzSM1M

More: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rotterdam+mei+1940


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## xlchris (Jun 23, 2006)

Also the firework disaster in Enschede (The Netherlands) 2000;

(2.30m it's becoming bad)(4.15m big boom);
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks5X0N8M_o8

Englisch;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARndUK0lre8


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## SpatulaCity (Mar 17, 2004)

Toronto's Great Fire of 1904...






































before:









after:


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## mdiederi (Jun 15, 2006)

Utah is experiencing their largest fire ever right now
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6330064
Over 300,000 acres already, but it's not hitting any cities or towns, just forest...so far.

And then just a week or so ago, Lake Tahoe lost 254 houses in a massive fire, the largest in Lake Tahoe's history.
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070706/CARSON/707060343/1144/NEWS


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## SlidellWeather (Sep 11, 2005)

New Orleans had 2 great fires in 1788 and 1794 that burned significant portions of the city. At this point in time...the city was the French Quarter. 

http://www.frenchquarter.com/history/elements.php 

Here is a map of the fire.


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## Online (May 17, 2007)

Threehundred said:


> This picture was taken in 2003 when pretty much all of Southern California was on fire:


Damn I remember those. It literally rained ashes.


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## algonquin (Sep 24, 2004)

The Halifax Explosion of 1917 utterly destroyed the city; it was the largest man-made explosion until the first atomic tests, and remains the largest non-nuclear explosion to date. It killed 1,500 people instantly, 500 died soon after in the resulting fire, with a total of 9,000 casualties.

The explosion was the result of a French cargo ship carrying explosives colliding with another ship in Halifax Harbour. Everything within a 2-kilometre radius was obliterated, plus a tidal wave and a pressure front caused damage further away.


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## techniques1200s (Mar 11, 2005)

The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and fire destroyed some 80 percent of the city, with the fire accounting for 90 percent of the destruction. Over 500 city blocks were destroyed, and as many as 3,000 people were killed. 300,000 people out of a population of 410,000 were made homeless.

Also, up to 500 people were shot and killed by police and soldiers for looting. Many of the victims however were not in fact looting, but attempting to save their possessions from the advancing fire.


























































































































A map of San Francisco at the time, and the extent of the fire damage (outlined in red):


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Residents help bring blaze threatening medieval Croatian city of Dubrovnik under control *
6 August 2007

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) - Residents joined hundreds of firefighters Monday to beat back a wildfire that threatened to consume the medieval city of Dubrovnik, a popular tourist destination famed for its churches, monasteries and palaces. 

Residents helped firefighters by carrying hoses and buckets of water to douse the flames that surrounded the historic southern coastal city. With the smoke thick and overpowering, many used handkerchiefs or shirts to cover their faces as they struggled to keep the fire at bay. 

The effort helped avert a disaster for Dubrovnik -- known as the "pearl of the Adriatic" -- during the height of summer holiday season. Most tourists were not affected by the fire because the majority of hotels are situated along the coast. 

Paramedics were seen attending to a number of firefighters at the scene, but it was not immediately clear how many people were treated. 

Strong winds helped the flames spread swiftly through the woods outside Dubrovnik on Sunday. The line of fire above the city was about 13 miles long at one point. 

Officials prepared shelters in an ancient fortress and sports hall in the city in case the fire spread and required its evacuation -- scenes reminiscent of the 1991 Croatian war, when the city was bombarded by Serb rebels. 

Dubrovnik, founded in the seventh century, has been on UNESCO's list of protected world cultural heritage sites since the 1960s. The city is cherished for the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Its walled Old Town dates back to the 13th century. 

Only one abandoned house in a Dubrovnik suburb burned down, officials said.


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## LMCA1990 (Jun 18, 2005)

^^ teamwork at it's best.


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