The Chicago Fire

conducting interviews (they questioned fifty people) and looking at evidence surrounding the case, this Commission was still unable to determine what had caused soccer jerseys the fire.
However some people had suggested that there was a spark blown by wind up a chimney and this The Chicago fire occurred on 8th in the month of October during the year 1871. It left property worth millions destroyed. Besides this there were plenty of people who lost their lives while others had no place to call home. How the fire started
The fire originated at the barn yard of a couple; Mr. and Mrs. O' Leary. Numerous suggestions have been made about possible causes of the fire, some of which were dismissed later. Investigations were made into causes of the fire by some Fire Commissioners and the Board of Police. After started of the fire which spread through the City. Others have suggested that it had been caused by Mrs. O' Leary by claiming that an animal at her barnyard kicked a lantern that set the whole place ablaze. Mrs. O' Leary was acquitted off any charges after giving her testimonies. Others have also suggested that the fire could have been as a result of malice by some agency. Evidence to back all these claims was insufficient to get a culprit. [1
Chicago before the fire started
Source: Helmer, B. (1996): The Conflagration, retrieved from http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/ruin/index.ht
Chicago was a strategically located City within the US. It acted as a link between two parts of the American economy; that is agriculture which was mainly conducted in the Western part. It was also a converging point for all activities related to industries as was characterized by the Eastern region. The City's economy was represented by the numerous economic activities. There were ten railway lines. There was a busy river connecting to the lake. It was also characterized by over one thousand factories. The City was buzzing with activity as people were constantly trading goods, exchanging information and building their economy. [2
Conditions before the fire started
The City of Chicago had a lot of conditions that favored the spread of the fire. The first being that most of the buildings in the City were made up of materials that were conducive for the spread of the fire. It was mostly composed of wood. Besides this, the City had suffered from a drought and this greatly increased the chances of poor control in case a fire struck. Prior to that fateful day of 8th October, there had been a fire that had already exhausted fire fighters and drained some of the resources to be used in firefighting. This was also backed up by the fact that there were strong winds within the City from the North Eastern part of the region. All these factors formed fertile ground for the spread and subsequent destruction of the fire. [3
The Spread of the fire and why it took so long to die out
The Fire began at Mrs. O'Leary barn yard in Illinois during the evening hours on Sunday. It started spreading quickly and was reported to the fire department at around nine pm. However, the attendant left at the Fire Department simplySteelers jerseys
dismissed it as part of the flames that had been witnessed during the previous day. He assumed that those flames were dying out. Some time later, the fire department attendant realized that it was actually a different fire from yesterdays. This was the point at which he deployed firefighters to that region. However, there was a misunderstanding between the fire alert and the firefighters as they did not trace the place immediately. More time wastage by the fire department meant that more property was getting destroyed. By the time the fire department got there, the fire had spiraled out of control. []It was blown towards the northeastern direction by strong winds. This facilitated its quick spread. It reached a tall building at the western part of the City's river. The winds were getting stronger at this point because they acquired extra energy from the fire's heat. This tall building gave the fire leverage to spread into a branch of The Chicago River. What made things worse was that a large portion of the structures alongside the River and within it were made of flammable items. There were ships found along the river's shore; they were largely composed of wood. There was also a lot of timber transported through the river. On top of this, the City's roadsides were surrounded by wooden enclosures. Things were worsened by coal manufacturers nearby. [5
The fire kept getting bigger and fiercer. By this time, it had already become self propellant: The spread relied on winds generated by the fire itself. The city's firefighters were overwhelmed and exhausted so they asked for help from other Cities. However, this was a case of too little, too late. The fire had now reached the City's water plant meaning that there was no more water to fight off the fire. All stakeholders in the firefighting exercise left the fire after realizing that there were immobilized. Residents sought refuge in the Lake connected to the Chicago River. Others used a park located away from the City's business district. The latter had now become a shell of itself after factories, stress and entertainment centers were destroyed.
Only five buildings were spared during this raging inferno. The City decided to institute martial law such that relief efforts could be coordinated. On the second day, the strength of the winds propelling the fire had diminished and there was also some rain. It died down on a Tuesday during the morning hours leaving many injured, dead and distraught. [
How many people died, the aftermath and financial impact
There were around three hundred lives that were lost. But the actual bodies found reached one hundred and twenty five. Although many argue that this number was not as high as some of the other strategies that struck the City, it still affected bereaved families.
Statistics showing the level of destruction caused after the Great Chicago Fire

The City's rebuilding process began as soon as the fire died down. This exercise was one of the factors that catapulted the economy of the country because new structures were erected. The City got assistance from other parts of the country. They brought with them a range of materials to be used for constriction. This was also in addition to some supplies for immediate use. They included household items like furniture, basic items like food and clothes. They also brought with them some lumber for construction. [
A case in point is the famous Palmer House hotel. Prior to the fire, the Hotel had been in operation for a period of less than two weeks. However, after the fire, it was completely destroyed. This was not a deterrent to him as he embarked on a new project that saw the construction of the first building in the City to withstand fire.
The City also realized that their fire department was severely lacking in terms of skill. It therefore built an Academy to train firefighters and to prevent future inadequacies as witnessed in that great horror. This Fire Academy was started at the residential areas of Mr. and Mrs. O' Leary. Ironically, their home survived the consuming flames due to the fact that they were located in the The Chicago fire was started on a Sunday evening but died down on a Tuesday morning. The fire was one of the worst in the City because it took a very long time and had great magnitude. The reason why the fire was this severe was because of inadequate resources by the fire department, unfavorable weather conditions like winds, presence of flammable material in most structures within the town and lack of immediate response by residents of the City. But the people of Chicago were quick to recover from this disaster through reconstruction. They now boast of some of most well constructed structures in the Country. [10
opposite direction hines ward jersey
of the winds that were propelling the fire.
The City was born afresh after the fire and is now the epitome of development in the United States. [9