The Cause Of The Chicago Fire Of 1871

The summer of 1871 was the time of the year in Chicago where it was very hot and dry making the wooden city vulnerable. Then one day, a fire broke out in Chicago which caused a lot of commotion and terror in the city and more. In this essay, I will talk about how the fire started, how the firefighters handled the fire, and the aftermath of the fire. On the evening of October 8, 1871, all of this fire spread through Chicago, but there has to be a start to all of this. The fire started around a barn belonging to the family of Patrick and Catherine O’leary. As a result, the fire engulfed almost half of Chicago. People claimed that the fire was started by Catherine O’leary’s cow while she was in the barn. They said that the family cow supposedly knocked over a lit lantern causing the fire. But Catherine O’leary contradicted this claim, leaving the true cause of the fire still unknown.

And the wind wasn’t helping either. The wind made the fire spread faster in different directions. “The wind had increased in velocity, and burning chunks of wood were being carried for many blocks before they fell to earth. No accurate measure of the wind’s velocity was made during the fire, though many eyewitnesses claimed it was as strong as a hurricane.” They were sent to the wrong address but could see the flames from afar and could modify their route. “Schaffer’s first signal went out at 9:30. Several minutes later, Schaffer realized his mistake and ordered Box 319 struck. This was still seven blocks away from the O’Learys’, but close enough that firefighters could see the flames and alter their course.” Then when the bell rang at City Hall, it only rang once which meant that the fire wasn’t a really big fire and didn’t need much help when it really needed much all the help they can get. As you can see the firefighters were dealing with a lot at the