Chicago Fire Research Paper

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While researching information about the Chicago’s Great Fire, I found a few facts about how it started. One day in October 1871, on a dry day, wooden buildings, streets, and sidewalks started the great flames of Chicago’s streets. The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration in Chicago, Illinois that changed Chicago forever. (History.com/topics) The Chicago Fire of 1871 burned for two days straight. It burned from October 8 to October 10, 1871 and destroyed many buildings, killed hundreds of people, and caused millions of dollars of damage. Some say the fire started when a cow kicked over a lantern in a local barn, but others believe that either a human or a meteor caused this event that left an area of four miles in ruins. (History.com/topics) The barn the fire started on was property of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary at 137 Dekoven Street on the cities of southwest side. Catherine O’Leary…show more content…
Only a few hours later, another chunk of flaming wood was tossed across the Chicago River and landed on a kerosene tanker on the North side. The wood constructed Northside was doomed. (pbs.org) Wood burned, stone reduced to dust or collapsed into rubble. Iron and steel even melted. The Palmer House was destroyed before even officially being opening, Marshall Field’s store blackened. Trees collapsed on top of buildings, crazed horses flailed wildly, dogs ran around in circles. Rodents fled out of wood sidewalks and were stampeded by the scared, frantic humans. Chicago was just in a catastrophe. (pbs.org) The prison was unlocked so that the criminals could possibly survive. The rich hired carriage drivers to take their belongings some place safe so they wouldn’t burn. Some of their belongings couldn’t be found because the drivers took them away as their own. The poor grabbed only a few items, but most abandoned them as they tried to seek shelter.

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