The Great Boston Fire

In 1872, a fire destroyed Boston’s commercial district. It raged for nearly a full day and destroyed nearly 1,000 buildings. It is known today as the Great Boston Fire.

The Great Boston Fire began in the basement of a warehouse on the corner of Kingston St. and Summer St. in Boston’s commercial district. The warehouse was occupied by a dry goods manufacturer and two women’s clothing manufacturers. Eyewitnesses stated that it appeared to have begun in the basement. Within 20 minutes, it was obvious that the building would be consumed. Oddly, that is around the time that the alarm was finally given, despite the fact that numerous people, including police officers had seen smoke from the blaze.

At the time of the Great Boston Fire, most of the buildings in the commercial district were made of brick and/or granite. The roofs of these buildings were pine. It did not take long for the flames, shooting out of the building where the fire began, to reach the roofs of other buildings. Many of these buildings contained materials like paper and wool. Numerous obstacles faced the Boston fire department and its chief and it became impossible to stop the fire before it spread even farther.

The Great Boston Fire began on November 9, 1872 at around 7 p.m. That month, a crippling flu was affecting Boston’s horses, including those that belonged to the fire department. Men were forced to pull the department’s equipment to the fire. This greatly impeded the fire fighting process and this was not the only, or the worst, obstacle that firefighters faced during the Great Boston Fire.

Water pressure was a major problem in the city’s commercial district. Rusty and outdated water mains made it impossible to get enough water pressure out of a hydrant to reach the top floors of the buildings. The chief of the Boston fire department at the time, John Damrell, was forced to make the decision to cut water to specific hydrants in the hopes that this would increase pressure in others. He tried to do this strategically, so that the areas where spread was most imminent were covered. Unfortunately, the Great Boston Fire would not be contained that easily. Furthermore, hoses that did have water pressure ran the risk of being severed by falling debris, particularly brick and granite. Many firefighters were left helpless when their hoses were rendered useless.

The postmaster general of Boston became nervous when his new post office became threatened by the Great Boston Fire, so he came up with a plan and introduced it to the fire chief. His plan was to use gunpowder to blow up buildings in the fire’s path, so it had nothing to consume where the demolition had taken place. Damrell agreed to try it. However, it had no effect on the fire and the senseless explosions were put to an end. Soon, more than just the post office came under threat. The fire was headed straight for Faneuil Hall and the Old South Meeting House. Nearly 100 years after the American Revolution, these places had major historical significance to the people of Boston. Therefore, firefighters focused their attention on these areas and allowed the fire to spread to the south and burn itself out near the docks.

Luckily, the Great Boston Fire had finally reached areas with far better water pressure. Firefighters were able to stop the flames just as the Old South Meeting House was being introduced to the fire. It was stopped two blocks away from Faneuil Hall. By that time, the Great Boston Fire had taken the lives of thirty people and left hundreds without jobs and some without homes. Luckily, most of the buildings were commercial; very few homes were lost.

Every man on the Boston fire department, 28 engine companies from nearby towns and 9 units from out of state were brought in to fight the fire. These men bravely fought a fire that raged in buildings where there was little to no fire precautions in place. Twelve of them were killed. Chief Damrell, noting the need for better organization and preparedness, later founded the National Association of Fire Chiefs. He also began inspecting buildings to ensure that they maintained a minimum of fire safety precautions.

Sources

Boston Burnt: The Great Fire of 1872, retrieved 5/5/10, damrellsfire.com/Boston_1872_Fire_1.html

Pletcher, Larry, Massachusetts Disasters, pages 29-41, Morris Book Publishing, LLC, 2006