Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
There were many fires in the US, but one of them stands out among others. The Great Chicago Fire began on the Sunday evening of October 8, 1971, and lasted until Tuesday morning. It started in the barn of Catherine and Patrick OLeary and quickly spread to neighboring houses. More than 100,000 people had to abandon their homes while escaping from the fire (Murphy, 1995). The reasons that caused the fire to be so fierce were the wooden buildings of Chicago, dry weather, and a mistake in locating the fire.
In the nineteenth century, the houses in Chicago, especially those where poor people lived, were made of wood. Even the houses made of stone mostly had wooden interiors. Roofs were covered with flammable tar, and barns were stuffed with combustible materials. The roads and sidewalks were also made of wood and lifted above the ground to protect them from flooding (Murphy, 1995). As Murphy (1995) pointed out, Chicago in 1871 was a city ready to burn (p. 18). Indeed, almost any building in the city could easily catch fire.
Fires were not rare in Chicago, but none of them was as destructive as the fire of 1871. According to Murphy (1995), the reason for this was extremely dry weather between July and October and a steady southwest wind on October 8. The weather made trees and grass highly flammable, and the wind quickly spread the fire from OLearys barn to other houses in the neighborhood.
Finally, the work of firefighters in those times was not as efficient as it is nowadays. Watchman Shaffer, who was on duty that day, failed to spot the fire at once (Murphy, 1995). When he noticed it, he tried to determine its location from the top of the tower. At first, he made a mistake and notified the fire brigade that was a mile away from the fire (Murphy, 1995). As a result, several firefighters were sent to the wrong place and lost the moment when the fire could have been extinguished.
In conclusion, the Great Chicago Fire was a disaster for the whole city. In part, it occurred because of human error and short-sightedness. If people had been more careful and forward-looking, they could have realized that wooden buildings were a threat to their safety rather than a way of saving costs. It is far better to prevent a catastrophe than to deal with its consequences.
Reference
Murphy, J. (1995). The Great Fire. New York, NY: Scholastic.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.