During the late 19th century, Chicago was facing unprecedented growth in population due to
industrialization. As a result, city planners and architects had to figure out how to manage the city literally as this explosive growth was happening. In the end, poor city planning resulted in hastily built homes with poor regulations. Among this was a high use of wood as it was cheap and quick material to use in construction. As it turns out, more than two thirds of the structures in Chicago at the time were fully made out of wood and houses were often shingled with highly flammable tar. In addition, Chicago was in a drought and had extremely dry temperatures; they had received only about 1 inch of rain from July 4 to October 9. Strong winds also helped to carry the fire across the city. Ultimately, all these factors played an important role in sparking the start of the fire.
Theorized to have started around 9:00 pm on October 8, a cow is said to have kicked a lantern over, sparking a fire in a barn belonging to the O'leary family who were Irish Immigrants. The fire spread quickly due to the dry conditions and thousands of brittle, dry buildings quickly caught on fire. The weary firefighters managed to direct the flames to the Chicago River where they believed that it would be able to stop the fire’s spread. However, high winds spread the fire across other buildings, ultimately continuing it’s rampage. During the mayhem, looting was a common occurrence and thieves could be seen hauling clothes, dresses, and other goods out of department stores.
The fire finally stopped on October 10. Around 200 million dollars in damage had been done and an estimated 200-300 people died during the incident. Many Americans began to reflect on America’s rapid industrialization and reflected on how they could improve building techniques as a result. Reconstruction efforts eventually led architects to the creation of a modern city featuring the world’s first skyscrapers. Overall, this fire’s legacy can be remembered through the Chicago Fire Department training academy which is located on the O'leary's property where the fire first sparked.
I found it interesting how much information you depicted regarding the circumstances resulting in the fire. The pervasiveness of wood in buildings, alongside flammable tar and consistent droughts with dry temperatures, as well as strong winds certainly allowed for the fire to be so devastating. Adjusted for inflation, the extent of the damage would have amounted to roughly 4.6 billion dollars in 2019. The cost of this disaster is similar, although somewhat larger, to that of the 2018 Firestone fire in California. In the wake of the destruction, improved building codes were adopted, as well as the establishment of the Chicago Public Library, funded by the UK. These improvements established the basis for what Chicago would later become, including the present-day today.
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