What Was the Great Chicago Fire questions

Who stayed in half of the O'Leary house?

Daniel "Pegleg" Sullivan

What happened in 1672?

Dutch inventor created first fire hose

What was a terrible tragedy in 1871?

Great Chicago Fire

What were two nicknames of Chicago?

"Garden City" and "Gem of the Prairie"

What did Detroit establish?

"horse college"

What was the West Side nickname?

"the red flash"

How many buildings were destroyed?

17,500; only seven left

When did Chicago officially become a city?

1837

What happened in 1893?

22 years after the Great Fire; Chicago hosted World's Fair Columbian Exposition

How long did the fire last?

30 hours

When did the fire start?

8:30 p.m. on October 8th

What was the fastest growing city in the country?

Chicago

Where was the world's first skyscraper?

Chicago

What is on the spot today where The Great Chicago Fire started?

Chicago Fire Academy

What was used to help put out fires?

Lake Michigan

Who was in charge during the fire?

Major General Philip Sheridan

What was Cincinnati, Ohio the first to do in 1853?

United States city with a professional fire fighting system

What was a result of the Little Fire in downtown Chicago?

a strict building code was created

What caused time to be lost after the fire spread from the O'Leary's barn?

a watchman dismissed the smoke as left over from a fire the day before

What was used to help the fireman get to the fire quickly?

alarm

What happened in July in 1874?

another downtown fire

What is martial law?

army took over for the government

Where did the fire in London in 1666 start?

baker's shop; 4 days; destroyed 80% of the city; helped end the Great Plague

Where did the fire start?

barn of Catherine O'Leary

What was a big problem by the mid-nineteenth century?

battles between volunteer firefighting companies

Why were people trained to use the fire fighting equipment?

because it was becoming more complicated

What did some people do with the stuff they couldn't carry?

buried it

Where did some families spend the night?

camping with gravestones

Why was everything built with wood?

cheap and easy to get

Why were buildings lifted up?

city mud problems

What was a bucket brigade?

double line passing of buckets of water

How many died in the fire?

estimated 300

What was the great danger of living in houses?

fires

What was the main risk to a large city?

fires

How much damage was done during the Great Chicago Fire?

four miles long and one mile wide

Why did Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary go to bed early?

had to be up early at 5 a.m. to milk the cows

What did Catherine O'Leary do the night of October 8, 1871?

he went to bed early before the fire started

What did the nightwatchman do?

keep guard against enemies

Why were Dalmatians used in fighting fires?

keep horses calm

Why were Dalmatians used in the past in firefighter teams?

keep the horses calm and guard the engine

How did the London fire end the Great Plague?

killed rats carrying the disease

What was the metal from the courthouse tower's bell made into after the fire?

little bells and fire hat charms that were sold as souvenirs

What was declared during the fire?

martial law

What was true of Chicago soon after the fire?

martial law was declared and soldiers kept watch over the city

Why were horses not used to fight fires?

not trust them to go and stay near a fire while it was being put out

What was an important document that was lost?

original Emancipation Proclamation

Why was a new waterworks built in 1867?

people complained little fish sometimes came out with the water

What happened after the fire spread to the North Side?

pumps stopped working at the pumping station

What finally stopped the fire?

rain

What happened in 1829?

steam pump invented for fighting fires

What did insurance companies require before insuring buildings?

strict building code was created

Why were the firefighters tired?

they had not recovered from the 16-hour fire the day before

What was a change Chicago citizens made in the 1800s?

they raised the sidewalks on top of wooden poles

What was a problem associated with volunteer firefighter companies?

they sometimes fought with each other for the right to put out a fire

When was the alarm box locked?

to prevent false alarms

What happened in the summer of 1871?

unusually dry and hot; no rain from July to October

What were firefighters originally?

volunteers

How did people survive?

waded in the water up to their necks

Why was there a special patrol?

walked city streets and put out small fires before they spread; used chemicals

What did each firehouse have?

watchmen

Why did the fire spread so fast?

wind; "The Windy City"

Why did the O'Leary's house survive?

winds were blowing north and house was south

Why did the newspapermen run from the office of the Chicago Times?

wrote an article and tried to publish one final edition

What was the earliest Great Fire?

Rome in 64 A.D.; lasted six days

Who suggested organizing firefighter groups?

Ben Franklin

What do many people think started the fire in Rome in 64 A.D.?

Nero