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