1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. The alarm 3 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: rang out at two a m. Bostonians, aware of how 4 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: fast fires spread through on clothing, grabbed buckets and hurried outside. 5 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 1: Spring hadn't yet arrived as of March twenty seventeen sixty, 6 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: and those who hadn't dressed warmly felt the cold. Generally, 7 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,280 Speaker 1: when the call went out, people searched the sky for 8 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: smoke or flames, trying to get a sense of how 9 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: close the danger was to their home or business. This time, 10 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,040 Speaker 1: the source was easy to see. A house on Cornhill, 11 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: which is now Washington Street had caught fire, and it 12 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: had spread before the alarm out. No one knew exactly 13 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: how the fire started, maybe an ember from a fireplace 14 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: or an unattended candle. Every able bodied man, woman and 15 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,199 Speaker 1: child raced to the area buckets in hand. The incentive, 16 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: other than a sense of community, was how flammable buildings 17 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: were and how easily fires escalated. They formed a brigade 18 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: in an attempt to put out the blaze and damp 19 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 1: in nearby buildings in hopes that the flames wouldn't spread further, 20 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: but the fire proved too aggressive and was soon out 21 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: of control. It traveled both north and south, taking out 22 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: every home, stable, and business along the way. Then the 23 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: wind shifted, changing the course of the fire with it. 24 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: The blaze burned homes on what was once King Street. 25 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: The bunch of Grapes tavern burned to ash. Warehouses full 26 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: of flammable merchandise became additional fuel. Before long, the fire 27 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: raced towards Long Wharf. Both docks and ships and all 28 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: the cargo aboard them were in danger. Along the southeastern 29 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,399 Speaker 1: front near Water Street, flames lapped at the homes there. 30 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: The blaze spread toward the Bitter March in Fort Hill Areas, 31 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: burning wildly, It headed towards South Battery and citizens began 32 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: to panic. You see, the warehouses in South Battery contained 33 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: a large amount of gunpowder. Volunteers raced to remove as 34 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: much as they could. They dragged bags and barrels, spilling 35 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: powder in their rush. Meanwhile, the fire licked dangerously close. 36 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: There just wasn't enough time to remove all the gunpowder. 37 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: At the last second, the men fled with their lives 38 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 1: from both the fire and the explosion. People from as 39 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: far away as Hampton, New Hampshire, said that heard the 40 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: blast for over ten hours. Bostonians battled the flames. By 41 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: the time the blaze was under control, a hundred seventy 42 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: four homes and a hundred and seventy five businesses had 43 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: burned to the ground. More than a thousand people were 44 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: left unhoused. Despite the loss, no one died. Considered the 45 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: worst fire in the city's history, the damage came to 46 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,399 Speaker 1: fifty three thousand, three hundred and thirty four pounds sterling. 47 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 1: That's more than ten million pounds today. The destruction couldn't 48 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 1: have come at a worse time. The French and Indian 49 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: War had strapped the city for cash. Charitable contributions poured in, 50 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: some from as far away as England. The Massachusetts legislature 51 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: gave the city three thousand pounds. New York and Pennsylvania 52 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: agreed to send some of their own relief money too, 53 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: but it wasn't enough, and while Boston was under British rule, 54 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: no support arrived from King George the Third, even after 55 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 1: Bostonians sent a petition. Some say that Boston held a 56 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: grudge that lasted into the Revolution. Firefighters urged citizens to 57 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: boycott British goods, The city was rebuilt, and life went 58 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: on over the next hundred years. The fire became part 59 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: of the past. As the saying goes, those who don't 60 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: learn from history are destined to repeat it. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. 61 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to American Shadows. In eighteen fifty two, Moses Farmer 62 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: and William Francis Channing invented a revolutionary device in public safety. 63 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 1: Fire alarm boxes. Boxes on every street corner meant alerting 64 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: the public faster and pulling the levers into telegraph with 65 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: the boxes location to nearby fire stations. In the past, 66 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: people had used wooden rattles, word of mouth, trumpets, and 67 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: church bells to send up the alarm. There was a catch, though, 68 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: The boxes were locked and only police, firef ters or 69 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: other city officials had a key, and that meant any 70 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: citizen who noticed a fire still had to track down 71 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: someone who could pull the lever. As you might imagine, 72 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,159 Speaker 1: this meant a delay in summoning firefighters, defeating much of 73 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: the alarms intent. Still, policemen walked the streets at night, 74 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 1: and the city felt safer for it. If one of 75 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: them spotted a fire, an alarm box wouldn't be far. 76 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:28,160 Speaker 1: Other advancements had been made as well. A few years 77 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 1: after the boxes were installed, fire pumps, the precursor to 78 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: fire engines, had replaced bucket brigades. Horses pulled most fire 79 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: pumps or engines. Others were pulled by the strongest men 80 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,480 Speaker 1: within the fire companies, but even those pulled by horses 81 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: often didn't have riding room for firefighters who would run 82 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,839 Speaker 1: alongside the horses, meaning that by the time the men 83 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: reached a fire they were worn down already. The addition 84 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,919 Speaker 1: of running boards helped carry a few men with the pumps, 85 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: but not enough to fight larger fires. Motorized engines didn't 86 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:05,920 Speaker 1: become common until the early nineteen hundreds. Fighting fires became 87 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,479 Speaker 1: quicker once the city installed municipal water sources, and more 88 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: departments switched to horses to haul the pumps. The invention 89 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 1: of riveted leather hoses designed to fit early fire hydrants, 90 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: made fighting blazes easier as well, but the addition of 91 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,359 Speaker 1: men and heavy hoses meant more weight for the horses 92 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: to pull, and so to prevent the animals fatigued, the 93 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: city added more horse companies, that is, fire stations that 94 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: included stables. With so many advances Boston had put the 95 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: memory of the seventeen sixty blaze behind them. The population 96 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,160 Speaker 1: swelled to over a hundred and seventy seven thousand by 97 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty. Buildings that were once two or three stories 98 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: tall gave way to eight story wooden A frame structures. 99 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: The rooftops were answered style, wooden and rectangular, double sloped 100 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: on each side, and those slopes steeply hitched ladders couldn't 101 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: reach windows above four stories much less the rooftops. Warehouses 102 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: cropped up downtown due to a tax loophole. Any merchandise 103 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: stored in attics wasn't taxable. Wooden structures, wooden roofs, warehouses 104 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: full of merchandise items crammed into attics and it didn't 105 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: stop there. Warehouse owners often carried insurance to offset any loss. 106 00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: In fact, insurance fraud involving arson wasn't uncommon with such insurance. 107 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: Sun business owners didn't care if they were house burned 108 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: or not, and Boston's streets were narrow and crooked. The 109 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: water infrastructure was ancient, and pipes leaked badly, resulting in 110 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: a lack of water pressure even at their best. The 111 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: hydrants had never been designed to have enough pressure to 112 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,720 Speaker 1: reach beyond a couple of stories where you and I 113 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: see a disaster waiting to happen. Most citizens did not most, 114 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: but not all. John Stanhope dam Roll had been born 115 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: in Boston then lived there his whole life. While he 116 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: owned a construction business, he had also devoted his time 117 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: to the city, serving as a volunteer fireman. With his 118 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: drive and dedication, Damrell rose through the city's ranks. After 119 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: becoming an elected official on the Boston Common Council in 120 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty seven, he worked on legislation to improve fire 121 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: safety and enhance building codes. His suggestions didn't go over 122 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: well with city officials, who insisted that the current safety 123 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:37,200 Speaker 1: precautions were more than enough. In eighteen sixty six, he 124 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: was elected as the city's chief engineer. He warned officials 125 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: about the issues that would spell a disaster during another 126 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: major fire. His warnings again fell on deaf ears had 127 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: gone over a hundred years without a major fire. They 128 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: didn't see the value and costly upgrades to building codes, 129 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: pipe repairs, and installation of newer and more hydrants when 130 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: what they had seemed to be working just fine. Undaunted, 131 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: Damiel advocated for the creation of a building department and 132 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:13,199 Speaker 1: inspection service. Finally, in eighteen seventy one, Boston passed regulations 133 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: for building inspections. Later in that same year, Chicago suffered 134 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 1: their worst fire in history, killing three hundred and turning 135 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: three square miles of the city to ash and rubble. 136 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:28,680 Speaker 1: Daniel headed to Chicago to learn more about the fire. 137 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: He interviewed officials and firefighters. What he learned was a 138 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:37,680 Speaker 1: wake up call. Like Boston, buildings in Chicago were mostly 139 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: constructed of wood. Densely packed areas with buildings in close 140 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: proximity had allowed the fire to spread quickly. Hoping to 141 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: create fire breaks, officials had used gunpowder to detonate some buildings, 142 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: but flying debris and flammable gunpowder only made the fires worse. 143 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,960 Speaker 1: When Dameriell returned to Boston, he lobbied to make repairs 144 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: to the city's pipes and to add more hydrants. Officials 145 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 1: scoffed what had happened to Chicago surely wouldn't happen to them. 146 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:11,559 Speaker 1: In late October of that year, an equine virus swept 147 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:15,040 Speaker 1: to the northeast. The city's horses became too weakened and 148 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,240 Speaker 1: ill to pull the fire pumps to replace them. Dam 149 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: Wil hired five hundred men to do the backbreaking work instead. 150 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 1: On November nine, Bostonians spent the day enjoying the mild temperatures. 151 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: Winter would come all too soon, and many stayed out 152 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,719 Speaker 1: well after the street lamps came on. Dam Will was 153 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: sitting in his Beacon Hill home enjoying the RESTful and 154 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: quiet evening when the alarms went off around seven pm. 155 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: He listened carefully. Five dings, a pause, and then two more, 156 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 1: indicating box number fifty two. Dam Will knew what that meant. 157 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: The box sat at the corner near Summer, Lincoln and 158 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,680 Speaker 1: Bedford Streets the Warehouse district. There couldn't be a worse 159 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: place for a fire to wake out. He threw on 160 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: a jacket and shoes and headed towards the scene. He 161 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 1: hadn't gone far when his worst fears were realized. The 162 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: night sky was a light with an orange glow. The 163 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: entire district was burning. The fire had probably already started 164 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: when the only patrolman in the area passed the warehouse 165 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: around seven o'clock. Since it started in the basement, there 166 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 1: were no telltale flames or detectable smoke, Having seen nothing 167 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,920 Speaker 1: suspicious had moved on to the rest of his beat. 168 00:11:36,559 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: After burning through the contents of the basement, the fire 169 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:43,440 Speaker 1: traveled up the wooden elevator shaft. From their clothing and 170 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:46,600 Speaker 1: other dry goods fueled the flames as it raced through 171 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: the other three floors to the cedar roof. Given the 172 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: flammability of the merchandise, the fire became intensely hot, but 173 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,839 Speaker 1: no one noticed it until the windows blew out from 174 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 1: the heat. By that point, the flames had already jumped 175 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: to the neighboring building's rooftops. It took twenty minutes to 176 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: find someone with a key to the alarm box, and 177 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,080 Speaker 1: it took longer for the fireman to reach the district 178 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: since the horses were sidelined. The hired men were strong, 179 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,400 Speaker 1: but considerably less so than the horses and a lot slower. 180 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,680 Speaker 1: By the time exhausted firefighters arrived forty five minutes later, 181 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 1: the fire had completely consumed the building. To the gathering onlookers, 182 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:33,720 Speaker 1: the granite warehouse resembled a giant furnace. Three of the 183 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: fire companies had arrived just before damn Roll. He joined them, 184 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: helping to position the heavy leather hose toward the inferno. 185 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 1: He shouted for them to hold the corner. The weak 186 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,079 Speaker 1: water pressure from the hose couldn't reach the upper floors, 187 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,560 Speaker 1: and the fire continued to rage. A large piece of 188 00:12:51,559 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 1: granite fell directly on the hose, cutting it in half. 189 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:57,760 Speaker 1: The men set to work with equipment from another engine, 190 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 1: while the flames continued to leap from one building to 191 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:05,839 Speaker 1: the next, setting the roofs ablaze. Within minutes, more firefighters 192 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 1: and civilians arrived to assist. Three more boxes sounded the 193 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: alarm in the span of half an hour. The fireman 194 00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:16,960 Speaker 1: looked to damn Roll for direction. Also vying for his 195 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,600 Speaker 1: attention were city leaders who wanted to plan out a 196 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 1: strategy for not only fighting the fire, but also the 197 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: political fallout that would surely follow. Amidst all of this, 198 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 1: a young boy tugged on damroll sleeve, begging for help. 199 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:34,440 Speaker 1: His parents were trapped into building a few doors down. 200 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 1: One glance at the blaze told damn Role that the 201 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: boy was now an orphan, and if he couldn't figure 202 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: out a way to contain the fire, more people would die. 203 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 1: They needed to establish a perimeter. To do that, he 204 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,240 Speaker 1: had to see what direction the fire was heading. He 205 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 1: needed a better viewpoint than standing in the smoke filled street. 206 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 1: Dismissing the officials, damn Rol ran three locks over to 207 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: Milk Street, smashed in the tallest building's door with an axe, 208 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:08,680 Speaker 1: and raced upstairs to the rooftop. His heart sank. The 209 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:12,480 Speaker 1: fire had spread in multiple directions. There weren't enough men 210 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: or engines, not enough water pressure. He had to choose. 211 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: Stables made of wood containing an abundance of hay were 212 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,560 Speaker 1: plentiful on the south side. If the fire reached there, 213 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,880 Speaker 1: he reasoned, there would be no stopping it. He returned 214 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: to the men battling the blaze, pleased that at least 215 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: the officials had given up and left him to do 216 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: his job. All but a few of Boston's twenty one 217 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 1: fire companies had arrived at the scene. He learned that 218 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: fire companies across the river in Cambridge and Charlestown had 219 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:49,040 Speaker 1: also sent every available fireman and engine. Others from as 220 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: far away as Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire had also 221 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:55,560 Speaker 1: pledged to help. Some were sending steam driven fire engines 222 00:14:55,600 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: by railroad. Daniel hoped that would be enough. They had 223 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 1: been fortunate to get the help they had most telegraph 224 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 1: offices had either closed for the evening or for the 225 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 1: entire weekend. He gathered a few of the firemen and 226 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: formed a plan with what they had. By ten p m. 227 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: The fire had spread three additional blocks and three different directions. 228 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 1: An alarm went up from boxes forty eight and one 229 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 1: twenty three. While some citizens had rolled up their sleeves 230 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: and tried to help, looters darted in and out of buildings, 231 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: often finding themselves in need of subsequent rescue. Those had 232 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: lost their homes wandered aimlessly. An ever growing number of onlookers, 233 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: over a hundred thousand according to first hand accounts, also 234 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 1: filled the now crowded and narrow streets, adding to the 235 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: fire fighter's difficulties. And when damwel thought it couldn't possibly 236 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: get much worse, it did. The wind picked up, ushering 237 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,000 Speaker 1: the flames farther and faster. The blaze took on a 238 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: life of its own, but comming a firestorm, the buildings 239 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 1: that housed the Boston Globe and the Herald both burned 240 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: to the ground. Gas lines erupted, popping street lights. Between 241 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,480 Speaker 1: the fire and the explosions, the city glowed like a 242 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: white hot ember, turning night into day. Sailors off the 243 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:22,800 Speaker 1: coast in Maine reported seeing the fire around eleven pm. 244 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: The fire spread to the harbor, setting a schooner a flame. 245 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: A tugboat crew acted as a fireboat and managed to 246 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 1: save a few bridges. Those fighting the fire on land 247 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 1: didn't have the same luck. The weak water pressure couldn't 248 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: reach the highly flammable rooftops. The fire leapt and danced 249 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: from rooftop to rooftop, just out of the fireman's reach. 250 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 1: The strong wind spread dust, debris, and flaming embers over 251 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 1: the city. In South Abington, some twenty miles from Boston, 252 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 1: a local found of slightly burned fifty dollar bill. By midnight, 253 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: the fire had consumed five city blocks. Damn Roll and 254 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,200 Speaker 1: the firefighters continued holding back the flames as best they could. 255 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 1: By six am, Washington Street was ablaze, with the fire 256 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: continuing to spread through the town center. Meanwhile, city officials 257 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:17,040 Speaker 1: had gathered without dam Roll, and by the time the 258 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:20,040 Speaker 1: sun rose that Sunday morning, they had come to a decision. 259 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: They summoned dam Roll once more. When he arrived after 260 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: a long night of fighting the fire, they filled him 261 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 1: in on their plan. He had heard this tactic before. 262 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,760 Speaker 1: It hadn't worked for Chicago. It would be a disaster. 263 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: Nothing he said convinced them to change their minds. The 264 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: city officials had decided to create a firebreak using gunpowder, 265 00:17:43,520 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: and even worse, they ordered him to do it. Everything 266 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: was chaos as businesses burned. More and more shopkeepers arrived 267 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: to salvage what they could. Looters ran in after them, 268 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,880 Speaker 1: taking whatever the owners couldn't carry. All except for one 269 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:19,960 Speaker 1: Hovey's Department store. With the firing croaching, employees and volunteers 270 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,879 Speaker 1: determined to save something ran inside. They grabbed garments and 271 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: other cloth goods, using the stores faucet to wet the items. 272 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 1: When the faucets ran dry, they formed a bucket brigade 273 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:34,159 Speaker 1: from outside hydrants to the top floor, soaking anything flammable. 274 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: Their goal was to keep the fire at bay until 275 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 1: firefighters arrived. Soaked clothing and rugs hung from the windows. 276 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:48,400 Speaker 1: A few brave employees stayed inside, stamping out small fires outside. 277 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,680 Speaker 1: Cheers went up as firefighters arrived with hoses, dousing the building. 278 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:58,199 Speaker 1: While Hovey's was saved, others were not. Fires burned with 279 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: such intensity that they prevented fire fighters from getting close 280 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: enough to do much good. Their efforts seemed futile. All 281 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,920 Speaker 1: they could manage to do was slow the fire down. 282 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 1: Those in the historic district watched helplessly as the fire 283 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 1: crept closer. At City Hall, damn World continued to argue 284 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 1: with the other officials. In the end, Postmaster General William 285 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: Burt convinced the mayor that gunpowder was their only hope. 286 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,359 Speaker 1: Seeing he had no alternative, damn World tried to at 287 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: least convince them that they should be selective in which 288 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: buildings to detonate, but Bert saw no value in the 289 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,040 Speaker 1: city engineer's warnings and remained confident that he should be 290 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:42,359 Speaker 1: allowed to level buildings without approval. With new orders to 291 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:46,840 Speaker 1: use gunpowder as a firebreak, Damrol left eager to in 292 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: any case get back to his men and the fire. 293 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,720 Speaker 1: His warnings unheard, he followed through with the Mayor's orders, 294 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:59,000 Speaker 1: taking precautions as best he could. First, the gas lines 295 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:02,919 Speaker 1: had to be shut down. After detonating two buildings and 296 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:06,440 Speaker 1: barely escaping with his life, dan Will defied the mayor 297 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:09,959 Speaker 1: and halted the use of gunpowder. It put lives at 298 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:14,640 Speaker 1: risk and only fueled the fire. Bert, on the other hand, 299 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: didn't bother shutting off the gas valves. As you might expect, 300 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:23,280 Speaker 1: the combination of fire, gunpowder and gas did more than 301 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:27,480 Speaker 1: level the intended building. Massive fireballs shot into the air, 302 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 1: high enough that residents in New Hampshire saw the flames. Now. 303 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 1: Firefighters were busy putting out additional fires while dealing with 304 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 1: gas leaks and explosions on the corner of Somewhere in Holly, 305 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: the reverend and staff at Trinity Church spent hours saving 306 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,680 Speaker 1: the church's valuables before the fire made it too dangerous 307 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 1: to re enter. Then they stood and watched the flames 308 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,360 Speaker 1: consume everything else. The priceless and rare books were destroyed 309 00:20:55,359 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: when Copley's Library burned to ash, and several publishing houses 310 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:04,880 Speaker 1: were also just droid. The fire was threatening centuries old landmarks. 311 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:07,520 Speaker 1: The Old South Meeting House was one of the last 312 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:12,159 Speaker 1: few colonial buildings still standing. Built in seventy nine, the 313 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:16,080 Speaker 1: meeting Hall had hosted countless church sermons and public meetings. 314 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:19,240 Speaker 1: Some of the most historic events leading to the American 315 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 1: Revolution had happened within its walls. African American poet Phyllis 316 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 1: Wheatley had been one of the many enslaved members of 317 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:31,120 Speaker 1: the hall's Puritan congregation. William Dawes attended covert meetings there 318 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,320 Speaker 1: before riding with Paul Revere. A young Benjamin Franklin attended 319 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: church sermons the meeting house, and it was there that 320 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: Sam Adams planned the Boston Tea Party. Bostonians still met 321 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:47,400 Speaker 1: at the Hall to discuss and debate the city's crucial 322 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: concerns and sure the building itself was a mere symbol, 323 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: but an important one to many people. With the fire eminent, 324 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: the bells in the tower were run one more time 325 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:04,280 Speaker 1: at six am. As the last bell chimed, New Hampshire 326 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: firefighters arrived in a steam powered fire engine. After hosing 327 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,480 Speaker 1: down a building across the road, they stopped the fire 328 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 1: at Washington Street, saving the historic meeting house. The old 329 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:20,399 Speaker 1: South Meeting House still stands today on State Street. Forty 330 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: more New Hampshire firemen in steam fire engines set up 331 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: a position ahead of the blaze, posing down buildings to 332 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:30,640 Speaker 1: prevent the flames from spreading. By one pm, the fires 333 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: began to dwindle. At two pm, the men put out 334 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,320 Speaker 1: the last of them to a cheering crowd. After a 335 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: long day, the tired men climbed back onto their steam 336 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:46,120 Speaker 1: fire engines and headed home. Bostonians, feeling the worst was over, 337 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:50,159 Speaker 1: continued to gather downtown to assess the damage. Most of 338 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 1: the buildings there had burned to the ground. The rest 339 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,679 Speaker 1: were ruined beyond repair. Almost everything inside them had been 340 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:01,280 Speaker 1: reduced to ash. Owners and on kers picked through the 341 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:04,600 Speaker 1: sooty debris. There was nothing left to do now except 342 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: start over. Those who had businesses on the other side 343 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,280 Speaker 1: of the fire line felt lucky. While they may have 344 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: had some water damage, they were still standing, but not 345 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 1: for long. At ten o'clock that evening, and explosion started 346 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: another fire. For reasons unknown, the gas lines still hadn't 347 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:27,200 Speaker 1: been turned off. A building on the corner of Summer 348 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 1: in Washington had the misfortune of being above one of 349 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:34,360 Speaker 1: those gas lines, and it exploded. When another gas line 350 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: running under the street went up, it sent a manhole 351 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: cover sailing through the air. Other nearby buildings that had 352 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:45,160 Speaker 1: survived the previous night's disaster were leveled or severely damaged. 353 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:49,879 Speaker 1: Firefighters once again raced to fight the fires before they spread. 354 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:55,400 Speaker 1: Around midnight, with the gas lines finally shut down, firefighters 355 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:59,119 Speaker 1: extinguished the last of the flames. Damrol and his crews 356 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: continued to oak buildings and streets before officially determining the 357 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 1: blaze was out for good. Dirty tired their eyes and 358 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:13,240 Speaker 1: lungs burning, they finally went home. Damiel returned to his 359 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 1: own house on Beacon Hill, feeling secure that at last 360 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 1: the ordeal was over. But sadly, he couldn't have been 361 00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:35,720 Speaker 1: more wrong. The city lay in ruins. What the fire 362 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: hadn't destroyed, explosions and water damage had. The flames had 363 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:45,280 Speaker 1: spread over sixty acres, burning seven hundred and sixty seven buildings. 364 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: The financial damage was great. In today's money, it would 365 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,880 Speaker 1: be well over a billion dollars. The claims people filed 366 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:58,199 Speaker 1: actually bankrupted close to thirty three insurance companies. It had 367 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:01,879 Speaker 1: taken seventeen hours and fironman from twenty seven towns to 368 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: stop the siege. Nine firefighters from Boston, Cambridge, Malden and 369 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:12,080 Speaker 1: Wooster died fighting the blaze. Two more died days later 370 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: from wounds and burns. Sixteen civilians, including two children, had 371 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: also died. The military arrived to keep peace in order. 372 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:27,000 Speaker 1: Some people had lost everything, and with their insurance companies bankrupt, 373 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 1: many took to drinking. Ministers preached on people's sins. In 374 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,399 Speaker 1: the aftermath, city officials formed a commission to investigate the 375 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: cause of what they now called the Great Boston Fire. 376 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 1: So much of the city's population was now out of 377 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 1: work financially, it was one of the most expensive fires 378 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:50,040 Speaker 1: in history. Rebuilding the city in the harbor would take 379 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:55,400 Speaker 1: time and extensive funding. Everything Dambriel had told them could 380 00:25:55,400 --> 00:26:00,480 Speaker 1: happen did, but the commission was torn, admitting that would 381 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 1: be accepting blame for not listening to advanced warning year's worth. 382 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:09,240 Speaker 1: In the end, the commission highlighted exactly what the engineer 383 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 1: had noted, problems with infrastructure, lack of building codes, and 384 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:17,480 Speaker 1: poor construction practices. They blamed the leaky water pipes for 385 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 1: allowing the fire to spin out of control. There was 386 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: one person at fault, they said, the city engineer, damn Roll. 387 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:30,720 Speaker 1: The mayor and committee interrogated dam Role repeatedly using any 388 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 1: potentially conflicting words against him. They told the press that 389 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: the hero behind the fire had been burnt for his 390 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:42,879 Speaker 1: use of gunpowder. Newspapers quickly retold the story. Fireman rallied 391 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,359 Speaker 1: behind dam Roll. They pointed out that the use of 392 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,240 Speaker 1: gunpowder had caused more fires, and that surely they knew 393 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 1: more about fires than the Postmaster general. The committee turned 394 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,680 Speaker 1: on them to questioning their every decision, their every move 395 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:01,320 Speaker 1: during the blaze. No amount of evidence seemed proof enough 396 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 1: that they or the City engineer had done their jobs properly. Anything, 397 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: it seemed, was better than conceding that officials had long 398 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:14,240 Speaker 1: ignored the warnings. In the end, Damrol was dismissed from 399 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:18,560 Speaker 1: his post. It took two years to rebuild the city. 400 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:22,359 Speaker 1: While that let Damil go, they did use his suggestions, 401 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:27,280 Speaker 1: wide and straight streets, more stone buildings, less flammable materials. 402 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: The city had more and newer fire hydrants installed, and 403 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:35,760 Speaker 1: Damrell rebuilt as well. He may not have been the 404 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,720 Speaker 1: city engineer any longer, but he certainly wasn't going to 405 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: stop trying to make Boston safer. In eighteen seventy three, 406 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 1: he founded the National Association of Fire Engineers and now 407 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 1: called the International Association of Fire Chiefs. As the foundation's president, 408 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:56,320 Speaker 1: he published articles on fire safety and building codes. In 409 00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:59,120 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy seven, the city appointed him as the new 410 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 1: building commission there, and he served for twenty five years. 411 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 1: Daniel retired in three confident the next building commissioner would 412 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: pick up where he left off. That man was Daniel's son. 413 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,160 Speaker 1: There's more to this story. Stick around after this brief 414 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:31,360 Speaker 1: sponsor break to hear all about it. It all started 415 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,760 Speaker 1: with an attempt to clean up the landfill. The small 416 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:38,280 Speaker 1: town of Centralia had once been a booming coal town 417 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 1: in the mid eighteen hundreds. When it came to power, 418 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: coal was king, and the small Pennsylvania town had an 419 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 1: abundance a very dense coal called anthracite. The land purchased 420 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty two by Locust Mountain Coal and Iron, 421 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:59,160 Speaker 1: brought in workers like Alexander Ray. Mining engineer Ray saw 422 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: a vision for the down and planned an entire community 423 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,520 Speaker 1: from the streets to the home lots. Two years later, 424 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,680 Speaker 1: the Mine Run Railroad moved coal out of the valley 425 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: to other states. The population continued to grow over the years. 426 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 1: More minds opened and more families moved in. The mines 427 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,160 Speaker 1: provided a seemingly endless source of revenue and jobs, and 428 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 1: the town flourished in The town population grew to two thousand, 429 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: seven hundred and sixty one, pushing the limits of how 430 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,040 Speaker 1: many people could live in the sixty acre stretch of land. 431 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:36,400 Speaker 1: Life was good, though, and the money flowed for nearly 432 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: forty years. More. Then coal production slowed and the Great 433 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 1: Depression hit. The town didn't have the same wash of 434 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: funds that once enjoyed. In ninety nine, state law allowed 435 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 1: for the Centralia Council to acquire all rights to the 436 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,400 Speaker 1: coal beneath the town. A year later, the population had 437 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: dwindled to just one thousand, nine hundred and eighty six residents. Still, 438 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,920 Speaker 1: the town continued to export a lesser amount of coal 439 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: into the nineteen sixties, when most mining companies in the 440 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 1: town closed. Meanwhile, in nineteen sixty two, the officials and 441 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,360 Speaker 1: residents agreed something had to be done with the current landfill. 442 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: Over the years, local firefighters would do a controlled burn 443 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:22,320 Speaker 1: of a landfill in one location while a new landfill 444 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:26,840 Speaker 1: was started elsewhere. The Centralia Borough Council hired a handful 445 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: of the town's firefighters to dispose of the trash. The 446 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,640 Speaker 1: current landfill location was an abandoned strip mine pit next 447 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: to the cemetery, and like they've done in the past, 448 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: the firefighters set the heap on fire, but unlike before, 449 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:46,640 Speaker 1: they let this particular fire burn longer, and some even 450 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: debate whether the fire was ever fully extinguished. Though coal 451 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 1: bootleggers insist the fire had been snuffed out or they 452 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,080 Speaker 1: wouldn't have been able to continue their work and abandoned 453 00:30:56,120 --> 00:31:00,240 Speaker 1: mine shafts. No one had paid attention to the Burrows 454 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,640 Speaker 1: law that a fire resistant clay barrier be placed between 455 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: each layer and the landfill, the sure that started at 456 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:10,880 Speaker 1: some point but then stopped or forgotten. Complicating the issue 457 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:13,560 Speaker 1: was the fact that the pit hadn't been sealed before 458 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:18,280 Speaker 1: piling on years worth of trash, nor had anyone noted 459 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:21,200 Speaker 1: that the landfill was situated over open areas in the 460 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:25,560 Speaker 1: coal mines. No regulations about that existed then. But even 461 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:30,720 Speaker 1: if legal mining hadn't created chasms underneath the landfill, bootleggers 462 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,600 Speaker 1: over the years had been taken coal from the pillars 463 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:37,520 Speaker 1: that held up the mines. The hot and long burning fire, 464 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 1: along with the proximity to an open pit, caused a 465 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:45,000 Speaker 1: collapse into the mine. The flames found extra fuel in 466 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 1: the dense coal the air, and the labyrinth of tunnels 467 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,800 Speaker 1: provided the right amount of oxygen. It was the perfect 468 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:57,480 Speaker 1: storm that June firefighters were called to extinguish two separate 469 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:00,959 Speaker 1: fires in the area. Both were put out above ground, 470 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:06,120 Speaker 1: extinguishing the flames below ground proved impossible. Some residents began 471 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,520 Speaker 1: to report health issues and moved away. A few houses 472 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,720 Speaker 1: suffered foundation issues as the ground beneath them shifted, but 473 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,240 Speaker 1: as a whole, much of the community stayed for as 474 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:20,440 Speaker 1: long as the job stick. Then they moved on as well, 475 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:25,960 Speaker 1: leaving the population ever smaller. Seventeen years later, in nineteen 476 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,560 Speaker 1: seventy nine, a gas station owner who also happened to 477 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:32,640 Speaker 1: be the mayor, checked the fuel level in his tanks. 478 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,080 Speaker 1: When he withdrew the dipstick, he found it too hot 479 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:39,720 Speaker 1: to touch. After lowering a thermometer into the tank, he 480 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:42,280 Speaker 1: discovered the temperature of the gas had reached a hundred 481 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:45,800 Speaker 1: and seventy two degrees fahrenheit. That's almost seventy eight celsius. 482 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:50,120 Speaker 1: Engineers determined that some areas underground may have reached nine 483 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:54,360 Speaker 1: hundred degrees. The people still living in the borough stayed 484 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 1: vigilant about potential fire hazards for three years. Their luck held. 485 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 1: Many convinced to themselves that the fires had burnt themselves out, 486 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:07,600 Speaker 1: or that whatever remained was contained below ground, and that 487 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:11,120 Speaker 1: either way, if the mines were really dangerous, they would 488 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 1: have already caused a bigger problem in the ground beneath 489 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 1: twelve year old Todd Dombowski's feet gave way and a 490 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:24,440 Speaker 1: sinkhole opened up in his backyard four ft wide by 491 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:28,480 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty feet deep. Fortunately for Todd, he had 492 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:31,160 Speaker 1: managed to cling to the edge and his fourteen year 493 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:34,360 Speaker 1: old cousin pulled him to safety. Not only would the 494 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,320 Speaker 1: drop have killed him, the steam rising from the sinkhole 495 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:42,800 Speaker 1: contained a lethal amount of carbon monoxide. Despite the evidence, 496 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:45,479 Speaker 1: the community became even more divided on whether the fires 497 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:50,720 Speaker 1: remained a threat. Federal investigators felt differently, and in three 498 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:54,560 Speaker 1: Congress approved of forty two million dollar budget for relocating 499 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:59,880 Speaker 1: the remaining residents. A thousand residents moved, sixty three stayed. 500 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:04,280 Speaker 1: The government had over five hundred businesses and homes demolished 501 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,880 Speaker 1: to prevent anyone from occupying them. In In an attempt 502 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,040 Speaker 1: to get the remaining residents to leave, the governor invoked 503 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:16,160 Speaker 1: eminent domain for the entire borough and condemned every building. 504 00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:20,840 Speaker 1: Perhaps surprisingly, the residents filed a legal action to overturn 505 00:34:20,880 --> 00:34:25,320 Speaker 1: the ruling, though that eventually failed. As a further deterrent, 506 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:28,360 Speaker 1: in two thousand two, the post office began refusing to 507 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:32,719 Speaker 1: service the borough's only zip code, But despite the dangers 508 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:37,480 Speaker 1: and diviction notices, seven residents refused to move and filed 509 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,880 Speaker 1: another counter suit, though they were allowed to stay in 510 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,839 Speaker 1: court orders prevent them from including the property in their 511 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:49,160 Speaker 1: wills or from selling their homes. The mines beneath Centralia 512 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:53,120 Speaker 1: still burn raining ash over the land and will likely 513 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:56,440 Speaker 1: continue to do so for another two hundred and fifty years. 514 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:01,040 Speaker 1: And they aren't the only minds that still aren't in Pennsylvania. 515 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:11,920 Speaker 1: As of this recording. There are thirty eight others. American 516 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:15,960 Speaker 1: Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was written 517 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,880 Speaker 1: by Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, and produced by 518 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:24,040 Speaker 1: Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mankey, 519 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:28,320 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, 520 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:31,440 Speaker 1: visit Grim and Mild dot com. From more podcasts from 521 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:35,480 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 522 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts.