1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: I'm to blame a chok reboarding and I'm fair outing. 4 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: And we recently covered the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, which 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:23,240 Speaker 1: at the time was one of the deadliest workplace disasters 6 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:26,799 Speaker 1: New York and perhaps the entire country had ever seen. 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: It was a tough one. It was tough to research 8 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: and tough to talk about. It was tough to research 9 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,839 Speaker 1: because it was such a sad topic, but it is 10 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:38,599 Speaker 1: easy to see why listeners requested so much, because it 11 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:41,519 Speaker 1: was fascinating to learn about. We were really fascinated by 12 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 1: all the little vignettes from survivors, rescuers, witnesses. Some of 13 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,879 Speaker 1: the points that really struck us the most were how 14 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: quickly the fire started and spread, how split second decisions 15 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 1: people made seemed to make a difference, and how it 16 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: really influenced the lives of the people who were involved 17 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: and legislation for years to come. So because of that episode, 18 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: we decided we wanted to take a look at some 19 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: other famous fires and just look at some of the 20 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:10,639 Speaker 1: parallels between them, look at some of those little split 21 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: second decisions and how that might be the same in 22 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 1: one fire that takes place in the sixteen hundreds, and 23 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: then one take one that takes place in the eight hundreds, 24 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: and then just see how they're different too, exactly. And 25 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: we're also going to take a look at the pre 26 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: fire environment some parallels there. I mean, we saw in 27 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: a Triangle factory how it was really set up for 28 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: a disaster in a lot of ways, with the cotton 29 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: scraps lying around, and the really crowded environment and people 30 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: just generally ignoring signs of danger that we're there to 31 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: begin with. So the first fire on our list that 32 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:43,600 Speaker 1: we're gonna take a look at is the Great Fire 33 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: of London, a very famous one, and like the Triangle 34 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: Factory fire, the situation here was really just right for disaster. 35 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,520 Speaker 1: Fires weren't unusual in London in the first place in 36 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: the sixteen hundreds, since timber construction and narrow streets were 37 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: really the norm at the time. So by September of 38 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: sixty sixty six, a long, hot summer had made matters 39 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: even worse. It was dried out both the city and 40 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: its water reserves, and according to the BBC, some people 41 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,519 Speaker 1: had actually seen this coming. Some people had warned of 42 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 1: the possibility of a major fire in London even before 43 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:17,639 Speaker 1: it got to this point, but most citizens at the 44 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: time had something else on their minds right Sarah plague. Yes, 45 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: plague at that time had killed about sixty eight thousand 46 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: people in the years leading up to sixteen sixty six, 47 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: so they were worried about it. Understandable that that would 48 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: be your top concern at the time. So when the 49 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: Great Fire did start on September two, sixteen sixty six, 50 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: started in Putting Lane near London Bridge, and it was 51 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: in the home of the King's baker, Thomas Farrenore and 52 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: a workman had smelled smoke around two in the morning 53 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: and told the baker's family, and they had all managed 54 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,079 Speaker 1: to escape by fleeing over the roofs, and their maid 55 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: was too scared to leave, and so she became the 56 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: first casualty and this fire, even though you're gonna probably 57 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: be surprised to learn that very few people die in 58 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:04,079 Speaker 1: this fire, considering how disastrous it was, she was too 59 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: scared to get out of the house. Though. Yes, the 60 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: house was quickly engulfed in flames, and from there the 61 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: fire spread through the narrow streets of London. But the mayor, 62 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 1: Sir Thomas Bloodworth, for some reason, really wasn't a concerned 63 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: at first. He was woken up about an hour after 64 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,519 Speaker 1: it started, and after being awoken he said a woman 65 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: might piss it out of the fire. That was the 66 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: colorful statement he makes. So it kept spreading from there 67 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: and London Bridge was burning by dawn. So just to 68 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: give you a little understanding of how they fought fires 69 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: in this time, or one of the ways they fought fires, 70 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: they would build fire breaks or create firebreaks by destroying 71 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: buildings in a fire's path so that it didn't have 72 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: anything to spread to. It would just be brought to 73 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: a sudden halt. And the strategy had been used in 74 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: a fire in sixteen thirty two on London Bridge and 75 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: it created this open space that ended up saving the 76 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: bridge in sixteen sixty six, so that the fire was 77 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: confined to one part of the city. It couldn't jump 78 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: the river, but it continued to just get worse and 79 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: worth on the westward side of the city and it 80 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: was fanned by the wind, and the mayor kept on 81 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: hesitating though about the fire break. So even though they 82 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: were tested, it seemed to work. He wasn't willing to 83 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 1: order a bunch of buildings blown up. Yeah. I think 84 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: what that came down to is just the cost of it. 85 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:24,600 Speaker 1: It was going to cost so much to rebuild those buildings, 86 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: and that's why he was so hesitant about it. But 87 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: King Charles the second fields a little differently. He did 88 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: want those fire breaks, but by the time that he 89 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: ordered the mayor to destroy as many buildings as possible 90 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: to make that happen, the fire was already too out 91 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: of control for that strategy to really work. They would 92 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: destroy houses too late, or the wind would just help 93 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: the fire jump over the gaps that they made. And 94 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:47,679 Speaker 1: if you destroy the houses too late, you're just creating 95 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,040 Speaker 1: tinder essentially. Yeah, because it was all right if they 96 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: didn't have time to clear it out before the fire 97 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: got to it, they were actually kind of helping it along. 98 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: So the fire raged on for three days. By Wednesday 99 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: it finally started to die down own, and then by 100 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: Thursday it was extinguished. Flames did spring up again briefly 101 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: at Temple Church, but the Duke of York made kind 102 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: of a quick, split second decision there to blow up 103 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: several buildings at once with gunpowder and create a firebreak 104 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,719 Speaker 1: right away, so they were able to squelch that, so 105 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: the fire was out by that point. But the damage 106 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,599 Speaker 1: to London was really significant. A large part of the 107 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: city had been destroyed, including a lot of the civic 108 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 1: buildings old St Paul's Cathedral. I think we mentioned that 109 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:29,039 Speaker 1: in an earlier episode on St Paul's that one of 110 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: many times it burned down. Eight seven parish churches had 111 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: burned in about thirteen thousand, two hundred houses and according 112 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,919 Speaker 1: to the BBC, though only four official deaths were reported, 113 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: but some people think that the actual death toll might 114 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: have been a lot higher than that. But regardless of 115 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 1: the number of people that died, it affected thousands of citizens, 116 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: somewhere around one sixth of London's population, and they had 117 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: to flee to places like Hampstead and Highgate and more Fields, 118 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,599 Speaker 1: which was that last one was the chief refuge. I 119 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 1: think within days they started putting together plans to rebuild 120 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: the city, and Christopher Wren of all people, got involved 121 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: with this rebuilding plan and presented plans to sort of 122 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: remake the city, regularized the streets and um even though 123 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:17,719 Speaker 1: they stuck to old lines in most cases, they didn't 124 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 1: just change the map of the city entirely. They broadened 125 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,359 Speaker 1: a lot of the streets and built houses out of 126 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 1: brick instead of these sort of rough and tumble wooden 127 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: houses that caught fire so easily. Yeah, but it didn't 128 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: stop there. Like the Triangle shirtwaist factory incident, everyone was 129 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:38,719 Speaker 1: looking for someone to blame after this. It wasn't just 130 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: a simple rebuilding. They wanted somebody to take the blame. 131 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: So a parliamentary committee investigated the incident, but they couldn't 132 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: find that it was anything other than a quote act 133 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:53,039 Speaker 1: of God. Even though a French watchmaker confessed to the 134 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,159 Speaker 1: crime and was executed for it, nobody really believed he 135 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,159 Speaker 1: did it, so people were still kind of always coming 136 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,279 Speaker 1: up with theories of what could have happened, especially since 137 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: this was a time of political and religious upheaval. People 138 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,600 Speaker 1: pointed a finger at foreigners a lot and to Catholics 139 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: for years. In fact, a monument that commemorated the fire 140 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: born inscription blaming quote to the treachery and the malice 141 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: of the Popish faction until eighteen thirty one, when we 142 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: can presume somebody sort of chiseled it off discreetly or something. 143 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: But um, it seems a little strange that there would 144 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: even be a blame game if the fire starts in 145 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,600 Speaker 1: a bakery. I mean, it seems like a place where 146 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: a fire accident could easily happen. Yeah, I agree, and 147 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: I think most people accept that it was probably just 148 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: the result of carelessness on the part of the baker 149 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: or has made someone in the household, and we can 150 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: rely on that at this point. All right, So our 151 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: next fire might also be the result of carelessness, but 152 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: no one's entirely sure. It is a fire that happened 153 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: in Japan in sixteen fifty seven, the may Reiki Fire 154 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: or the Great Fire of mary Ki in Japan's of 155 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: course been in the news a lot lately, and a 156 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,320 Speaker 1: lot of people have probably heard of the Great Canto 157 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,240 Speaker 1: earthquake of nineteen twenty three, And it was a noon earthquake, 158 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: which meant lots of cooking fires were going and so 159 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: a big fire started across Tokyo and killed and estimated 160 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,320 Speaker 1: one thousand people. But before Tokyo was even Tokyo, back 161 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: when it was still a Doh, this fire took place, 162 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 1: and it was the center of power for the Tokugawa 163 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: Shogunate and the fire was just as deadly. Way back 164 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: in sixteen fifty seven, a hundred thousand people were killed yea. 165 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 1: And considering how many people were killed in that fire, 166 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: it might be especially surprising to learn that Edo had 167 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: actually been a little fishing village just a few generations earlier. 168 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: In the late sixteenth century, the showgun Tokugawa Ayasu had 169 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: moved to Pan's capital to Edo and started a series 170 00:08:49,920 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: of developments there, and over the years the city just 171 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: got bigger and bigger. Mountains were cut down to fill 172 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,200 Speaker 1: in the bay. Edo Castle was rebuilt, and by sixteen 173 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:04,080 Speaker 1: thirty seven the city was operating under something called alternate attendance. Yeah, 174 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: the alternative attendant system. And if you're trying to to 175 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: think of what this is, it's kind of like a protoversih. 176 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:13,679 Speaker 1: Almost all the daimio or lords had to live in 177 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: the capital part time, and when they weren't there, when 178 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: they were back on their own estates, they had to 179 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 1: leave some of their family behind as collateral, sort of like, 180 00:09:21,679 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: don't get up to any trouble off in your own estates, 181 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,920 Speaker 1: because we have all you care about here. So there 182 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: was this versioning elite living in Edo and and buying 183 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,440 Speaker 1: lots of things and in need of lots of services. 184 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: So that meant a lot of regular folks were moving 185 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: to town to provide those services, merchants and entertainers and 186 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 1: the like. So because of all the crowding, the narrow 187 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 1: streets and alleys set up in this Kyoto grid style, 188 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: and of course built and lined with houses made of 189 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: wood and paper, we're sort of at risk for fires. 190 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:59,599 Speaker 1: And fires consequently did happen a lot, similar to the 191 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:02,040 Speaker 1: situation shan in London that we just discussed, But in 192 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 1: Japan they even called these little fires the flowers of edge. 193 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,640 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, just blooming across the city from time to time. 194 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: But the fire that hit in sixteen fifty seven was 195 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 1: the worst, and it started in a temple. Legend has 196 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: monks burning an unlucky long sleeve kimono. Um, you'll see 197 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: different accounts. Sometimes the kimono belonged to several young girls 198 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 1: who died before they could wear it. Sometimes there were 199 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,360 Speaker 1: a couple kimonos, each having belonged to a girl who died. 200 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: But anyway, this gives us the fire's other name, which 201 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,520 Speaker 1: was the flurisode fire or long sleeves fire. You might 202 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: hear it referred to that way, so strong winds from 203 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: there carried the fire across moats and canals, and then 204 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: the wind shifted and the fire burned the shops along 205 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: the Sumida River. Supposedly an unattended cooking fire in a 206 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 1: Samurai household helped feed it further too, so it just 207 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: kind of grew. Sixty of the city was destroyed, and 208 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: most of Edo Castle was destroyed. Yeah, and again, like 209 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:02,480 Speaker 1: lone in, the whole thing made the feudal government really 210 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,559 Speaker 1: reconsider how they were going to rebuild and whether there 211 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:09,440 Speaker 1: were improvements that could be made before you set up 212 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: a similar situation again. And especially because by sixteen ninety three, 213 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: so just a few decades after this fire, the population 214 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: was larger than that of London or Paris, so you 215 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,520 Speaker 1: had a lot of buildings to consider. This time they 216 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,320 Speaker 1: mapped out the city and spread the buildings out more. 217 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: There were, still, of course, later fires. They didn't totally 218 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,360 Speaker 1: eliminate that threat, but according to a book called an 219 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:38,000 Speaker 1: Introduction to Japanese Architecture, this was a fairly successful attempt, 220 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:41,559 Speaker 1: early attempt at city planning in a real turning point 221 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,559 Speaker 1: for the city. Yeah, and even laws that were made 222 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: afterwards suggest fire consciousness. While commoners weren't allowed the extravagance 223 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:51,679 Speaker 1: of building a third floor in their homes, they were 224 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 1: encouraged to use super expensive tile roofs and kura or 225 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: fireproof storehouses. So both of those things kind of became 226 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 1: status symbols. Yeah, so you have sump Stuary code sort 227 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: of just avoiding one avenue if it, if it helps 228 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: make the city more fire safe, go for it, even 229 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 1: if even if you look impressive doing it. It became 230 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: cool to be safe. So the first two fires we 231 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,079 Speaker 1: talked about are pretty well known, but the third fire 232 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: on our list is one that got overshadowed a bit 233 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,080 Speaker 1: by another fire that occurred at the same time. And 234 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 1: we're talking about the Pestigo Fire, which occurred in eighteen 235 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,959 Speaker 1: seventy one, sometimes called the Great Peshtigo Fire. Took place 236 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 1: obviously in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and it has the distinction of 237 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: being the deadliest fire in US history. But the reason 238 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,880 Speaker 1: it's not as well known as some other incidents is 239 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 1: because it occurred on the same night as the Great 240 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: Chicago Fire October eight, eight seventy one. Some people think 241 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,960 Speaker 1: maybe even the same hour, right, Yeah, same hour but 242 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: a bit of a more mythical beginning, I guess, which 243 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 1: is one reason that it might have overshadowed Pestico a 244 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,840 Speaker 1: little bit. We actually have a podcast on the legendary 245 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: origins of the Great Chicago Fire, and a lot of 246 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: people think it was started by miss O'Leary's cow. So 247 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 1: if you want to learn a little bit more about 248 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,080 Speaker 1: that and how true it is, you can go back 249 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 1: and listen to that podcast. Part of the reason why 250 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:14,960 Speaker 1: it was overshadowed, though, is because Chicago is a bigger 251 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 1: city and news was going to get out faster about 252 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 1: a huge fire in Chicago that leaves a lot of 253 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:24,319 Speaker 1: people dead. Yeah, Pechico was a railroad and lumbering town, 254 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,640 Speaker 1: probably not as exciting as a big urban area like Chicago. 255 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:30,560 Speaker 1: There were about eight hundred men who were employed by 256 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:34,559 Speaker 1: a local would wear wooden't wear factory sorry, and to sawmills, 257 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 1: and the town had about one thousand, seven hundred residents total. 258 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: Once again, the conditions here were just right for a 259 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:45,599 Speaker 1: big fire. After harvesting trees, lumberjacks would leave piles of sawdust, 260 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:49,679 Speaker 1: brush and limbs known as slash, all over the forest floor. 261 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,080 Speaker 1: To add to this, men who cleared the land for 262 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: railroads and farmers who needed to clear the land to 263 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,200 Speaker 1: plant in would torch trees, stumps, buildings, basically anything in 264 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: their path. So small fire. As we're burning around this 265 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: area all the time, and no one really thought anything 266 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:05,360 Speaker 1: of it. We're cool with it pretty much. But to 267 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,200 Speaker 1: make matters worse, there hadn't been that much rain during 268 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: the summer in the early fall, so the area was 269 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: especially dry, and by the first week of October, even 270 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: the air in Peshtigo along the north shore of Green 271 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: Bay was so thick with smoke from all of these 272 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 1: little fires from the farmers and the lumberjacks and all 273 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: of that that ships on Lake Michigan had to navigate 274 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: by compass and harbor masters you fog horns to guide 275 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: them ashore, so it couldn't even see where you were going. Yeah, 276 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: the environment, I guess just really set the stage for 277 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: something eerie to happen. But no one knows exactly what 278 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: started the big fire October eighth. A recent article in 279 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,240 Speaker 1: History magazine, I think in the March issue, actually discussed 280 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: a couple of possibilities about that very thing. Lightning was 281 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: apparently ruled out, but because of the conditions. Some people 282 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 1: speculate there may have been instances of spontaneous combustion on 283 00:14:55,240 --> 00:15:00,640 Speaker 1: the forest floor. Always makes a story more interesting. Absolutely, meteors, 284 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 1: that's another. That's another one that helps make things interesting. 285 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: Meteor showers are actually pretty common in the Upper Great 286 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:11,040 Speaker 1: Lakes region in the fall, So it's possible that chunks 287 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 1: of a meteor could have landed in the Wisconsin woods 288 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,280 Speaker 1: and set all that tinder on fire. Yeah, and then 289 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: strong winds that night would have added to the situation, 290 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:24,800 Speaker 1: fanning fires, causing them to combine and spread. So wind 291 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,200 Speaker 1: is a major character and all of these fires that 292 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,600 Speaker 1: we're talking about, and chances are even if it wasn't meteors, 293 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:33,960 Speaker 1: even if it wasn't spontaneous combustion, just all these little 294 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: fires that had been set throughout the area, once the 295 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: wind came through, it kind of combined and helped them 296 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:41,920 Speaker 1: spread all over the place. But regardless of what caused 297 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,000 Speaker 1: the fire, around nine that night, there was an eerie 298 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: roaring sound and then the fire just seemed to kind 299 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: of fall out of the sky. Yeah, And and the 300 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: wind really fed the flames, kept on feeding them, so 301 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: it seemed like the air itself was on fire. People 302 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 1: tried to outrun it, but they couldn't and somewhere burned 303 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: in the streets. And the really strange thing here is 304 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:04,520 Speaker 1: it would seem like they were far away from anything 305 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 1: that was combustible. They weren't standing near the burning building 306 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: or the burning tree or something like that. They just 307 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: would suddenly ignite. Yeah, I mean, it's like the witnesses said, 308 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 1: the fire was almost in the air, and that's what's 309 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: so scary about this one. Some sought refuge lying flattened 310 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 1: clearings or in the water of rivers or in Green Bay, 311 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:25,680 Speaker 1: so they would actually get in the river and kind 312 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: of hold their breath and only come up for air 313 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: to try to avoid catching on fire. Other people hid 314 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: in cellars, which wasn't a good idea because they suffocated. 315 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: Some people hid in wells and in ponds as well. 316 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: So the flames just kept on spreading. They traveled over marshland, 317 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 1: and you might think that that would put it out 318 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: because there's lots of water in marshy areas, but instead 319 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: it would just ignite rising gases, and from there the 320 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 1: flames were able to cross the Peshtigo River and jump 321 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. So from 322 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: there the fire spread into other Wisconsin communities, including the 323 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 1: Door and Key Auntie Counties. It also spread into Michigan. 324 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,840 Speaker 1: It destroyed at least seventeen communities total, and Pestigo itself 325 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: was obliterated in just an hour. And we saw that 326 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,159 Speaker 1: in I think the Triangle Factory fire to how quickly 327 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,280 Speaker 1: things seemed to happen. Yeah, so the fire just kept 328 00:17:16,320 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 1: on basically until it had nothing left to burn. I 329 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,159 Speaker 1: think again, the winds have so much power. The winds 330 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: changed and kind of turned the fire back on itself. 331 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,640 Speaker 1: But by that time it had already killed somewhere between 332 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,119 Speaker 1: one thousand, two hundred and two thousand, five hundred people 333 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,880 Speaker 1: eight hundred and Pestigo alone and destroyed about one point 334 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:36,639 Speaker 1: three million acres of forest land. So that's an area 335 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 1: about twice the size of Rhode Islands. And by contrast, 336 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,640 Speaker 1: three people were killed in the Chicago fire, so way 337 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,560 Speaker 1: those numbers together. But by the time the word of 338 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 1: all of this reached Madison, it took two days to 339 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,640 Speaker 1: do so. The governor and the state representatives had all 340 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,439 Speaker 1: gone to help out with the Chicago crisis, because of 341 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,440 Speaker 1: course that news had broken long before and everybody knew 342 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,200 Speaker 1: about it. And sequently, the Peshtigo fire didn't really get 343 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 1: as much notoriety as Chicago, but it did lead to 344 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: some new forest management programs and lumber harvesting techniques, again 345 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: a few sort of social reforms or fire safety reforms 346 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: coming out of a big disaster. The last fire on 347 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 1: our list is one that listeners will probably be most 348 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 1: familiar with, at least from a visual standpoint, because it's 349 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: the most recent one, and that's the Great San Francisco 350 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: earthquake and fire. And to talk about this one, we've 351 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:29,919 Speaker 1: of course got to talk about the earthquake a little bit, 352 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: I think definitely. So at five twelve am on April eighteenth, 353 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: nineteen o six, a four shock shook the people of 354 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 1: San Francisco awake in their beds, and about twenty seconds 355 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,880 Speaker 1: later the shaking started again, except it was a lot 356 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:46,080 Speaker 1: harder this time, and it drove people out into the 357 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:48,439 Speaker 1: streets if they could get out of their houses. It 358 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 1: lasted for nearly a minute, which seems like such a 359 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:56,439 Speaker 1: long time to be just waiting for your house to 360 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:58,680 Speaker 1: fall down or not around you. The famous tenor and 361 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 1: Enrico Caruso for exam but was in town. He had 362 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 1: just performed a big show the night before, and he 363 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,199 Speaker 1: described it like being on a boat at sea. If 364 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:10,399 Speaker 1: you can imagine how shaky that is. I'm sure some 365 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 1: of you have probably been an earthquake, so you can't 366 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: imagine it. But while the seven point nine magnitude earthquake 367 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:19,560 Speaker 1: could be felt as far away as central Nevada and 368 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: southern Los Angeles, it was San Francisco that really got 369 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:28,280 Speaker 1: hit the hardest. Yeah, buildings collapsed. Weak masonry on the 370 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:30,920 Speaker 1: sides of homes kind of flopped off in sheets into 371 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 1: the street, exposing dollhouse like apartments. Chimneys fell in on 372 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: otherwise dirty wooden houses. Structures and formally marshy areas were 373 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 1: just swallowed up in sinkholes. Yeah, there's a famous four 374 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 1: story hotel that was swallowed up to the fourth floor 375 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: and it just looks collapsed like a slinky sitting next 376 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:52,840 Speaker 1: to other buildings that are still their full height. Um 377 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 1: and probably most importantly for our story, gas lines broke. 378 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,160 Speaker 1: But within half an hour the city's fire department had 379 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,280 Speaker 1: been They had responded to fifty two fire alarms, and 380 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:05,399 Speaker 1: they seemed to be keeping pace. They seemed to be 381 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: putting out these little fires, keeping things under control. But 382 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,960 Speaker 1: the fires just grew and they merged, and they spread 383 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,160 Speaker 1: by dry wind from two main origin points, and one 384 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,639 Speaker 1: was the south of Market neighborhood and the other was 385 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: north of Market Street near the waterfront. But because the 386 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: water mains had been broken during the earthquake, the department 387 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: didn't have that much to work with. They could put 388 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,320 Speaker 1: out these tiny fires, but when they were faced with 389 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 1: these these growing walls of flame, there wasn't much they 390 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:37,680 Speaker 1: could do about it. Yeah, I think they only had 391 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,000 Speaker 1: eight fifty thousand gallons of water to use. So the 392 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,480 Speaker 1: alternate options they had were what they had to turn to, 393 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: but those weren't really great. One of the alternate options 394 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:50,120 Speaker 1: was that they could tap old cisterns, and now those 395 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 1: didn't have much water, so that was why that wasn't 396 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 1: a great option. And the second option that they had 397 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,399 Speaker 1: was to have navy ships pump water in from the bay, 398 00:20:57,480 --> 00:20:59,640 Speaker 1: and that was kind of slow. So yeah, both these 399 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: were oh, and they didn't really get them that much 400 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: water either. So to make matters worse, Fire Chief Dennis 401 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:09,679 Speaker 1: Sullivan had been mortally wounded during the earthquake. He had 402 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:12,639 Speaker 1: had a master plan for a fire in San Francisco, 403 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,639 Speaker 1: and his replacement didn't. Yeah, so they didn't have some 404 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: sort of operating idea of what to do, and things 405 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:22,920 Speaker 1: got more and more desperate, and the department's next move, 406 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: after tapping the cisterns and pumping in the water, was 407 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 1: to use dynamite to create fire breaks. And we've learned 408 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:32,439 Speaker 1: the danger of fire breaks already in this episode, but 409 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 1: this is kind of an even worse situation. The Army 410 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: base sent the wrong kind of explosive, flammable black gunpowder, 411 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 1: and the explosives really just made things worse. So exploding 412 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:49,920 Speaker 1: buildings would shoot off debris everywhere, which would ignite at 413 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,160 Speaker 1: ruptured gas lines, and then the other thing that would 414 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,920 Speaker 1: happen is sturdy walls that really might have helped actually 415 00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: service fire breaks were destroyed and brought to brought to 416 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,760 Speaker 1: the ground in rubble. So later that day other blazes 417 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,760 Speaker 1: joined the wall of the main fire. They were judged 418 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,199 Speaker 1: at one point to be nearly twenty floors high and 419 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: two thousand degrees. One started in Hayes Valley from a 420 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:17,200 Speaker 1: damaged chimney, and another one started at the restaurant Delmonicoes 421 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 1: from a soldiers camp fire, and at that point the 422 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:22,480 Speaker 1: mayor ordered martial law. Yeah, and you can you can 423 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:26,119 Speaker 1: look at the order the proclamation, and it came out 424 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 1: not long after after the earthquakes. Of course, people are 425 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 1: still totally in a state of shock, and there's some 426 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:36,280 Speaker 1: practical advice like don't use your damage chimney, but way 427 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:40,160 Speaker 1: at the top it says will shoot to kill all looters, 428 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: and I think people were a little disturbed by that, 429 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 1: and it was something that got a lot of criticism 430 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: after the fact. But by Friday night, the fires finally 431 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,439 Speaker 1: started to die down and it was over by Saturday. 432 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: But by that point four point seven square miles of 433 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:59,919 Speaker 1: San Francisco had been burned, five hundred eight city blocks, 434 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:04,399 Speaker 1: and with so much destruction, you would think that maybe 435 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: the large death toll three thousand to five thousand people 436 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: were the result of the fire as well as the earthquake. 437 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: But most of the deaths did occur during the earthquake 438 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,439 Speaker 1: because there's not much you can do when when something 439 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 1: strikes and you're at home in bed, Whereas the fire 440 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 1: people could see it coming and they had time to 441 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,160 Speaker 1: grab what they could and and get out, whether by 442 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:28,880 Speaker 1: ferry or or just going to other parts of the city. Yeah, 443 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: some people had to relocate a multiple times. Chinese refugees, 444 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: for example, who stayed in the city were forced to 445 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 1: relocate over and over. Yeah, so they faced some persecution there, 446 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:41,920 Speaker 1: although not the ones who had fled to Oakland. Interestingly, 447 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:44,960 Speaker 1: but um, just if there's so much out there on 448 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: this fire, if you want to learn a little bit 449 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,360 Speaker 1: more about it, or look at pictures. You mentioned when 450 00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:52,360 Speaker 1: we first started talking about it that it's a very 451 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: visual earthquake and fire. There's a great Smithsonian story with 452 00:23:56,440 --> 00:24:00,920 Speaker 1: color photos. Actually it was a year before color photography 453 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,960 Speaker 1: was commercially available. It's kind of strange to look at 454 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 1: a color pictures from nineteen o six. There's another interesting 455 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:11,280 Speaker 1: Smithsonian story about the men who stayed behind to defend 456 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 1: the San Francisco meant and protect three hundred million dollars 457 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: that was kept inside it, which is the equivalent of 458 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:19,960 Speaker 1: six billion dollars today and had would have had a 459 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:23,479 Speaker 1: pretty tremendous effect on the economy potentially if that had 460 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: all been lost. But they stayed right in the path 461 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 1: of the fire and used well water i think, to 462 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 1: defend the building and it was stood the fire and 463 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 1: became sort of a a memorial to the fire for 464 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 1: the city of San Francisco because it was one of 465 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,280 Speaker 1: the few buildings that had survived. And today it's even 466 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 1: in the process of becoming the Museum of the City 467 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: of San Francisco. So you can potentially go visit this 468 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:51,879 Speaker 1: hallowed site of the fire at some point, and you 469 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 1: can check out their website now too. That's where I 470 00:24:55,240 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 1: found the Crusoe quote. They have all sorts of survivors accounts. So, 471 00:25:00,359 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: like we said earlier in the podcast, it's definitely something 472 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,359 Speaker 1: sad to reflect on, but there are a lot of 473 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 1: lessons to be learned, I think, especially if you're someone 474 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 1: living in these areas that we've talked about well. And 475 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: and you know, we live in Atlanta too, so we're 476 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:19,120 Speaker 1: a city where our official symbol is the phoenix. We've 477 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 1: been burned down twice. Yeah, so I guess it would 478 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: be appropriate for us to cover that time sometime too, maybe. 479 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,880 Speaker 1: But first we're going to move on to some slightly 480 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 1: happier beat. Miss listener mail. So this email is from Michael, 481 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 1: and I've got to read the subject line. Your podcast 482 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 1: got me a date that definitely hot our attention, but 483 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: he wrote in to say, I thought I would share 484 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:45,800 Speaker 1: a little story with you. I was traveling with a 485 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 1: group of friends when someone decided to play twenty questions 486 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,680 Speaker 1: to pass the time. Instead of playing the normal, boring 487 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: all game, we decided to play using historical figures. I 488 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: couldn't believe how helpful your podcast came. I knew literally 489 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,639 Speaker 1: every single person them that came up, Mata Harri, Lizzie Borden, 490 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 1: the Lindbergh Baby, Harry Uddini two comes basically anyone you 491 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: had covered recently in the podcast. As someone who had 492 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,919 Speaker 1: never really taken an interest in history before, I was 493 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 1: amazed to see how much I learned in only a 494 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:18,080 Speaker 1: few short months. As silly as it might seem, a 495 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: topic of history started a conversation with one of the 496 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,440 Speaker 1: girls we were traveling with, and we found we shared 497 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,960 Speaker 1: a lot of the same interests. We're now planning a 498 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: trip to see some of the amazing historical artifacts at 499 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 1: the Royal Ontario Museum. Thank you so much for bringing 500 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:37,440 Speaker 1: history alive. So thank you for writing in, Michael, Congratulations. 501 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: We're glad we helped out a little bit. Yeah, hopefully 502 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 1: we can help others in that department too. I've never 503 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,720 Speaker 1: thought of that as a goal of the podcast. The 504 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: good thing to bond over though, like shared love of history. Yeah, 505 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:53,399 Speaker 1: mutual interests. That's always something that brings people together. So 506 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 1: if you have any more cool stories like that about 507 00:26:56,520 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: friends you've made, people you've met through history, specifically our podcast, 508 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:02,399 Speaker 1: we would love to hear them. You can write us 509 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,639 Speaker 1: at History Podcast at how stuff works dot com or 510 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:09,240 Speaker 1: hit a step on Facebook or on Twitter at Nston History. 511 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,360 Speaker 1: And if you want to learn a little bit more 512 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,440 Speaker 1: about how to stop a fire once one gets going, 513 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:18,119 Speaker 1: we have an article can you really Fight fire with Fire? 514 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: And it's by Robert Lam. You can find it on 515 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:23,960 Speaker 1: our homepage by searching for fight fire with Fire at 516 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 1: www dot how stuff works dot com. Be sure to 517 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: check out our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. 518 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: Join how Stuff Work staff as we explore the most 519 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 1: promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The How Stuff Works 520 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: iPhone app has a rise. Download it today on iTunes.