1871: The Great Chicago Fire Of 1871

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 was the effect of mistakes that happened when trying to respond to a barn fire. The barn fire originated at the O’Leary Farm, when Mrs. O’Leary was milking a cow and the cow knocked over a lantern that Mrs. O’Leary placed on the ground for some light.
Chicago “The Windy City”, had a vast amount of wood, coal, and other natural gasses, shipped in to build and and build fast because of the majority of people that were flocking in. Most buildings even with the most sturdy of bases were still heavily framed out of wood. These buildings were made out of wood because it was cheap, quick, and easy to build. Every building in the city used coal to heat it up, and coal was another thing that was cheap and easy to get. In Chicago homes, businesses, and industries were close to each other or they were all in the same
The fire crossed the river because of an oily, greasy, residue that had built up. After the fire managed to cross the river a firestorm stirred up and tore through the city’s Business District. The heat from the fire helped to generate it’s own wind, and in those areas of extreme heat, the hot air was rising away from the fire while other air is rushing in with great force and it begins to produce twisters of fire. At 2:30 in the morning the fire once again jumps the river, and the rushing winds push smoldering ashes into the North District where the city’s only water pumping station resides. The roof of the station ignites and burns until it collapses in on itself and destroyed the city’s water supply. By 3:30 any and all hope of saving the city was lost. During the night of October 9th a strong cold front moves forward into the Chicago area. The temperature dropped from a blazing 85 degrees to a chilled 50. Along with this cold front, rain was brought on. The rain was caused by the cold front moving in and cause precipitation to occur over the