Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871. According to popular legend, the fire broke out after a cow - belonging to Mrs. Catherine OLeary - kicked over a lamp, setting first the barn, then the whole city on fire. People have been blaming the Great Chicago Fire on Mrs. OLeary’s cow for more than 130 years. It’s even been the subject of newspaper comic strips throughout the years and more recently has been made into a meme. But recent research by Chicago historian Robert Cromie has helped to debunk this version of events. The great fire almost certainly started near the barn where Mrs. OLeary kept her five milking cows, but there is no proof that a jumpy cow sparked the blaze. Mrs. OLeary herself swore that shed been in bed early that night, and that the cows were also tucked in for the evening. Mrs. O’Leary’s place, a small shed that bordered the alley behind 558 DeKoven Street, is now home to the Chicago Fire Academy. On the first floor of this academy, down a hallway, a maltese cross is painted on the floor. It is said that this cross marks the actual location of the OLeary barn. While the Great Chicago Fire was the best-known blaze to start during this fiery two-day stretch, it wasnt the biggest. That distinction goes to the Peshtigo Fire, the most devastating forest fire in American history. The fire, which also occurred on October 8th, 1871, and roared through Northeast Wisconsin, burning down 16 towns, killing 1,152 people, and scorching 1.2 million acres before it ended. Historical accounts of the fire say that the blaze began when several railroad workers clearing land for tracks unintentionally started a brush fire. Before long, the fast-moving flames were whipping through the area like a tornado, some survivors said. It was the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin that suffered the worst damage - within an hour, the entire town had been destroyed. Those who survived the Chicago and Peshtigo fires never forgot what theyd been through; both blazes produced countless tales of bravery and heroism. But the fires also changed the way that firefighters and public officials thought about fire safety. On the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the Fire Marshals Association of North America (today known as the International Fire Marshals Association), decided that the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire should henceforth be observed not with festivities, but in a way that would keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention. The commemoration grew incrementally official over the years. In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls. According to the National Archives and Records Administrations Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:00:00 +0000
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