On October 8, 1871, there was a huge fire that burned down all of Chicago, and killed up to 300 people. The exact cause of the fire is unknown, however, the fire did originate around the O’Leary’s cottage. There have been a few theories discussed about how the fire was started. Some people say that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern which then started a fire. Others state that a group of men were gambling in the barn, and accidently knocked over a lantern which started a fire. Lastly, some people speculate the fire was caused by a travelling spark that came from other fires burning in the midwest that same day. While we don’t know the exact reason for the fire, we do know that it caused severe damage. …show more content…
The building style of the structures had wood framing known as balloon frames. Also, the buildings were roofed with flammable tar or shingle roofs. To add to the problem, the City was suffering through drought conditions due to a lack of rain, so everything was very dry. At the time, the Chicago fire department had 185 firemen, and just 17 horse-drawn steam engines. The fire damage was severe. It burned for 2 days, scorched 2,112 acres, and destroyed 17,500 buildings. The fire destroyed more than 73 miles of roads, 120 miles of sidewalk, 2,000 lampposts, and $222 million dollars in property