11/9/1872: A mammoth fire in Boston destroys hundreds of buildings and forced the establishment of an entirely new system of firefighting and prevention.
There was not enough water on hand to get the fire under control;
The hydrant system did not work well because much of the equipment was not standardized;
The height of the buildings and the narrowness of the streets made it difficult to direct whatever water was available at the blaze from the optimum angle.
A local equine epidemic had struck the city fire department’s horses making it difficult to get the fire engines to the correct locations at the right times.
Explosions were used to attempt fire breaks, but this high-risk strategy was not executed with enough precision and served only to further spread the fire.
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Friday, November 9th, 2018 at
12:40 pm and is filed under
Fires/Wildfires, Historical, Historical Event .
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