The Historical Origin of Fire Prevention Week
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 O'Leary -
kicked over a lamp, setting first the barn, then the whole city on
fire. Chances are you've heard some version of this story yourself;
people have been blaming the Great Chicago Fire on the cow and Mrs.
O'Leary, for more than 130 years. But recent research by Chicago
historian Robert Cromie has helped to debunk this version of events.
The 'Moo' myth
Like any good story, the 'case of the cow' has
some truth to it. The great fire almost certainly started near the
barn where Mrs. O'Leary kept her five milking cows. But there is no
proof that O'Leary was in the barn when the fire broke out - or that
a jumpy cow sparked the blaze. Mrs. O'Leary herself swore that she'd
been in bed early that night, and that the cows were also tucked in for the evening.
But if a cow wasn't to blame for the huge fire, what was? Over the years, journalists and historians have
offered plenty of theories. Some blamed the blaze on a couple of
neighborhood boys who were near the barn sneaking cigarettes. Others
believed that a neighbor of the O'Leary's may have started the fire.
Some people have speculated that a fiery meteorite may have fallen
to earth on October 8, starting several fires that day - in Michigan
and Wisconsin, as well as in Chicago.
The biggest blaze that week
While the Great Chicago Fire was the best-known
blaze to start during this fiery two-day stretch, it wasn't 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.
Eight decades of fire prevention
Those who survived the Chicago and Peshtigo
fires never forgot what they'd 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, US 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
Administration's 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.
"Reproduced from NFPA's Fire Prevention Week Web site,
http://www.firepreventionweek.org/. (c) 2007 NFPA."
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