Government Technology

Rising From the Ashes


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May 8, 2007 By

In the 100 days leading up to Oct. 8, 1871, about an inch of rain had fallen in Chicago. Most of the city was pieced together with wood, including the sidewalks and roads, which were basically plank slats laid across dirt, said Peter Alter, curator of the Chicago History Museum.

At the time, Chicago was one of the fastest growing cities in America, but loose construction standards allowed builders to erect ramshackle wooden cottages and shoddy four- to five-story wood buildings. 

"The absence of rain for three weeks," reported the Chicago Tribune in 1871, "has left everything in so flammable a condition that a spark might set a fire that would sweep from end to end of the city."

The Great Chicago Fire that followed the drought quickly overwhelmed firefighters, who were slow to react, and surprised officials who hadn't invested in firefighting tools.

Chicago, however, learned from its mistakes, and today its high-tech fire fleet uses an array of new equipment to improve firefighting, communication and emergency life-saving methods.


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