The Great Boston Fire of 1872 stands as the largest fire in the history of Boston, Massachusetts, and ranks as one of the most costly fire-related property losses in American history. The conflagration began at 7:20 p.m. on November 9, 1872, in the basement of a commercial warehouse at 83–87 Summer Street. The fire was finally contained around midday on November 10, after it had consumed about of Boston's downtown, 776 buildings, and much of the financial district. It caused $73.5 million in damage —buildings losses totaled $13.5 million and the personal property loss was valued at $60 million.

Insurance

Building owners in Boston had few incentives to implement fire-safety measures. Buildings were often insured above value or at full value.

Fire alarm boxes

thumb|right|upright=.66|A fire alarm box in Boston in 2010

In 1852, Boston became the first city in the world to install telegraph-based fire alarm boxes. The boxes served as a fire warning system. If the lever inside of the alarm box was pulled, the fire department was notified, and the alarm could be traced back to the box via a coordinate system so that firefighters were dispatched to the correct location. All of the fire alarm boxes were kept locked from when the system was installed in 1852 until after the Great Fire of 1872 to prevent false alarms. A few citizens in each area of Boston were given a key to the boxes, and all other citizens had to report fires to the key-holders, who could then alert the fire department. In 1872, witnesses watched the fire spread before the area's key-holder was found and could unlock the alarm box to alert the Boston Fire Department. Twenty minutes after the fire was first noticed, firefighters arrived on the scene. The existing water main pipelines were old and leaky, making the pressure in the pipes lower than acceptable. When Damrell heard of the horse sickness, he preemptively hired an additional 500 men to replace the horsepower that would typically haul the engines and other equipment to the sites of fires.

Similarities to Great Chicago Fire

In 1871, Chicago had suffered massive destruction and an estimated 300 casualties in the Great Chicago Fire. Damrell, along with fire chiefs from various large cities, traveled to Chicago after the fire in an attempt to learn from the city's mistakes. Like Boston, Chicago buildings were made primarily of wood and building codes were not enforced, making the densely developed neighborhoods susceptible to fire. General Phil Sheridan, in charge of military relief in Chicago post-fire, did not condemn the city's use of gunpowder to blow up buildings to create firebreaks. In theory, a firebreak creates a gap in flammable material that serves as a barrier where the fire will run out of "fuel" to spread any further. However, many fire chiefs from Southern cities were firmly opposed to gunpowder-created firebreaks after having seen the destruction they caused in the Civil War. Damrell returned to Boston and continued to request funding for improved water infrastructure and fire equipment.

Events of the fire

Experts have deduced that the fire began in the basement of a warehouse on the corner of Kingston Street and Summer Street, at approximately 83–85 Summer Street. The fire spread through most of Boston's financial district which became known as the "burnt district." The glow of the fire was noted in ships' logs by sailors off the coast of Maine.

thumb|325x325px|A granite building on Pearl Street destroyed by fire

Timeline of events

Source:

  • 8 pm, November 9: all 21 of Boston's fire engines are at the scene of the fire.
  • 10 pm, November 9: the fire spread to a three block radius.
  • 12 am, November 10: the fire spread to a five block radius.
  • 4 am, November 10: the fire spread to the waterfront, destroying wharves and docked boats.
  • 6 am, November 10: the fire reached Washington Street and spread through the center of downtown.
  • midday, November 10: the fire is stopped and contained before it destroys Old South Meeting House.

Fire department response

At 7:24 pm, the first alarm was received from Box 52 at the corner of Summer Street and Lincoln Street. The first fire engine to arrive was Engine Co. 7 from a station at 7 East Street. The first water on the fire came from Hose Company 2 of Hudson Street.

Crowd control

During the fire, the narrow streets of Boston were packed with firefighters and their equipment as well as crowds of people. As building owners raced to retrieve valuables from their burning properties, looters ran in after them to collect whatever was left behind. Because the affected area was mostly commercial and not residential, spectators came from residential neighborhoods to watch the fire spread. Some historians estimate that over 100,000 bystanders watched the fire spread.

Notable buildings destroyed

  • The Boston Globe, newspaper
  • The Boston Herald, newspaper
  • Rice & Hutchins, a shoe manufacturer and distributor at 125 Summer St. Most notably, Congress Street, Federal Street, Purchase Street, and Hawley Street were widened. The restructuring allotted space to establish Post Office Square at the intersection of Milk, Congress, Pearl, and Water Streets. Some of the rubble from destroyed buildings was moved into the harbor to expand Atlantic Avenue. The forced reconstruction of the financial district brought about widespread, simultaneous building upgrades and updates, and many properties were rebuilt to suit the commercial nature of the district. The widening of roads and re-assembly of land plots into larger parcels also contributed to the rise in land values.

thumb|448x448px|Newly built Post Office|alt=|center

John Stanhope Damrell

thumb|John S. Damrell, chief engineer of the Boston Fire Department

A new committee, the Fire Commission, was established to oversee the Boston Fire Department and investigate the fire of 1872. John Damrell resigned from his position as chief engineer in 1874 in the wake of the Fire Commission's investigation. In 1874, Boston began replacing and repairing its water mains, one of Damrell's main causes during his career.

  1. Flammable and combustible building materials
  2. Excessive height buildings, beyond the reach of ground ladders
  3. Fire escapes
  4. Water supply
  5. Space between buildings
  6. Corridors and open stairways
  7. Fire alarms
  8. Fire department

In 1877, Damrell was appointed Boston's building commissioner. He served the Department of Building Inspection for 25 years, until his son succeeded him.

Remembrance

At the corner of Kingston and Summer Streets, a plaque was installed by The Bostonian Society to mark the start of the fire.

Old South Meeting House recognized the 138th anniversary of the fire in 2010 by displaying a partially restored Kearsarge fire engine.