Great Baltimore Fire

The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 raged in Baltimore, Maryland, from 10:48 a.m. Sunday, February 7, to 5:00 p.m. Monday, February 8, 1904. 1,231 firefighters were required to bring the blaze under control.

The fire was reported first at the John Hurst and Company building at 10:48 a.m. and quickly spread. By 1:30 p.m., units from Washington, DC, were arriving. To halt the fire, officials decided to use a firewall, and dynamited buildings around the existing fire. This tactic, however, was unsuccessful.

One reason for the fire's duration was the lack of national standards in fire-fighting equipment. Although fire engines from nearby cities (such as Philadelphia and Washington, as well as units from New York City, Wilmington, and Atlantic City) responded, many were useless because their hose couplings failed to fit Baltimore hydrants. High winds and freezing temperatures further contributed to both the severity of the fire and added difficulty for firefighters. [Baltimore: The Building of an American City, Sherry H. Olson, Published 1997, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (Md.), ISBN 080185640X, p. 246] As a result, the fire burned over 30 hours, destroying 1,545 buildings [Baltimore: The Building of an American City, Sherry H. Olson, Published 1997, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (Md.), ISBN 080185640X, p. 247] spanning 70 city blocks - amounting to over 140-acres. [The Architecture of Baltimore: An Illustrated History, Mary Ellen Hayward, Frank R. Shivers, Richard Hubbard Howland, Published 2004, JHU Press, Baltimore (Md.), ISBN 0801878063, p. 237]

Immediately afterward, Mayor Robert McLane was quoted in the Baltimore News as saying, "To suppose that the spirit of our people will not rise to the occasion is to suppose that our people are not genuine Americans. We shall make the fire of 1904 a landmark not of decline but of progress." He then refused assistance, stating "As head of this municipality, I cannot help but feel gratified by the sympathy and the offers of practical assistance which have been tendered to us. To them I have in general terms replied, 'Baltimore will take care of its own, thank you.'" Two years later, on September 10, 1906, the Baltimore-American reported that the city had risen from the ashes and "One of the great disasters of modern time had been converted into a blessing."

It was long believed that no lives were lost directly to the fire. Many books written on the Great Fire said no deaths occurred as a direct relation to the fire, and a plaque that commemorates the Great Fire also reads "Lives Lost: None." However, a recently rediscovered "Baltimore Sun" newspaper story from the time tells of the charred remains of a "colored man" being pulled from the harbor, near the area where the USS "Constellation" is currently docked, days after the fire.

In the aftermath, 35,000 people were made unemployed. After the fire, the city was rebuilt using more fireproof materials, such as granite pavers.

As a result of the fire a city building code was adopted. Public pressure, coupled with demands of companies insuring the newly re-built buildings, spurred the effort. The process took seventeen nights of hearings and multiple city council reviews. [Baltimore: The Building of an American City, Sherry H. Olson, Published 1997, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (Md.), ISBN 080185640X, p. 248]

H. L. Mencken survived the fire, but the offices of his newspaper, the "Baltimore Herald", were destroyed. He relates the fire and its aftermath in the last chapter of "Happy Days", the first volume of his autobiography. He writes that he enters a boy, "fueled by the hot gas of youth, and emerged almost a middle-aged man."

The fire is also memorialized in the folk song "Baltimore Fire."

:"Fire fire I heard the cry":"From every breeze that passes by":"All the world was one sad cry of pity":"Strong men in anguish prayed":"Calling out to the heavens for aid":"While the fire in ruins was laid":"Fair Baltimore the beautiful city"

Over $150,000,000 worth of damage was done.

References

See also

* List of historic fires

External links

* Jensen, Brennen (September 3, 2003) [http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=2321 Charmed Life: Lives Lost: One] "Baltimore City Paper"
* Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage Project [http://www.mdch.org/fire/#]
* Pictures from the National Photo Company Collection: [http://www.shorpy.com/node/4436] [http://www.shorpy.com/node/4437] [http://www.shorpy.com/node/4447] [http://www.shorpy.com/node/4454] [http://www.shorpy.com/node/4469] [http://www.shorpy.com/node/4541] "Shorpy"