GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 887, 14 November 1871, Page 3

GREAT FIRES OF THE WORLD.

In view of the present terrible conflagration in Chicago, a short summary of great fires that have occurred in various parts of the world in years past, may not be uninteresting:—

THE LONDON FIRE. The great fire in London in 1866, during the reign of Charles 11., is probably without parallel in history. It began at a baker's house in Ruddington Lane, behind Monumental Yard, and destroyed in the space of four days, 89 churches (including St. Paul's) the City Gates, the Royal Exchange, the Custom House, Guildhall, Leon College, 'and many other public buildings, besides 13,200 houses, laying waste 400 streets. It extended over an area or 436 acres and the loss was estimated at that time 50,000,000 dollars, The narrow streets, the houses built entirely of wood, a dry season, and a violent east wind, were so many concurring circumstances, which rendered it easy to assign the reason of the destruction of so much property. The progress of this fire was only stopped when a number of buildings were blown up. The new york fires. The city of New Tork has, on different occasions, been visited with most disastrous fires, the largest of which occurred on December 26th, 1835, when a fire swept through the First Ward east of Broadway and below Wall street, destroying 648 stores and warehouses, and property valued at 20,000,000 dollars. In September, 1776, soon after passing into' the hands of the British, 500 buildings were consumed by fire. September 6th, 1839, forty-six buildings were destroyed, entailing a loss of 10,000,000 dollars ; and on July 19th, 1845, 302 stores and dwellings valued at 6,000,000 dollars. THE HAMBURG FIRE. On the sth of May, 1542, Hamburg, Germany, was visited by the fire fiend, and a tract nearly a mile square was burned over, being nearly one-third of the city ; 1747 houses were destroyed, laying waste sixty-one streets, and it raged three days. IN PHILADELPHIA. In April, 1845, 1000 buildings were destroyed by fire in Philadelphia, with a loss] of about 6,000,000 dollars ; and again, in July. 1850, a fire destroyed 350 buildings, with a loss of 3,000,000 dollars. This fire spread over a tract of fifteen acres. It commenced in a saltpetre warehouse, and, owing to an explosion occurred in the building soon after the fire started, the firemen could not be persuaded to go near the building, fearing another. At the fire 25 persons were killed, 9 drowned, and 120 wounded. FIR 3 IN CONSTANTINOPLE. In 1831 Constantinople suffered severely from a fire, in which 10,000 houses were destroyed, among which the palaces of nearly all the Ambassadors, and property estimated at 8,000,000 dollars. FIRK IN JEDO. In ISO 6, a fire in Jedo destroyed a large part of that city, including the palaces of thirty-seven princes, and in it some 1200 lives were lost. In 1854. an earthquake laid the greater part of the citv in ruins, and in the conflagration that followed, or in the falling buildings, it was estimated that at least 200,000 people perished. FIRE IN PORTLAND. On the Fourth of July, 1866, at. Portland, Maine, a fire cracker, thrown by a boy during the celebration of Independence Day, kindled a fire that destroyed the greater part of the city, and rendered 10,000 persons homeless. Eight churches, the banks, hotels, and newspaper offices were destroyed ; in all, property valued at 15,000,000 dollars. FIRE IN CHARLESTON. In April, 1838, 1158 buildings in Charleston, S. C, covering 145 acres of ground, were destroyed and in February 1865, the city was entirely destroyed together with great quantities of army and navy stores. THE CHICAGO CATASTROPHE. The destruction of Chicago by fire is an appalling catastrophe. There is no room to doubt that nearly all the whole of one of the foremost cities in the world is in ruins. All the business district, and a large area covered by residences are in ashes. The fire probably extended over 800 acres, and destroyed 500 blocks and 20,000 buildings, most of them of wood, for Chicago, except in the business streets, was mainly a wooden city, and to that fact and the prevalence of high winds, which are common there, the magnitude of the disaster is due. The heat from the wooden houses was so great that, in many blocks, supposed to be fire-proof, the mside woodwork took fire, though nothing combustible was exposed on the outside. The loss is estimated at 150,000,000 dollars, and of lives at not less than 50.,

The number of persons left without shelter is 100,000, and as Chicago has a population of 300,000, only one third of the dwellings are gone j but much more than two thirds ot the property of the city was in the business districts, which are swept away. For-> tunately for Chicago the loss does not fall on her alone; the insurance companies of all the la - ge cities in the Union, besides many in Europe, will

have to pay a considerable part of the damage, and tho funds thus received will be used to rebuild this great centre of trade. The winters, however, are very cold in latitude 41 deg. 30 min., in Lake Basin—too cold for the proper erection of buildings held together with mortar, and this may compel many persons to provide wooden houses who would prefer something more substantial.