Great Chicago Fire only of rain from July 4 to October 9, causing severe drought conditions before the fire, while strong southwest winds helped to carry flying embers toward the heart of the city. In 1871, the Chicago Fire Department had 185 firefighters with just 17 horse-drawn steam engines to protect the entire city. The initial response by the fire department was quick, but due to an error by the watchman, Matthias Schaffer, the firefighters were sent to the wrong place, allowing the fire to grow unchecked. An alarm sent from the area near the fire also failed to register at the courthouse
Great Fire of Toronto (1904) Station 233 has a model displaying the area of the fire. A 1904 film, "The Great Fire of Toronto", created by George Scott & Co. about the event, was the first to be shot in Toronto. A fictionalized account of the Fire was central to the Murdoch Mysteries episode, Great Balls of Fire. Part of the area cleared by the fire became the site of Union Station, built during the following decade. Great Fire of Toronto (1904) The Great Fire of Toronto of 1904 was a great fire that destroyed a large section of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April