The Great Fire (children's novel) down. Critics from the "Horn Book" described the novel as having "vivid first-hand descriptions by persons who lived through the 1871 Chicago fire are woven into a gripping account and absorbing the riveting reading". The Great Fire (children's novel) The Great Fire is a story for children and young adults, written by Jim Murphy about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which caused the destruction of most of the city of Chicago. "The Great Fire" was a Newbery medal honor book in 1996. The novel "The Great Fire" is about the great fire that happened in Chicago. The huge fire
Great Salem fire of 1914 consisted of 5,826 buildings on at an assessed valuation of US$37.25 million. The streets were wide. Building codes were dated, not mentioning standpipes, fire escapes, or sprinklers. Salem had 180 fire alarm stations or boxes that could be used to contact telephone operators. A long drought preceded the events of June 25, 1914. The Great Salem Fire started with a series of explosions, caused by a mixture of acetone, amalacitate, alcohol, and celluloid. At 1:37 p.m. (EDT) on June 25, 1914, a fire alarm box was used to report a fire in the Korn Leather Factory at 57 Boston Street.