Great Fire of London (or Farynor) on Pudding Lane shortly after midnight on Sunday, 2 September, and spread rapidly west across the City of London. The major firefighting technique of the time was to create firebreaks by means of demolition; this was critically delayed owing to the indecisiveness of Lord Mayor of London Sir Thomas Bloodworth. By the time large-scale demolitions were ordered on Sunday night, the wind had already fanned the bakery fire into a firestorm that defeated such measures. The fire pushed north on Monday into the heart of the City. Order in the streets broke down as rumours arose of suspicious
Great Fire of Whitstable, 1869 Great Fire of Whitstable, 1869 The Great Fire of Whitstable in 1869 devastated the coastal town of Whitstable in Kent, England. On the evening of Wednesday, 16 November 1869, the fire swept through the closely built area along The Wall, west of the town's harbour. Given that the population of the town was a little under 2,000, the disaster that befell the little fishing harbour must have been big news across the region, as the fire drew a crowd of 10,000 spectators. It was the local coastguard, Edwin George Lane, who on 16 November at about 10.45pm spotted flames coming