History of firefighting Europe at the time, was the scene of several great fires in the 16th century. As a consequence, King Charles IX disbanded the residents' night watches and left the king's watches as the only one responsible for checking crimes and fires. London suffered great fires in 798, 982, 989, 1212 and above all in 1666 (the Great Fire of London). The Great Fire of 1666 started in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane, consumed about two square miles (5 km²) of the city, leaving tens of thousands homeless. Prior to this fire, London had no organized fire protection system. Afterwards,
Great Fire of Valparaíso La Pólvora area, and southwest of Parque del Puerto cemetery. ONEMI officials have reported "there is no doubt the fire was started by the intervention of third parties". It is also thought that contact by birds on an electrical transmission cable may have generated the initial spark for the wildfire, but an investigation by electricity provider company Chilquinta stated that the incineration of black vultures or any other birds was unlikely to have started the fire. The wildfire started on the afternoon of 12 April at 16:40 local time (19:40 UTC) in the Camino La Pólvora area near the El