Bowling Green Fire Department, Est. 1898 One Hundred and Thirteen Years of History: Fire History Image Gallery and Timeline

Seige of Constantinople

The history of fire stations dates back all the way to ancient Egypt. The first fire brigade in Rome dates back to 115 BC and was operated by Marcus Licinius Crassus. There were 100 fires per day in Rome alone.

64 - Great Fire of Rome.

406 - A great fire burns down much of Constantinople.

532 - The Nika riots result in the destruction of much of Constantinople by fire.

1135 - One of the two Great Medieval Fires of London. It destroyed most of the city between St Paul's and St Clement Danes in Westminster.

1204 - Constantinople burned three times during the Fourth Crusade.

Suthwark, 1212

1212 - One of the two Great Medieval Fires of London. Also known as the Great Fire of Suthwark, while trying to flee the city, up to 3,000 people died on London Bridge.

1421 - First Great Fire of Amsterdam.

1452 - Second Great Fire of Amsterdam, three quarters of the city destroyed.

1608 (or 1607) - First recorded fire in America, Jamestown, VA.

1676 - Jamestown, VA Nathanial Bacon and his followers burned Jamestown to prevent Governor Berkley from using it as a base.

London, 1666

1653 - Boston burns, leads to laws requiring all houses having at least one ladder. Also leads to public purchasing of fire equipment.

1666 - Great London Fire.

1728 - Copenhagen Fire of 1728, two-fifths of the city burned down during three days. 3,650 families became homeless.

1788 - Great New Orleans Fire.

1835 - New York

1838 - Charleston

1839 - Mobile, AL

1845 - Philadelphia

1848 - Albany

1849 - St. Louis, first US firefighter killed in the line of duty.

1851 - Cincinnati suffers major fire while volunteer firefighters riot. City commissions building of steam engine and organizes salaried department, fires also in Buffalo and Philadelphia.

1865 - Richmond, Virginia burned by retreating Confederates.

1871 - Great Chicago Fire.

1878 - The Great Fire of Hong Kong, destroyed 350 to 400 buildings across more than 10 acres (40,000 m²) of central Hong Kong.

1906 - San Francisco earthquake and fire.

WWII Air Raid Fire, London

Air-raids during World War II resulting in some of the world's deadliest fires:

1940 - Bombing of Rotterdam, 14 May 1940, forcing the capitulation of the Dutch government, 800 killed, 24.000 houses destroyed, 80.000 homeless.
1940 - The Second Great Fire of London, one of the most destructive air raids of The Blitz. 1,500 killed.
1943 - Hamburg, 45,000 killed (largest in an air-raid on Germany).
1943 - Kassel, 10,000 killed.
1944 - Braunschweig, 2,600 killed but 30,000 rescued.
1944 - Darmstadt, 12,000 killed.
1944 - Heilbronn, 6,500 killed.
1945 - Dresden, around 30,000 killed in firestorm during one of the most controversial Allied air-raids.
1945 - Pforzheim, a quarter of the town's population (17,000) killed.
1945 - Tokyo, causing the largest urban conflagration in history. Over 100,000 killed.
1945 - Würzburg, 5,000 killed.
1945 - Kobe, 8,800 killed.

1945 - Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two large city fires, one in Hiroshima and one in Nagasaki.

September 11, 2001 - al-Quaida terrorists attack the World Trade Center in New York City.

Source: Wikkipedia.com

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