Forgotten Fires of Chicago: The Lake Michigan Inferno and a Century of Flame

by John F. Hogan

Chicago's war against cinder, flame and smoke did not end with the Great Fire of 1871. That conflagration was only one engagement in a ceaseless and often unrecognized conflict, fought in the most unlikely places. In 1909, fire ripped through the dynamite room of a staging facility one and a half miles off the Lake Michigan shoreline, transforming the pipe-laying operation into a raging inferno. During the World's Columbian Exposition, thousands of fairgoers watched in horror as twelve firefighters were trapped in a blazing ice warehouse. An operagoer left a smoking bomb under his seat at the Auditorium Theater in 1917, and the newly invented smoke ejector arrived too late to save firemen and laborers cut off in a sewer in 1931. Join John Hogan and Alex Burkholder for the history of these forgotten fires and the heroes who fight them.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

146 pages, Hardcover

First published November 10, 2014

Reviews

[Kathy]

I wavered between 2 and 3 stars.

I found this an interesting (and terrifying) look into Chicago's history and how woefully unprepared the city is whether it be lacking proper infrastructure, equipment, or enough staff. I wish there had been better descriptions, pictures, or drawings of the equipment being used through the years to fight fires because I am not familiar with the differences between all the types of trucks and equipment.

The fact that the water and sewer system is crumbling, outdated, and beyond its useful frightens me because at any time the conditions could be right to have another fire of the same if not greater magnitude of those detailed in this book. The amount of people living in, working in, and traveling through the city keeps increasing so the loss of life could be catastrophic.

Certainly for anyone who is interested in Chicago history this is a worthwhile read.