THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON OF 1666 - 1500 Words

THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON OF 1666 The Great Fire of London of 1666 that was started by Thomas Farrinor’s bakery caused the destruction of 80 percent of London and led to the creation of insurance and firefighting companies. The fire marked a time of rebirth for the British capital since the city had to rebuild entirely. The fire was quite an interesting event owing the fact that it caused such an extreme amount of destruction and took the lives of only six people. Londoners remember the seventeenth century as a time of desolation, but the events that occurred have impacted the world today. With the creation of insurance and firefighting, not only are people protected, but their property also. As a rule, builders in seventeenth-century†¦show more content†¦Farrinor immediately ran upstairs and when he reached the top, he saw flames, but the flames were not near his ovens, or even close to a pile of wood near the ovens (Shields 80-81). The family then searched for an esc ape route out of the house (Alagna 4). Unable to exit downstairs due to a blocked path, the Farrinor family fled to the roof. The family begged their maid to follow them but she was more afraid of heights than the fire. She stayed in the house and was the first person to die in the Great Fire. The family, however, continued across rooftops until they were safe from the fire (Shields 81). Subsequently, the flames were halfway across London Bridge soon after the fire was started. Two groups of buildings, separated by a clearance, sat on London Bridge (Alagna 19). Pieces of the burning buildings fell into the river causing the water to turn into smoke and steam (Hanson 53). The sights and sounds of the London Bridge burning and falling in the water, created a dark perception for onlookers. The previously mentioned clearance in the London Bridge was a successful firebreak in an earlier fire, and it was successful again in the Great Fire. London was lucky that only one-third of London B ridge burned (Alagna 19). Furthermore, the fire continued to spread rapidly. Huge pieces of wood fell, burning and blazing, forming bridges for the fire to spread to other buildings. Every house became fuel to the fire, so it could growShow MoreRelatedThe Great Fire Of London1142 Words   |  5 PagesSeptember 2, 1666, a monstrous inferno incinerated nearly eighty-percent of London within four days. This calamity caused thousands of frightened people to become homeless. The Great Fire of London portrays the harsh reality of a devastating catastrophe: the burning of an entire city and the steps taken towards the recreation of a thriving empire. 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