List of fires

This is a list of historic disastrous fires. Before the 20th century, fires were a major hazard to urban areas and the cause of massive amounts of damage to cities. While a few of the most important wildfires or forest fires are included, this list is not the primary resource to refer to for the most severe wildfires, which is summarized in the List of forest fires.

Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone.
Jack London after the 1906 earthquake and fire[1]

City fires

Antiquity - 1899 AD

Views of Pittsburgh the day after the 1845 Great Fire. Detail from William Coventry Wall print, "Great Conflagration at Pittsburgh".

1900 - present

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Building or structure fires

BC

AD through 1800s

  • 70—Temple in Jerusalem (the second) burned by Roman Empire troops under general Titus
  • 272—Library of Alexandria possibly burned during occupation of Alexandria
  • 391—Library of Alexandria possibly burned by order of Roman Emperor Theodosius I
    Note: evidence is scant for all four fires, but the library was eventually destroyed
  • 1190—Fire at Clifford's Tower, York, England kills at least 150 Jews
  • 1561—Fire of Valladolid (21 September) destroys a tenth of the city, including 440 houses.
  • 1568—The Great Fire of Ferrol which reduced to rubble the old medieval town
  • 1577—Fire in the Doge's Palace, Venice, destroyed major works by Bellini, Titian and Tintoretto
  • 1608—First settlement in Jamestown burns
  • 1613—Globe Theatre, London burned due to mishap
  • 1652—Town hall of Amsterdam burnt down. Treasures and important historical charters were destroyed.
  • 1671—Much of the monastery of the Escorial outside Madrid burned in a fire lasting 15 days, destroying large numbers of artworks, books and manuscripts.
  • 1697—The medieval "Tre Kronor" Royal Castle in Stockholm burned down and was eventually replaced by the present palace.
  • 1698—The Tudor and Stuart Palace of Whitehall, London burned, except for Inigo Jones's Banqueting House. The ruins were demolished.
  • 1727—Fire during puppet show in barn at Burwell, Cambridgeshire, England, killed 78 (including 51 children)
  • 1731—Coudenbourg Royal Palace, Brussels, destroyed and never rebuilt.
  • 1734—The Royal Palace of the Alcazar, Madrid, burned on Christmas Eve. Eventually replaced by the present royal palace.
  • c.1750-1755—Wii Lax K'abit and Lax Ksiluux, two villages of the Nisga'a people on the Tseax River were destroyed by volcanic eruption
On the right, a white stone bridge arches over a wide river. On the far side and to the left, a gabled building is outlined in front of huge flames rising up to the night sky; they are reflected in the water and illuminate part of the bridge and a building with two towers in the background. There are several boats full of people in the river, and large crowds are assembled on the near bank and on the bridge.
J. M. W. Turner watched the fire of 1834 and painted several canvases depicting it, including The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons (1835).

1900–1950

1951–1975

1976–2000

2001–2013

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Ship fires

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Transport fires

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Mine Fires

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Forest and countryside fires

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References

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Last modified on 21 May 2013, at 16:18