Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Fire Extinguishers Chicago In The 1871 Disaster

By Cathy Mercer


Who knew a cow could set an entire city ablaze. She kicked over a lantern and thus began a conflagration that lasted two days and almost engulfed an entire town. If there had been sufficient fire extinguishers Chicago the crisis might not have been entirely averted, but it might have been less destructive. The Romans devised the first extinguishers two hundred years before Christ. These were very basic and consisted simply of lines of people passing buckets full of water back and forth.

Chicagoland, composed of the City of Chicago, Illinois, with extensions into Wisconsin and Indiana, is located on the southwest edge of Lake Michigan. Chicagoland is one of the most expansive urban conurbations in America, second only to L. A. And New York City.

Founded in 1837, the city continued to expand until it was nearly completely wiped out in the Great Fire of 1871. The city has been immortalized in numerous films, books, television shows and even computer games. It has earned the affectionate nicknames of "Second City" and "The Windy City."

Twenty miles northwest of the main town via Interstate Highway 90 is O'Hare International Airport. A wooded area known as Catherine Chevalier Woods separates the air field from the populated area. The airport is fully owned by the city and forms the hub of Air Force One, the US President's private jet, and two major national airline. Almost half of the flights are occupied by passengers from one major American airline.

Perhaps ironically, one of a very limited number of structures left standing following the Great Fire was the Chicago Water Tower. The tower is composed of Joliet limestone, somewhat yellow in color and described by British author, Oscar Wilde, as a somewhat clumsy structure to which it looked like someone had stuck a large number of pepper pots. Designed by William W. Boyington and built in 1869, the tower's castle-like appearance formed the inspiration for a family of restaurants.

From the Willis Tower Skydeck to the John Hancock Observatory, there is plenty to see and do in Chicagoland. A Chicago Architecture Foundation river boat tour will give you a chance to admire the many beautiful buildings of which the city is justifiably proud. Just imagine how many fire extinguishers Chicago buildings hold between them. There must be tens of thousands.

There was another grand city that endured a major conflagration that went down in history. London, England, also experienced a great fire in 1666. Here, squirts were employed to help put out the flames. These consisted of a nozzle that was placed into a source of water. Approximately a quart of water was drawn into the device via a plunger. The squirt was then pointed at the flames and the plunger was pushed to expel the contents.

Located where it is on the lake, with world class shopping and restaurants, numerous cultural attractions and inspiring architecture, this is an extremely popular place to live and work. Fortunately, there are now sufficient fire extinguishers Chicago to make sure history does not repeat itself.




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