On this day in 1904, the Great Baltimore Fire began. In the fire, more than 1,500 buildings were completely leveled, and some 1,000 severely damaged. 1,231 firefighters helped bring the blaze under control, both professional paid truck and engine companies from the Baltimore City Fire Department (B.C.F.D.) and volunteers from the surrounding counties and outlying towns of Maryland, as well as out-of-state units that arrived on the major railroads. It destroyed much of central Baltimore, including over 1,500 buildings covering an area of some 140 acres.
One reason for the fire’s long duration involved the lack of national standards in firefighting equipment. Despite fire engines from nearby cities (such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. as well as units from New York City, Virginia, Wilmington, and Atlantic City) responding with horse-drawn pumpers, wagons and other related equipment (primitive by modern-day standards, but only steam engines were motorized in that era) carried by the railroads on flat cars and in box cars, many were unable to help since their hose couplings could not fit Baltimore’s fire hydrants.
At the time, firefighting practices and equipment were largely unstandardized, with each city having its own system. As time passed, these cities invested more in the systems that they already had, increasing the costs of any conversion. In addition, early equipment was often patented by its manufacturer.By 1903, over 600 sizes and variations of fire hose couplings existed in the United States. Despite efforts to establish standards being made since the 1870s, they had little effect: no city wanted to abandon its system, few saw any reason to adopt standards, and equipment manufacturers did not want competition.
As a result of the fire, Baltimore finally adopted a city building code after seventeen nights of hearings and multiple City Council reviews. The city’s downtown “Burnt District” was rebuilt using more fireproof materials, such as granite pavers. Public pressure, coupled with demands of companies insuring the newly re-built buildings, spurred the effort.
The National Fire Protection Association adopted a national standard for fire hydrant and hose connections. However, inertia remained. Conversion was slow and still remains incomplete. One hundred years after the Baltimore Fire, only 18 of the 48 most populous American cities were reported to have national standard fire hydrants.
Parenting…
Redneck Engineering or Appropriate Technology or Making do with what you got:
Today is the birthday, in 1948, of Jimmy Greenspoon, organist with Three Dog Night, who had the 1970 UK No.3 & US No.1 single with a cover of the Randy Newman song ‘Mama Told Me Not To Come’. The band scored 21 Billboard Top 40 hits (with three hitting No.1) between 1969 and 1975. He died on March 11 2015 after a long battle with cancer at the age of 67. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTCyjYjsVc8
