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The Great New York City Fire of 1845 broke out on July 19, 1845. The fire started in a whale-oil and candle manufacturing establishment and quickly spread to other wooden structures in the neighborhood. It reached a warehouse on Broad Street where combustible saltpeter was stored and caused a massive explosion that spread the fire even farther.〔("The Great Fire -- Full Particulars of the Buildings Burnt -- Names of the Sufferers," ) ''New York Daily Tribune'', July 21, 1845, page 2.〕 Before it was subdued, the fire destroyed 345 buildings in Lower Manhattan in New York City and caused $5 million to $10 million in damage, as well as killing 4 firefighters and 26 civilians. The 1845 fire was the last of three great fires that affected the heart of Manhattan, including fires in 1776 and 1835. The 1845 fire was very destructive, but it affected mostly older wood-frame construction in a confined section of the city. This proved the efficacy of the fire-resistant building practices that had come into play in surrounding areas of the city in previous decades.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Charles Shelhamer, "How Fire Disaster Shaped the Evolution of the New York City Building Code" )〕 == Fire == The fire started at about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, 1845, on the third story of J. L. Van Doren, Oil Merchant and Stearin Candle Manufacturer, at 34 New Street in Manhattan, known as a seller of whale oil. The fire spread quickly to adjoining buildings. The City Hall alarm bell began to ring at about 3 a.m., summoning firefighters.〔〔Benson John Lossing, ''History of New York City: Embracing an Outline Sketch of Events from 1609 to 1830, and a Full Account of Its Development from 1830 to 1884, Volume 2'', Perine Engraving and Publishing Company, 1884, pp. 500-502.〕 Firefighters from the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), at that time a volunteer organization, arrived under the command of Chief Engineer Cornelius Anderson. As the fire grew, the FDNY personnel were joined by retired fire chiefs from the city and firefighting crews from Brooklyn, Newark, and Williamsburg.〔〔Terry Golway, ''So Others Might Live: A History of New York's Bravest'', Basic Books, 2002, pp. 80-84.〕 Firemen battling the blaze were aided by water flowing from the Croton aqueduct, which had been completed in 1842.〔("Post-Revolution: 1786–1865," New York City Fire Museum History )〕 The fire either weakened in intensity or had been subdued by firefighters by 1 p.m. that day.〔〔 During the ten and a half hours that it burned, the fire had destroyed buildings from Broad Street below Wall Street to Stone Street, up Whitehall Street to Bowling Green, and up Broadway to Exchange Place.〔New York (N.Y.). Board of Aldermen, ''Document, Volume 12'', The Board, 1846, pp. 177-353.〕 The fire killed 4 firefighters and 26 civilians. Buildings were reported destroyed on Broadway, New Street, Broad Street, Exchange Place, Beaver Street, Marketfield Street, Whitehall Street, and South William Street.〔〔〔 All told, the fire destroyed 345 buildings, doing property damage estimated at the time at between $5 million and $10 million. In today's currency, damages would be between $ and $. There were multiple reports of looting during the fire and in its aftermath, both of businesses and private residences. At least two elderly women reported being approached by young men who offered to help them move their belongings from their damaged buildings, only to have their valuables stolen.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Great New York City Fire of 1845」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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