Үлкен және құлқылы өрттер

Large and destructive fire

A conflagration is a large fire. Conflagrations often damage human life, animal life, health, and/or property. A conflagration can begin accidentally or be intentionally created (arson). A very large fire can produce a firestorm, in which the central column of rising heated air induces strong inward winds, which supply oxygen to the fire. Conflagrations can cause casualties including deaths or injuries from burns, trauma due to collapse of structures and attempts to escape, and smoke inhalation. Firefighting is the practice of extinguishing a conflagration, protecting life and property and minimizing damage and injury. One of the goals of fire prevention is to avoid conflagrations. When a conflagration is extinguished, there is often a fire investigation to determine the cause of the fire.

During a conflagration a significant movement of air and combustion products occurs. Hot gaseous products of combustion move upward, causing the influx of more dense cold air to the combustion zone. Sometimes, the influx is so intense that the fire grows into a firestorm. Inside a building, the intensity of gas exchange depends on the size and location of openings in walls and floors, the ceiling height, and the amount and characteristics of the combustible materials. Industrial conflagrations include fires at oil refineries, such as the 2009 Cataño oil refinery fire. Wildfires are fires in forests or other undeveloped areas, and may grow into a conflagration. An urban conflagration is defined as a "large, destructive fire that spreads beyond natural or artificial barriers; it can be expected to result in large monetary loss and may or may not include fatalities. An urban conflagration moves beyond a block and destroys whole sections of a city." Notable examples includes the Great Fire of Tartu in 1775, the Great Fire of Turku in 1827, and the Great Fire of Hamburg in 1842. The Camp Fire in Paradise, California in 2018 burned 18,000 structures and killed 85 people. In some ships, a large uncontained fire may quickly lead to a ship conflagration. The conflagration of a building is known as a structure fire.

PlaceYearConflagrationNotesAlexandria, Egypt48 BCEBurning of the library of AlexandriaRome, Roman Empire64Great Fire of RomeLarge parts of ancient Rome destroyedBremen, Archbishopric of Bremen, Holy Roman Empire1041Fire of Bremenmost of the old city including the cathedral destroyedLübeck, County of Holstein, Holy Roman Empire11571157 Fire of LübeckDestruction of the cityLübeck, County of Holstein, Holy Roman Empire12511251 Fire of LübeckTriggered use of stone as a fire safe building materialLübeck, County of Holstein, Holy Roman Empire12761276 Fire of LübeckNorthern part of old city destroyed. Triggered system of fire protection. Last fire until the bombing of WW IIMunich, Duchy of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire1327Fire of MunichCa. 1/3 of the city destroyedBern, Switzerland14051405 Fire of Bern600 houses destroyed, over 100 deathsMoscow, Tsardom of Russia15471547 Great Fire of Moscow2,700 to 3,700 fatalities; 80,000 displacedMoscow, Tsardom of Russia15711571 Fire of Moscow10,000 to 80,000 casualtiesLondon, England1613Burning of the Globe TheatreDuring performance, cannon misfire caught the thatched roof on fire and the Theatre burned downAachen, Holy Roman Empire1656Fire of Aachen4,664 houses destroyed, 17 deathsEdo, Japan1657Great Fire of Meireki30,000 to 100,000 fatalities, 60 70% of the city was destroyedLondon, England1666Great Fire of London13,200 houses and 87 churches were destroyedRostock, Holy Roman Empire16771677 Fire of Rostockca. 700 houses destroyed. Accelerated the city's economic decline at the end of the Hanseatic periodCopenhagen, Denmark1728Copenhagen Fire of 17281700 houses destroyed (28% of the city), 15,000 people made homelessTartu, Estonia1775Great fire of TartuUp to 2/3 of the city was destroyedCopenhagen, Denmark1795Copenhagen Fire of 1795900 houses destroyed, 6,000 people made homelessKyiv1811Great Podil fireOver 2,000 houses, 12 churches and 3 abbeys razed, 30 deathsMoscow, Russian Empire18121812 Fire of MoscowEstimated that 75% of the city was destroyedHamburg, German Confederation1842Great Fire of Hamburg25% of the inner city destroyedSt. Louis, Missouri, U. S.1849Great St. Louis Fire430 homes and 23 ships destroyed, but only 3 deadSantiago, Chile1863Church of the Company Fire2,000 to 3,000 fatalitiesBrisbane, Queensland, Australia1864Great Fire of BrisbaneOver four city blocks burned with over 50 houses razed and dozens of businessesAtlanta, Georgia, U. S.1864Atlanta Campaign during American Civil WarAbout 11/12ths of the city burned: more than 4,000 houses, shops, stores, mills, and depots; only about 450 buildings escaped damagePortland, Maine, U. S.18661866 Great fire of Portland, Maine1800 structures destroyed on peninsula/downtown area; 10,000 left displaced and homelessPeshtigo, Wisconsin, U. S.1871Peshtigo FireResulted in most deaths by a single fire event in U. S. history (1500 2500)Chicago, Illinois, U. S.1871Great Chicago Fire200 to 300 fatalities; 17,000 buildings were destroyedBoston, Massachusetts, U. S.1872Boston FireOver 700 buildings destroyedMinneapolis, Minnesota, U. S.1874Great Mill Disaster18 believed fatalitiesNew York City, U. S.1876Brooklyn Theater Fire273–300 fatalitiesHoboken, New Jersey, U. S.1900Great Hoboken Pier Fire4 ships burned, killing up to 400 peopleJacksonville, Florida, U. S.1901Great Fire of 19018 hour fire destroyed over 2,300 buildings and displaced almost 10,000 peopleChicago1903Iroquois Theater FireDeadliest single building fire in U. S. history, with 602 victimsNew York City1904Burning of the steamship General SlocumOver 1000 fatalitiesSan Francisco, California, U. S.1906Result of the 1906 San Francisco earthquakeUp to 3000 victims; over 95% of city burnedChelsea, Massachusetts, U. S.1908First Great Chelsea Fire1500 buildings destroyed, 11,000 left homeless, when a fire at the Boston Blacking Company was fanned by winds and raced across the Chelsea Rag District, a several block area of dilapidated wood frame buildings housing textile and paper scrap. Half the city was destroyed. Same conditions and origin area of the Second Great Chelsea Fire (1973). Idaho, U. S.1910Massive forest fire known as the Big Burn burned out, 75 dead. New York City1911Triangle Shirtwaist Factory FireKilled 146 garment factory workers; 4th deadliest industrial disaster in U. S. historyTokyo, Japan19231923 Great Kantō earthquakeFire broke out following the earthquake, half the city was razed and over 100,000 diedColumbus, Ohio, U. S.1930Ohio Penitentiary fire322 fatalities, 150 seriously injuredBerlin, Germany1933Reichstag FireDestruction of the Reichstag, seat of the German ParliamentCoventry, England1940Coventry BlitzOver 800 fatalities; most of the city was destroyedStalingrad, U. S. S. R.1942Firestorm resulting from German air bombardment955 fatalities (original Soviet estimate)Boston1942Cocoanut Grove fireNightclub fire killed 492 and injured hundreds moreHamburg, Germany1943Firestorm resulting from air bombardment35,000 to 45,000 victims, of the city destroyedHartford, Connecticut, U. S.1944Hartford Circus Fire when tent burned168 killed and over 700 injuredDresden, Germany1945Firestorm resulting from Allied bombingUp to 25,000 fatalities during the three day bombing; of the city destroyedTokyo, Japan1945Devastating conflagration resulting from B 29 raids during Operation MeetinghouseUp to 100,000 fatalities and of the city destroyed; similar fires hit the Japanese cities of Kobe and OsakaHiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan1945Firestorm developed 30 minutes after the bombing of Hiroshima, but only a conflagration developed at NagasakiAtomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (see nuclear explosion)Texas City, Texas, U. S.1947Texas City disasterCargo ship Grandcamp caught fire and exploded, destroying most of the harbor and killing 600 peopleSeaside Heights & Seaside Park, New Jersey, United States1955The Freeman Pier FireAt least 30 businesses lost, 50 residents evacuated, no major injuriesChicago1958Our Lady of the Angels School Fire95 fatalities, 100 woundedSingapore1961Bukit Ho Swee Fire4 fatalities, over 2800 homes destroyed, 15,694 people left homelessBrussels, Belgium1967L'Innovation Department Store fire322 victims, 150 woundedGulf of Tonkin1967USS Forrestal fireFire aboard aircraft carrier during Vietnam War, killed 134 sailors and injured 161Tasmania, Australia19671967 Tasmanian firesSevere wildfires that claimed 62 lives, 900 injured, displaced 7,000, and destroyed of land including 1293 homesChelsea, Massachusetts, U. S.1973Second Great Chelsea Fire18 city blocks destroyed when a firestorm raced across the Chelsea Rag District, a several block area of dilapidated wood frame buildings housing textile and paper scrap. The same conditions and origin area of the First Great Chelsea Fire (1908)Southgate, Kentucky, U. S.1977Beverly Hills Supper Club fire165 fatalitiesMinneapolis1982Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day FireTwo people convicted of arson in setting fire to a Donaldson's department store, which in turn destroyed a full city block of downtown MinneapolisSan Juanico, Mexico1984San Juanico DisasterFire and explosions at a liquid petroleum gas tank farm killed 500 600 people and 5,000 7,000 others suffered severe burns; local town of San Juan Ixhuatepec devastatedBradford, England1985Bradford City stadium fire52 victimsLondon1987King's Cross fireConflagration in London Underground station killed 31 peopleWaco, Texas1993Mount Carmel Center, the compound of the Branch Davidians cultFinal day of the Waco siege, resulting in deaths of 76 cult members; question of who actually started the fires remains unansweredDabwali, India1995Dabwali tent fire540 deathsNew York City and Washington, D. C., U. S.2001September 11 attacks2,606 victims killed in New York City as fires caused both twin towers of the World Trade Center to collapse, following impacts by two hijacked airliners. In Washington, D. C., 125 victims at the Pentagon were killed by the hijacked plane crash and subsequent fire. West Warwick, Rhode Island, U. S.2003The Station nightclub fire100 killed and over 200 injured in fire at rock concertAsunción, Paraguay2004Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fireAlmost 400 fatalitiesHemel Hempstead, England2005Hertfordshire oil storage terminal fireThe largest fire in peacetime BritainGreece20072007 Greek forest fires84 victims in over 3,000 wildfires destroying of landVictoria, Australia2009Black Saturday bushfires173 victims in over 400 separate bushfires which burned Near Haifa, Israel2010Mount Carmel forest fire (2010)44 victims, of bush/forest destroyedComayagua, Honduras2012Comayagua prison fire382 fatalitiesKarachi and Lahore, Pakistan20122012 Pakistan garment factory firesAbout 315 fatalities, over 250 injured in 2 fires on a single daySanta Maria, Brazil2013Kiss nightclub fireAt least 232 fatalities and 117 hospitalizedSeaside Heights & Seaside Park, New Jersey, U. S.2013Boardwalk fireAt least 19 buildings destroyed, 30 businesses lost, no major injuriesRegional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta, Canada20162016 Fort McMurray WildfireDestroyed 2400 buildings and burned forcing the evacuation of 80,000 residents. London, United Kingdom2017Grenfell Tower fireOn 14 June 2017, a fire broke out in Grenfell Tower, causing the deaths of 72 people and injured 74. Sonoma County, California, U. S.2017Tubbs Fire36,807 acres burned, 5,400 structures destroyed, 22 fatalitiesPaço de São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil2018National Museum of Brazil fireOn 2 September 2018, a fire broke out at Paço de São Cristóvão in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which housed the 200 year old National Museum of Brazil. The museum held more than 20 million items, of which almost 90 percent were lost. Notre Dame de Paris2019Notre Dame de Paris FireThe fire of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris was a violent fire that erupted in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. It began at the end of the afternoon of April 15, 2019, on the roof of the building, causing considerable damage. The cathedral's needle and roof collapsed, and the interior and artefacts it housed were severely damaged.