Occurrences of the Wildfire/Urban Fire Hazard
The City of Galveston was the site of one of the worst urban fires in
Texas history. In November 1885, a fire began at a foundry at 17th
Street and Strand Avenue, in Galveston's Central Business District. A
stiff wind was blowing from the northeast, which carried sparks from
the fire several blocks. Within minutes, the fire had spread several
blocks, to 19th Street and Avenue O.
Galveston's first professional fire department was barely a month old
when the fire broke out, and was no match for the conflagration. The
pressure on its newly installed saltwater system proved insufficient,
and bits of shell clogged the nozzles of the fire hose. By the time it
burned itself out, the fire had consumed forty‐two blocks, and
destroyed 568 buildings and homes. More than $1 MM in damage (in 1885
dollars) was sustained. Despite this incredible level of damage, no
fatalities occurred because of the blaze. As a result of the Great
Galveston Fire of 1885, as the event came to be known, building
standards within the City were changed to require the use of fire
resistant materials within the Central Business District.
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