The myth, the legend, the famous Mrs. O’Leary’s cow and the Great Chicago Fire. While many people still believe this milking cow is the reason that more than 250 people were killed, 100,000 left homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres but the truth remains a mystery. There are theories by historians and journalists that vary from the jumpy cow to young boys smoking cigarettes near the barn where the blaze indeed began, as well as a fiery meteorite that may have fallen to earth on that October 8th and sparked fires across the midwest, including Michigan and Wisconsin. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.
While the Great Chicago Fire is the most popular of the fires on that fateful October day in 1871, the Peshtigo roared through Northeast Wisconsin, burning down 16 towns, killing 1,152 people, and scorching 1.2 million acres before it ended. Tragedies within 250 miles of each other engulfed a community of awareness and in 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls.
Each year the National Fire Prevention Week’s theme changes and this year, the theme is, “It’s Fire Prevention Week! Protect Your Family From Fire!”. You can gather more information about this safety week here: http://www.nfpa.org