The 12 Worst Fires of All Time

The 12 Worst Fires of All Time book cover — THE 12 WORST FIRES OF ALL TIME by Laura Perdew 12 story library

The 12 Worst Fires of All Time — page 1 — 1 Fire Sweeps Through Edo Japan The night of January 18 1657 was very cold in Edo Japan Strong winds raced through the city from the north People struggled to keep warm According to legend a fire began in a home From there it spread quickly Flames consumed the wooden buildings crowded together on narrow streets The wind fed the fire The winds were so fierce that people had little or no warning about the growing fire Thousands were trapped Many died trying to escape By the time firefighters were called out the fire had spread across the city The wind had driven it over two different rivers On January 19 the wind pushed the fire toward the Edo Castle Several towers were burned But firefighters saved the castle itself The fire was finally contained on January 20 It continued to smolder for days The terrible blaze is known as the Great Fire of Meireki because it happened near the start of the This handscroll painting of the Great Fire of Meireki dates back to 1814

The 12 Worst Fires of All Time — page 2 — The Imperial Palace now stands on the former site of Edo Castle Meireki era in Japanese history It destroyed about 60 percent of the city Officials estimated that between 30,000 and 100,000 people died in the fire Given the number of deaths individual burials were impossible Pits were dug for the dead Monks said prayers for individuals as they were placed in the pits Once covered a memorial hall was built over the mass graves It is called the Eko-In which means Temple of Prayer for the Dead 2 Number of years it took to rebuild Edo after the fire Once the fire started it spread quickly between the wooden buildings Tens of thousands of people died trying to escape The fire threatened the Edo Castle but firefighters were able to save it The dead were buried in mass graves

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