"This Is the End of Chicago!"

Thirteen-year-old Bessie Bradwell walked through Chicago’s streets. All around her, the city was burning. Flames shot high into the air. Hunks of burning wood came falling from the sky.  

It was October 8, 1871. The city of Chicago, Illinois, was on fire. Hundreds of buildings had already burned to the ground. Thousands of people filled the streets. Their screams rose over the fire’s crackling roar.  

Worst of all, Bessie couldn’t find her parents and brother. Soon, much of Chicago would be destroyed.

And Bessie was on her own.

Bessie Bradwell walked through Chicago’s streets. She was 13 years old. The city was burning all around her. Flames shot high into the air. Hunks of burning wood came falling from the sky.    

It was October 8, 1871. The city of Chicago, Illinois, was on fire. Hundreds of buildings had already burned. Thousands of people filled the streets. Their screams rose over the crackling sounds of the fire. 

Even worse? Bessie couldn’t find her parents and brother. Soon much of Chicago would be destroyed.

And Bessie was on her own.

It was 1871. The city of Chicago, Illinois, was an exciting place to live. It was becoming one of the most important cities in the country.

But on October 8, a fire started in Chicago. Thousands of people ran into the streets. Thirteen-year-old Bessie Bradwell was one of them. She couldn’t find her family. Soon much of Chicago would be destroyed.

And Bessie was on her own.

Today technology helps keep us safe from most deadly fires. Smoke alarms wake us up right after a fire starts. Firefighters race through the streets in speedy fire trucks. Robots and flying machines help stop fires quickly.

But this technology wasn’t around when Bessie was growing up. Firefighters rode horses (or wagons pulled by horses) through crowded streets. They had to put out fires without the high-tech tools we have today.

Chicago was better prepared for fires than most cities. It had about 200 firefighters. But this number was still not enough for a city of Chicago’s size. 

There were other problems within the city too. Nearly everything was made of wood: the houses, the buildings, and even the streets and sidewalks. Wood is very flammable. 

Plus, the summer of 1871 was far hotter and drier than normal. There was a drought in Chicago. Only about an inch of rain fell between July and September. 

By October, fires were breaking out several times a day. On October 7, a monster fire destroyed four blocks. Firefighters fought the fire for hours. They were exhausted. And an even bigger disaster was just hours away.

Today technology helps keep us safe from most deadly fires. Smoke alarms wake us up right after a fire starts. Firefighters rush through the streets in speedy fire trucks. Robots and flying machines can help stop fires quickly.

But this technology wasn’t around when Bessie was growing up. Some firefighters rode horses through crowded streets. Others used wagons pulled by horses. They didn’t have the high-tech tools we use today.

Chicago was better prepared for fires than other cities. It had about 200 firefighters. But that was not enough for a city as big as Chicago. 

There were other problems too. Nearly everything was made of wood: the houses, the buildings, and even the streets and sidewalks. Wood is very flammable. 

Plus, the summer of 1871 was far hotter and drier than normal. There was a drought in Chicago. Only about an inch of rain fell between July and September. 

By October, fires were breaking out several times a day. On October 7, a huge fire destroyed four blocks. Firefighters fought the fire for hours. They were exhausted. And an even bigger fire was just hours away.

On October 8, strong winds blew into Chicago. The weather was hot, dry, and windy. That’s perfect for a fire to spread. The fire broke out in a barn.

Bessie and her family woke up to the smell of smoke. They made a plan. But Bessie got caught in a crowd. She was separated from her family. Bessie joined a crowd of people crossing a bridge. A man screamed: “This is the end of Chicago!”

Firefighters ran to help. They bravely fought the fire. But there were too few of them. The fire burned entire blocks. 

The Great Chicago Fire finally ended the next night. Hundreds of homes were destroyed. Streets were filled with debris. Three hundred people died.

But people came together to rebuild Chicago. New laws were passed to make the city safer. The laws said new buildings had to be made from brick and stone. Those materials don’t burn as easily as wood. Today, Chicago is America’s third-largest city. 

Bessie always remembered the man on the bridge. Bessie told him the city would rise again. And she was right. 

On Sunday, October 8, strong winds blew into the Chicago area. That night, a fire broke out in a barn in the southwest part of the city. The weather was hot, dry, and windy: the perfect conditions for a fire to spread. 

Gigantic waves of fire swept through the city. Bessie and her family woke up to the smell of smoke. Right away, they knew their house was in danger. 

Quickly, Bessie’s parents made a plan. Bessie would go with her father to his office. They had to rescue his books. Then the family would all meet at a park. 

Bessie and her father made it to the office. But they were later separated. Bessie was caught in the middle of a crowd. Her family was nowhere in sight.  

On Sunday, October 8, strong winds blew into the Chicago area. That night, a fire broke out in a barn. The barn was in the southwest part of the city. The weather was hot, dry, and windy. These are the perfect conditions for a fire to spread. 

Big waves of fire moved through the city. Bessie and her family woke up to the smell of smoke. Right away, they knew their house was in danger. 

Quickly, Bessie’s parents made a plan. Bessie would go with her father to his office. They had to save his books. Then the family would all meet at a park. 

Bessie and her father made it to the office. But they were later separated. Bessie was caught in the middle of a crowd. She couldn’t see her family anywhere. 

At the same time, firefighters rushed to help. They bravely fought the fire. But there were too few of them. And their tools weren’t powerful enough to stop all the flames. The wind carried embers over firefighters’ heads. New fires burned everywhere they looked. 

Fires in different neighborhoods joined together to form one giant fire. It was now hundreds of yards wide and growing fast. As Bessie wandered the streets, flames flew out of buildings. Entire blocks burned within minutes. The sky glowed orange as the fire grew bigger and bigger. 

At last, Bessie saw two friends of her parents. They led her to a bridge. What was on the other side? There was no time to think. Bessie looked over her shoulder as they ran across the burning bridge. Hundreds of people ran with them. A man next to Bessie screamed: “This is the end of Chicago!”

At the same time, firefighters ran to help. They bravely fought the fire. But there were too few of them. And their tools weren’t strong enough to stop all the flames. The wind carried embers over firefighters’ heads. New fires burned everywhere. 

Fires in different neighborhoods came together to form one giant fire. It was now hundreds of yards wide. It was growing fast. As Bessie walked through the streets, flames came out of buildings. Entire blocks burned within minutes. The sky glowed orange. The fire grew bigger and bigger. 

At last, Bessie saw two friends of her parents. They led her to a bridge. What was on the other side? There was no time to think. 

Bessie looked over her shoulder as they ran across the burning bridge. Hundreds of people ran with them. A man next to Bessie screamed: “This is the end of Chicago!”