|
 In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed over 20,000
structures in a single day. Chicago Mayor Joseph Medill, of the "Fireproof Party", delivered strong words during his inaugural address a few months after the tragedy, citing as a primary
cause of the fire the populous "blind, unreasoning infatuation in favor of pine for outside walls, and pine covered with paper and tar for roofs," which "of all building substances is the most
incendiary." Medill went on to state that "if we rebuild the city of this dangerous material, we have a moral certainty, at no distant day, of
a recurrence of the late catastrophe." His concern prompted him to declare that "the outside walls and roof of every building, to be hereafter erected
within the limits of Chicago, should be composed of materials as incombustible as brick, stone, iron, concrete or slate." Medill recognized the
importance of non-combustible materials almost 150 years ago, yet today we are still arguing for masonry construction to "contain" fire spread. And,
without stricter building codes, these devastating fires will put the public at greater risk.
|
