Toronto's largest fire was visible from Buffalo, they sent a crew to aid
On this day in weather history, the Great Fire of Toronto of 1904 burned a large portion of the city's downtown region.
This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.
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On Tuesday, Apr. 19, 1904, a Toronto Police constable was doing his job, looking out for the safety of the city, when he spotted flames coming from E & S Currie Limited's neckwear factory, located at 58 Wellington Street West.
He spotted the fire at 8:04 p.m. at what is now the TD Bank Tower. Immediately, there were 17 fire halls alerted.
The mayor at the time, Thomas Urquhart, messaged the deputy fire chief to see if he needed assistance. The deputy said, “We need all the assistance we can get.”
The fire was visible from Buffalo, New York. Firefighters from the American city came to help control the fire.
Front Street West. Apr. 1904. Courtesy of Photographer: W.J. Whittingham/City of Toronto Archives (Fonds 1408, Item 2)
It was a windy night, giving the fire the fodder to spread quickly. It blazed for nine hours, destroying more than 100 buildings. Wellington Street West and Yonge Street were not too damaged because the Kilgour Brothers factory had an ever so effective sprinkler system.
"Fire insurance map depicting the area damaged by the fire." Courtesy of Wikipedia
John Croft was the only person who died. He was an explosive expert and he died while clearing the ruins from the fire.
Cleaning up after the fire. Apr. 1904. Courtesy of City of Toronto Archives (Series 402, Item 8)
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Though the fire was officially "under control" by 4:30 a.m. the next morning, small fires sporadically broke out for the next few days. The remains from the fire smouldered for two weeks.
The fire, dubbed the Great Fire of Toronto of 1904, is the city's largest fire to date. Fifteen years prior, a fire broke out in the St. Lawrence Market area of the city, but it was much smaller in size.
To learn more about the Great Fire of Toronto of 1904, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."
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Thumbnail: Front Street after the fire. Courtesy of Wikipedia
