One of the most well-known disasters in the UK that most people have at the very least heard of, is the great fire of London. The fact that it happened in 1666 is testament to the impact that it had on London and the UK as a whole. Leaving the city a smoking shell of its former self and causing changes that made a big impact on many people in and around the city. The fire started in a fairly mundane way – a bakery on the aptly named Pudding Lane is believed to have been the starting pont.
The bakery was well known as it provided bread to the king – Charles II at the time. A single sparked leapt from the oven and ignited some nearby materials starting a small fire. Of course, at this time most buildings in London were built from timber and the roofs were usually thatched – this means that the whole of London was basically a bonfire wating to catch fire. With homes and workplaces so tightly packed together in the city, this was really a recipe for disaster.
It was also the end of summer which had been long and dry – not unlike the summer we had this year in fact – so this had dried everything out more meaning that it was easier to ignite.
Winds helped to spread the fire and nearby warehouses that contained other flammable materials such as oil and ropes of course helped to spread the fire even further. There was no modern fire fighting equipment to combat this spreading fire in that day and age either – of course now we have lots of fire safety equipment and awareness provided by places like this fire risk assessment Gloucester based company – but back then there was no such thing.
The fire burned for four days and was eventually curtailed by the weaker wind stopping it from spreading. To help stop it, extreme measures were also used- buildings were demolished to create larger gaps which stopped the fire from spreading. By this point, much of the city as it had been, was completely destroyed. This helped to save some buildings, a handful of which are still standing today, such as All Hallows by the Tower church and St Olave church on Hart Street.
Once the damage could be assessed it was very apparent that it was extensive. Many important buildings were burned to the ground including the original St Pauls Cathedral as well as over 13,000 homes. This made homelessness one of the most serious immediate consequences of the fire. Although many people escaped the fire, many of them had taken only a few things that they could carry or nothing at all, and with around 100,000 people with nowhere to go, many makeshift shelters were set up in surrounding fields. Some who were fortunate to have family or friends to stay with went there.
Food and some assistance were provided to the people affected, however replacing the lost buildings took many years.
In addition to the homelessness that was caused by the fire, it also had a huge impact on businesses. Premises and stock were lost in the blaze, and many people lost their livelihoods overnight, leading to great numbers of people suddenly plunged into poverty.
There were some positive consequences of the fire however – with around eighty percent of the city destroyed, it offered the opportunity to rebuild and improve the way that the city was designed. New and improved buildings were put up, most famously perhaps with the help of Sir Christopher Wren who designed the St Pauls Cathedral that we know today.
New building rules were also put in place to help reduce the chances of such a serious fire taking hold again – buildings were ordered to be constructed from brick and stone instead of timber.
Another thing that came out of this was fire insurance – because there had been no contingency in place for the people that suffered huge financial losses, insurance companies started to offer protection against fire, and some even started their own firefighting teams to protect the insured properties, helping to advance firefighting as a whole.
This fire helped to make huge and long lasting changes to the way that things were done in the UK – bringing in rules to help make things safer from fires, as well as raising awareness about fire safety and the consequences of fire. Much of London as we see it now could have been very different if the fire hadn’t have taken hold that day, which is why this fire is still so well known and considered such an important part of history even to this day.
