In October we celebrate Fire Prevention Week. The great Chicago Fire burned from Oct. 8 to Oct, 10, 1871. Three years later, in 1874, the City of Naperville purchased the Joe Naper pumper. The plan was to use the pumper to draft water from the DuPage River to put out fires. This action would be more effective than relying on a bucket brigade to stop fires. The Joe Naper pumper is now stored at Naper Settlement and can still be used to pump water.
In time, better fire equipment was created and people decided that in addition to working to suppress fires, they should also consider trying to prevent fires.
In 1903, the Iroquois Theater was built in Chicago. The builders said it was fireproof. William Clendenin, the editor of Fireproof Magazine, disagreed. Unfortunately, Mr. Clendenin was correct. A horrible fire occurred on Dec. 30, 1903, and 602 people died. This tragic event led to new codes for public safety. Exit signs would be required above doors and the lights for the exit signs would be battery operated so they would stay lit in case of a loss of electricity. The owners of the theater had locked most of the exit doors to prevent people from entering without paying for a ticket. After the fire, panic bars were designed so that the security of a building could be maintained; and people could freely exit in case of an emergency.
Chicago again experienced a tragic fire on Dec. 1, 1958, at Our Lady of Angels School. Ninety-five teachers and young students died. Pictures in the newspaper showed students jumping from windows to get away from the flames. The firefighters found victims who died of asphyxiation in a classroom untouched by flames. There wasn’t a safe way to evacuate the classroom. There was no quick way to alert the fire department that a fire had started. New codes were created as a result of this fire. A fire alarm box would be located on the street outside of every school. Stairways would be enclosed to prevent the spread of a fire and to try to preserve a safe exit for students. All schools would have mandatory fire drills so teachers and students would know what to do in case of an emergency.
From 1983 to 2002, Naperville was represented in the Illinois House of Representatives by Mary Lou Cowlishaw. Before she retired, she achieved her goal to get a bill passed that would require sprinkler systems in all new schools built in Illinois. It is appropriate that a Naperville school bears her name.
The fight to keep us safe from fire continues today. Citizens of Naperville are fortunate to have dedicated members of the Naperville Fire Department who continue to focus on preventing fires and fire loss instead of focusing only on fire suppression when fires occur. For them, every week is Fire Prevention Week.
An extra thought about fires…
While Chicago burned in 1871, the Peshtigo Forest near Green Bay also burned. That fire involved thousands of acres. While few fatalities occurred in the Chicago fire, it is estimated that between 1,000 and 2,100 settlers died in the Peshtigo fire. Some of the survivors of that fire had fled to a small 6-acre plot of land where Our Lady of Good Help Church and School were located. After the fire was out, the outside of the picket fence surrounding the six acres was charred while the inside of the fence remained white. The people on the inside of the fence were saved. No one can explain that phenomenon.
