Summerland Holiday Center Fire – 1973

10 years ago

If ever there was a contrast between the high hopes of a project’s designers and that project’s eventual outcome, the…

Our Lady of the Angels School Fire – 1958

10 years ago

The particular horror of school fires is that in addition to the personal tragedy of each child’s death, the fire…

Chongqing Waterfront Fire – 1949

10 years ago

Chongqing’s importance is geographical: it sits on a hilly peninsula overlooking the confluence of the Yangzi and its principal tributary,…

Ballantyne’s Department Store Fire – 1947

10 years ago

The arcaded facade of Ballantyne’s Department Store made a grand statement in the heart of Christchurch on South Island. Since…

The Dresden Firestorm – 1945

10 years ago

Symbolically, Dresden ended what began in Coventry. Early 1945 was getting towards the end of World War II. The Russians…

Hartford Circus Fire – 1944

10 years ago

The disaster got its name from a front-page photograph of Emmett Kelly carried by the Hartford Courant. Kelly was the…

Cocoanut Grove Fire – 1942

10 years ago

The only entrance to the Cocoanut Grove was the revolving front door. Other exits had been bricked or welded shut…

The Blitz on London – 1940-1941

10 years ago

The Blitz was not a single event. It was a World War II ordeal by fire and bombing that lasted…

Laurier Palace Theatre Fire – 1927

10 years ago

The Laurier Palace movie theatre in Montreal was nearly full for the Sunday matinee. The audience of 800 consisted mainly…

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire – 1911

10 years ago

If any single incident could provide a manifesto for the existence of labor unions, it is the horrific fire that…