Baltimore Burns: 1,500 Buildings Destroyed in 30 Hours
The Great Baltimore Fire burned for 30 hours because fire departments from other cities couldn't help. Their hoses didn't fit Baltimore's hydrants. Every city had different coupling sizes. Firefighters stood watching buildings burn, holding equipment they couldn't connect. 1,500 buildings gone. The disaster forced America to standardize fire hose couplings nationwide. Sometimes it takes losing 140 acres of a city to agree on threading.
February 7, 1904
122 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on February 7
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