List of historic fires

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This is a list of historic fires. Before the 20th century, fires were a major hazard to urban areas and the cause of massive amounts of damage to cities. While a few of the most important wildfires or forest fires are included, this list is not the primary resource to refer to for the most severe wildfires, which is summarized in the List of forest fires.

"Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone." – Jack London after the 1906 earthquake and fire^[1]

[edit] Building or structure fires

• 586 BC - Temple in Jerusalem (the first) burned by Nebuchadnezzar king of the Babylonians
• 356 BC - Temple of Artemis at Ephesus burned by arson
• c. 50 BC - Library of Alexandria burned during siege (possibly accidental)
• 70 - Temple in Jerusalem (the second) burned by Roman Empire troops under general Titus
• 272 - Library of Alexandria possibly burned during occupation of Alexandria
• 391 - Library of Alexandria possibly burned by order of Roman Emperor Theodosius I
• 640 - Library of Alexandria possibly burned by order of Caliph Umar I

  Note: evidence is scant for all four fires, but the library was eventually destroyed

• 1190 - Fire at Clifford's Tower, York, England kills at least 150 Jews
• 1561 - Fire of Valladolid (21 September) destroys a tenth of the city, including 440 houses.
• 1568 - The Great Fire of Ferrol which reduced to rubble the old medieval town
• 1577 - Fire in the Doge's Palace, Venice, destroyed major works by Bellini, Titian and Tintoretto
• 1608 - First settlement in Jamestown burns
• 1613 - Globe Theatre, London burned due to mishap
• 1652 - Town hall of Amsterdam burnt down. Treasures and important historical charters were destroyed.
• 1666 - The Great Fire of London, which originated in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane and destroyed much of London.
• 1675 The Great Fire of Northampton ,England. The blaze was caused by sparks from an open fire in St. Mary’s Street near Northampton castle, and devastated the town centre, destroying about 600 buildings including All Saints church, in 6 hours. Three quarters of the town was destroyed, 11 people died and about 700 families were made homeless.
• 1697 - The medieval "Tre Kronor" Royal Castle in Stockholm burned down and was eventually replaced by the present palace.
• 1698 - The Tudor and Stuart Palace of Whitehall, London burned, except for Inigo Jones's Banqueting House. The ruins were demolished.
• 1727 - Fire during puppet show in barn at Burwell, Cambridgeshire, England, killed 78 (including 51 children)
• 1731 - Coudenbourg Royal Palace, Brussels, destroyed and never rebuilt.
• 1734 - The Royal Palace of the Alcazar, Madrid, burned on Christmas Eve. Eventually replaced by the present royal palace.
• 1794 - Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen
• 1811 - Richmond Theatre Fire, Richmond, Virginia. 72 dead.
• 1814 - The White House and U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. burned by the British
• 1823 - Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome
• 1834 - Palace of Westminster, home to Parliament of the United Kingdom
• 1837 - The Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia destroyed except for The Hermitage
• 1844 - St. Michael's & St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Churches Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (reportedly due to arson)
• 1845 - Theatre fire in Canton, China killed 1670
• 1846 - Nantucket July 13
• 1849 - Great St. Louis Fire (1849)
• 1862 - The Great Fire of Troy,Ny. The Fire destroyed all of Downtown.
• 1863 - Church of the Company Fire in Santiago, Chile; killed over 2500
• 1864 - Boijmans Museum, Rotterdam, destroyed 198 Dutch old master paintings
• 1866 - The Great Fire in Portland, Maine on July 4
• 1871 - Port Huron Fire of 1871 killed over 200 people in Port Huron, Michigan on October 8.
• 1871 - Fires deliberately set during the Paris Commune in May destroyed the Royal Palace of the Tuileries, the Louvre Library, the Palais de Justice, the Hotel de Ville, the Gare de Lyon, and the Palais d'Orsay.
• 1871 - The Great Chicago Fire, killing hundreds and destroying about 4 square miles (10 km²) of the City of Chicago.
• 1876 - Brooklyn Theater Fire, killed 273 – 300 in Brooklyn, New York
• 1878 - The Eldkvarn flour mill in Stockholm.
• 1878 - The Washburn "A" Mill flour mill explosion and fire in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• 1881 - Ring Theater Fire, killed 850 in Vienna
• 1881 - The Great Michigan Fire, killed over 200 in Michigan
• 1884 - Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen
• 1887 - Paris Opéra Fire on May 25 killed 200
• 1887 - Theatre Royal, Exeter Fire, England on September 5 killed 186
• 1895 - The Rotunda, University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia
• 1897 - Paris Bazaar Fire on May 4 killed 150, mostly women trampled underfoot
• 1897 - Great Windsor Fire, Windsor, Nova Scotia Canada, destroyed 80% of the town
• 1899 - Windsor Hotel East 47th Street/5th Avenue Manhattan, New York - at least 33 and 45 people killed (estimates vary)
• 1900 - Hoboken Docks Fire on June 30 killed 326
• 1903 - Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum fire, London, killed 51 on January 27
• 1903 - Iroquois Theater Fire, Chicago, at least 600 died
• 1904 - Great Toronto Fire, Toronto
• 1905 - Lodging House fire in Glasgow killed 39
• 1906 - the Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire destroyed 400 city blocks (including downtown) of the City of San Francisco burning an estimated 25,000 buildings, and killing an estimated 3-5,000 people
• 1908 - Rhoads Theater Fire, Boyertown, Pennsylvania killed 170^[2]
• 1908 - Collinwood School Fire, Cleveland, Ohio killed 175 on March 4
• 1909 - Flores Theater fire, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico on February 15, killing 250.
• 1910 - Friedlander Leather Remnants factory fire, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 11 firemen lost their lives in two separate collapses.
• 1911 - Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, New York City
• 1916 - Centre Block of the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario
• 1918 - Norman State Hospital Fire, Norman, Oklahoma
• 1918 - Happy Valley Racecourse fire, Happy Valley, Hong Kong, over 600 killed on February 26
• 1919 - Mayaguez Theater Fire, San Juan, Puerto Rico^[2]
• 1921 - Oppau explosion near Ludwigshafen, Germany killing 500–600 on September 21
• 1922 - Public Records Office fire during civil unrest at the Four Courts complex, Dublin,Ireland, destroyed much of seven centuries of official Irish public records
• 1923 - Cleveland School Fire, Camden, South Carolina, killed 77 on May 16
• 1924 - Babbs Switch Schoolhouse Fire, Oklahoma, killed 36 on December 24
• 1925 - Madame Tussauds wax museum in London
• 1926 - Dromcolliher cinema fire in County Limerick, Ireland, killed 48 on September 5
• 1927 - Laurier Palace Theatre Fire, Montreal, killed 77 children on January 9
• 1928 - Teatro de Novedades theater fire killed 68 or maybe 110, Madrid, Spain on 22 September
• 1929 - Glen Cinema disaster, Paisley, Scotland killed 71 on December 31 [1]
• 1929 - Cleveland Clinic fire of 1929, Cleveland, Ohio killed 123
• 1930 - Jinhae Primary School fire, Jinhae, Gyeongsangnamdo, South Korea, killed 104 on March 10
• 1930 - Ohio Penitentiary fire, Columbus, Ohio killed 322
• 1931 - Glaspalast (Munich) fire on July 6
• 1931 - Pittsburgh Nursing Home Fire
• 1933 - Reichstag fire in Berlin, caused by arson
• 1934 - Hotel Kerns Fire in Lansing, Michigan
• 1937 - Hindenburg disaster near Lakehurst, New Jersey
• 1937 - South Tomita Primary School fire, Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan, killed 81 on 20 December
• 1937 - Antoung Movie Theater fire, China, killed 658 on February 13th^[2]
• 1938 - Terminal Hotel Fire in Atlanta, Georgia
• 1938 - Nouvelles Galeries department store fire, Marseille, France, killed 73 on October 28
• 1940 - Rhythm Night Club Fire, Natchez, Mississippi killed 209 on April 23
• 1941 - Great Fire of Santander, Santander, Cantabria, Spain
• 1941 - Booth's clothing factory fire in Huddersfield, England killed 49 on October 31 [2]
• 1942 - Knights of Columbus Hostel fire in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, kills 99
• 1942 - Cocoanut Grove fire in Boston, Massachusetts kills 492
• 1943 - Cavan Orphanage Fire, Ireland, kills 36 on 23 February
• 1943 - Gulf Hotel Fire in Houston, TX kills 55
• 1943 - Hoteiza Theater Fire in Kucchan, Hokkaidō, Japan, killed 205 on March 6
• 1944 - Hartford Circus Fire in Hartford, Connecticut killed 168 on July 6
• 1945 - The Empire State Building in New York City is set on fire by a B-25 Mitchell that crashed into the building, killing 14 on July 28
• 1946 - Loebel club fire in Berlin, Germany, killed 89 on February 8
• 1946 - LaSalle Hotel Fire in Chicago kills 61
• 1946 - Winecoff Hotel Fire in Atlanta, GA, killed 119 on December 7
• 1947 - Le Select Cinema fire in Rueil-Malmaison, France, killed 87 on August 30
• 1947 - Ballantyne's Department Store fire, Christchurch, New Zealand, killed 41 on 18 November
• 1948 - Explosion at BASF production site in Ludwigshafen, Germany killing 207 on July 28
• 1948 - Wing On godown fire, Hong Kong, 139 killed^[3][4]
• 1949 - St. Anthony's Hospital Fire in Effingham, Illinois killed 70 on April 5
• 1949 - A fire burning for 18 hours in Chongqing's waterfront and banking district, on September 2, killed 2865 people^[5] and left more than 100,000 homeless. 7000 buildings were destroyed.^[6]
• 1950 - Mercy Hospital fire, Davenport, Iowa, killed 41 on January 7
• 1950 - Kinkakuji Fire by arsonist in Kyoto, Japan on July 2
• 1951 - al-Duniya Theater fire in Kano, present day of Nigeria on May 13, killing 100.
• 1952 - Cairo Fire, 26 January 1952.
• 1953 - Littlefield Nursing Home Fire in Largo, Florida
• 1954 - Larkin Building Fire in Buffalo, New York First fire in Buffalo's history to go to a general alarm
• 1955 - Elderly home for Catholic church fire in Yokohama, Japan killed 100 on February 16
• 1957 - Warrenton Nursing Home Fire in Warrenton, Missouri
• 1958 - Our Lady of the Angels School Fire, Chicago killed 95 on December 1
• 1958 - Almacen Vida Department Store Fire and kills eighty-three and injuring 200 in Bogotá, Colombia on December 16.^{[citation needed]}
• 1959 - Stalheim Hotel fire, Norway, killed 34 on June 23
• 1960 - Kukje Rubber Manufacturing plant 2 fire at Busan, South Korea, killing 68, injured 44, on March 2.
• 1960 - Cheapside Street whisky bond fire, Glasgow, Scotland, killed 19 firefighters on March 28
• 1960 - Guatemala Mental Hospital Fire, killed 225 on July 14
• 1960 - Syrian Movie Theater Fire in Amude (Syria)
• 1961 - Top Storey nightclub fire in Bolton, England killed 19 on 1 May
• 1961 - Niterói circus fire in Niterói (Brazil) killed 323 on December 17
• 1963 - Fretz Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, twelve-alarm fire was largest in city history. 50 homes and multiple businesses destroyed along with original fire building on January 1.
• 1963 - Le Monde Theater fire at Diourbel, Kaolack, Senegal on May 4, killing 64
• 1963 - Surfside Hotel Fire in Atlantic City, New Jersey on November 18
• 1963 - Golden Age Nursing Home Fire in Fitchville, Ohio killed 63 on November 23
• 1963 - Hotel Roosevelt fire in Jacksonville, Florida killed 22 on December 29
• 1967 - 1967 Tasmanian fires in Tasmania, Australia
• 1967 - Apollo 1 burned during ground tests at Cape Canaveral
• 1967 - Dale's Penthouse restaurant fire in Montgomery, Alabama killed 25 on 7 February
• 1967 - L'Innovation Department Store Fire, in Brussels killed 322 on May 22
• 1967 - Florida State Prison Fire, in Jay, Florida killed 37 on July 16
• 1968 - Ikenobo Mangetsujyo Hotel fire at Arima Spa, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, killing 30 and injuring 44 on November 2
• 1968 - Stern's upholstery factory fire in Glasgow, Scotland, killed 24 on November 18
• 1969 - Bandai Atami International Sightseeing Hotel fire, in Koriyama, Japan, kills 31 on 5 February.
• 1970 - Club Cinq-Sept fire in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France, killed 146 on November 1
• 1970 - Pioneer Hotel fire, Tucson, Arizona, killed 29 on December 20
• 1971 - Under construction Jumbo Kingdom industrial fire in Aberdeen Harbour, Hong Kong, killing up to 34 workers on October 30.^[7][8][9]
• 1971 - Taeyunkak Hotel Fire in Seoul, South Korea on December 25
• 1972 - Sennichi Department Store Fire in Osaka, Japan, killed 118 on May 13
• 1972 - Hotel Vendome fire in Boston, 9 firefighters killed on June 17
• 1972 - Coldharbour Hospital fire in Sherborne, England, killed 30 on July 5
• 1972 - Wagon Wheel Cafe fire in Montreal, firebombed, resulting in 37 deaths on September 2
• 1972 - Robinson Department Store fire, killing twelve and 114-years old landmark building in Singapore on November 21.
• 1973 - The nightclub Whiskey Au Go Go in Brisbane, Australia firebombed, resulting in 15 deaths on March 18
• 1973 - National Archives Fire in St. Louis, Missouri
• 1973 - LA Cocktail Lounge fire in New Orleans, Louisiana killed 32 on June 24
• 1973 - Summerland disaster in Douglas, Isle of Man killed 51 on August 2
• 1973 - Hotel Hafnia fire, Copenhagen, Denmark, 35 killed on September 1
• 1973 - Taiyo Department Store Fire in Kumamoto, Kyūshū, Japan, killed 104 on November 29
• 1974 - Joelma Fire kills 188 in São Paulo on February 1.
• 1974 - Pui Lai Win Hotel with night club and other facilities fire, Seoul, South Korea, 89 killed on November 3
• 1975 - Gulf Refinery Fire, Philadelphia, PA. Eight firemen lost their lives in the inferno. August 17.
• 1976 - Retirement Home Fire, Goulds, Newfoundland and Labrado. 22 people killed on December 26.
• 1977 - Rossiya Hotel fire in Moscow, Russia, 45 killed on February 25
• 1977 - Hotel Polen fire in Amsterdam, Netherlands kills 33
• 1977 - Beverly Hills Supper Club fire kills 165 in Southgate, Kentucky.
• 1977 - Xinyang cinema fire in Xinjiang, China killing 694 people^[2][10][11]
• 1978 - The Cinema Rex Fire (arson) kills 438 in Abadan, Khuzestan, Iran.^[2]
• 1979 - Old People's Nurse Home fire at Virrat, Pirkanmaa, Finland, at least twenty-six death, January 23.
• 1979 - Hotel Corona de Aragón fire Fire in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, kills at least 80
• 1979 - Lakshimki Talkies cinema fire, in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India, kills 73 on July 29.
• 1979 - Hotel Am Augarten fire in Vienna, Austria, kills 25
• 1979 - Opémiska Community Hall fire, Chapais, Quebec, Canada, killed 48 on 31 December
• 1980 - A fire in the Eventide Home for the Aged in Kingston, Jamaica kills 157 on May 20
• 1980 - Nightclub fire kills 37 in London on 16 August
• 1980 - MGM Grand fire in Las Vegas, Nevada kills 87
• 1980 - Prince Hotel of Kawaji Fire in Kinugawa, Japan, kills 45
• 1981 - Nilkanth Mahaden temple fire, Asarwa, Gujarat, India, 49 killed on December 6
• 1981 - Keansburg Boarding Home fire in Keansburg, New Jersey kills 30
• 1981 - New Cross Fire, London, killed 13 on January 18
• 1981 - Stardust Disaster, discotheque fire in Dublin kills 48
• 1981 - 1981 Bangalore circus fire, circus fire in Bangalore, India, kills 66
• 1982 - Hotel New Japan fire, downtown of Tokyo, Japan, kills 33 on 8 February
• 1982 - Connecticut Street Armory Fire in Buffalo, New York
• 1982 - Salang tunnel fire kills between 150 and 1,000 people in Afghanistan's only road tunnel
• 1982 - Caldecott Tunnel fire kills 6 and severely damages major road tunnel in Oakland, California
• 1982 - Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day Fire destroys the Northwestern National Bank building and former Donaldson's flagship store.
• 1983 - Turin Movie Theater fire in Turin, Italy kills 64
• 1983 - Alcalá 20 nightclub fire in Madrid kills 83
• 1984 - Daea Hotel fire, thirty-six killed and seventy injured in Busan, South Korea on January 14.^{[citation needed]}
• 1984 - Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure kills 8 teenagers in a fast moving fire.
• 1984 - Summit tunnel fire in West Yorkshire, England
• 1984 - Blue Box Industrial Building fire in Aberdeen, Hong Kong, 44 injured on September^[9]
• 1985 - Valley Parade Ground Stadium fire in Bradford, England, 56 die
• 1985 - Saavedra Psychiatric Hospital fire in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 79, injures 247.
• 1986 - Siddharth Continental Hotel fire and kills 44 in Delhi, India on January 24.^{[citation needed]}
• 1986 - A fire at Sandoz in the Schweizerhalle industrial area near Basel, Switzerland caused heavy pollution problems in the river Rhine in November 1986
• 1986 - Dupont Plaza Hotel fire, set by disgruntled employees, kills 97 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
• 1987 - A fuel tanker truck ran into an ice cream parlour and exploded in Herborn, Germany, setting 12 houses on fire, killing 6 on July 7
• 1987 - King's Cross fire in the London Underground killed 31 on November 18
• 1988 - Chung King Mansions fire, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, 11 killed in February 21^[4][12][13]
• 1988 - A fire at Hotel International in Oerlikon (Zürich) kills 6 on February 14
• 1988 - First Interstate Bank Building in Los Angeles, California catches fire on May 4, killing one
• 1988 - Piper Alpha disaster, North Sea on July 6
• 1988 - A fire in Lisbon, Portugal destroyed 7 blocks of houses (7,500 m²) on August 25
• 1988 - Mirador Mansion fire, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, 2 killed on December 5^[4]
• 1989 - Premier Studio of Mysore fire, Mysore, Karnataka, India, 62 killed on February 8
• 1990 - Flying discotheque fire at Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, 43 killed on January 14.
• 1990 - Happy Land Fire (arson) in the Bronx, New York City, kills 87 on March 25
• 1990 - 1991 Hamlet chicken plant fire kills 25 people
• 1991 - One Meridian Plaza February 23 -24 fire caused by oil-soaked rags, Philadelphia, United States, killed 3 firefighters
• 1992 - Shek Kong Vietnamese refugee detention centre fire, Hong Kong, 26 killed, injuring 26^[9]
• 1992 - Windsor Castle fire, England
• 1992 - A part of the roof and the upper floor of the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, Austria burned down on November 26
• 1993 - a ten-story of Hsinhua building fire, Taipei, Taiwan, 34 killed on January 18
• 1993 - Linxi department store fire, Tangshan, Hebei, China, 79 killed, 51 injured on 14 February
• 1993 - Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas, about 80 killed
• 1993 - Kader Toy Factory fire, Bangkok, Thailand, 189 killed on May 10
• 1993 - Madimak Hotel fire, Sivas, Turkey, killing 35, on July 2.
• 1993 - Zhili Toy Factory fire, Kuiyong, Shenzhen, China, 87 killed on November 20^[11]
• 1993 - Gaofu Textile Factory fire, Fuzhou, Fujian, China, 61 killed on December 13
• 1993 - Fireworks factory fire, Hong Kong, 27 killed on August 29
• 1994 - HSBC Shek Kip Mei branch fire, Shek Kip Mei, Hong Kong, 12 killed (firebomb attack) on January 10^{[3][4][9][14][15]}
• 1994 - Fuxin Discothèque fire at Fuxin, Liaoning, China, 234 killed on November 27^[11]
• 1994 - 1994 Karamay theater fire, Karamay, Xinjiang Uygur, China, 324 killed on December 10^[2][10][11]
• 1995 -Wei Er Kang Restaurant fire at Taichung, Taiwan killing 64
• 1995 - Anshan hotel fire, Anshan, Liaoning, China, killing 30 on March 14^[11]
• 1995 - Urumqi fire, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China, killing 51 on April 24^[11]
• 1995 - Gyeonni Women Technical School fire, Yongin, Gyeonggi, South Korea, killing 38.
• 1995 - Dayananda Anglo Vedic private school fire, Mandi Dabwali, Haryana, India, 538 killed on December 23
• 1996 - Teatro La Fenice in Venice
• 1996 - Ozone Disco Club fire, Quezon City, Philippines, 162 killed, 95 injured on March 18
• 1996 - Kebon Kembang shoppong mall fire, Bogor, Jawa Barat, Indonesia, 78 killed on March 28
• 1996 - Düsseldorf International Airport fire killing 17 on April 11
• 1996 - Channel Tunnel fire between France and England on November 18
• 1996 - The Garley Building fire, Hong Kong, 40 killed on November 20^[4][9][15]
• 1996 - residential building fire, Shanghai, China, arson attack, 36 killed on November 27^[11]
• 1997 - Top One Karaoke Fire, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, 17 killed in arson attack on, January 25^[4][9][16]
• 1997 - Brihadiswara temple fire by visitor using firecracker, at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India, 60 killed, 200 injured on June 8
• 1997 - Uphaar cinema fire, Green Park, New Delhi, 59 killed on June 13
• 1997 - Pattaya Royal Resort Hotel fire, in Thailand, killing 88, on July 11
• 1997 - shoe factory fire, Jinjiang, Fujian, China, 32 killed in arson attack by employee, September 21^[11]
• 1998 - Bombolulu Girls High School of dormitory fire, Mombasa, Kenya, 24 killed on March 25
• 1998 - Gothenburg nightclub fire in Gothenburg, Sweden, killing 63 on October 30
• 1998 - Orphanage fire in Manila, Philippines, kills 28 on December 3
• 1999 - Mont Blanc Tunnel fire between France and Italy, 39 killed
• 1999 - The Worcester Cold Storage fire, 6 firefighters killed
• 1999 - Two-story buildings with cinema complex fire at Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, killing 75 on September 24
• 1999 - Four-story complex buildings with Sun-Hun Choe karaoke room fire at Incheon, South Korea, killing 54, injuring 70 on October 31
• 1999 - Jilin hotel fire, Changchun, Jilin, China , killing 20 on December 26^[11]
• 2000 - Immigration Tower fire, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, 47 injured on August 2^[15]
• 2000 - Tiantang cinema fire in Jiaozuo, Henan, China, killing 74 on March 29^[11]
• 2000 - Qingzhou chicken processing plant fire, Qingzhou, Shandong, China 38 workers killed on April 22^[11]
• 2000 - Enschede fireworks disaster, Enschede, Netherlands, 22 (including 4 firemen) killed on May 13
• 2000 - fireworks factory fire, Guangdong, China, 36 killed on June 30^[11]
• 2000 - Backpackers hostel in Childers, Australia on June 23. 15 killed in arson attack. ^[17]
• 2000 - December 25, Dongdu Commercial shopping center fire in Luoyang, Henan, China, killing 309^[10]
• 2001 - On January 3, the largest loss of life ever recorded in a single family dwelling occurs in Oak Orchard, Delaware when a pot of grease left unattended on a kitchen stove leads to the loss of 11 family members.
• 2001 - Kyanguli Secondary school fire, Machakos, Eastern Province, Kenya, 68 killed on March 26
• 2001 - Ramanathapuram Badasha mental Home fire, Erwadi, Tamil Nadu, India, 25 killed on August 13
• 2001 - Manor Hotel fire, Quezon City, Philippines, 75 killed on August 17
• 2001 - Myojo 56 building fire, Tokyo, Japan, 44 killed on September 1.
• 2001 - September 11 attacks - two planes deliberately flown into the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City, sparked fires on multiple floors. The Twin Towers both completely collapsed 56 and 103 minutes later. Debris from the collapse of the North Tower sparked fires on multiple floors of World Trade Center Building 7, which also completely collapsed later in the day. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon, starting fires in that building.
• 2001 - Fire during a New Year party in De Hemel bar/discotheque in Volendam, Netherlands killed 14 and injured 180
• 2001 - Fan Lin school explosion, fire breaks out in firework store, resultant explosion kills 41 children.
• 2001 - Mesa Redonda shopping center fire, Lima, Peru, 291 killed on December 29
• 2002 - Shree Lee International footwear factory fire, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, 42 killed on June 26
• 2002 - Heppi Karaoke bar fire, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, 42 killed on July 9
• 2002 - Ho Chi Minh City ITC Inferno, Vietnam, over 60 killed, over 100 missing and 500 injured in a luxurious department store fire and collapse
• 2002 - Sidi Moussa prison fire, El Jadida, Morocco, killing 50, on November 2
• 2002 - La Coajira nightclub fire at Caracas, Venezuela, 47 killed on December 1
• 2003 - Daegu subway fire in Daegu (South Korea)
• 2003 - The Station nightclub fire 96 died at the scene; 4 died from injuries at local hospitals in West Warwick, Rhode Island
• 2003 - Patrice Lumumba People's Friendship University, Moscow
• 2004 - Rangarajapuram wedding hall fire and kills fifty-five in Sri Rangam, Tamil Nadu, India on January 23.^{[citation needed]}
• 2004 - Zhongbai Commercial Plaza fire, Jilin, northeastern China, killed 53 on February 16
• 2004 - Sri Krishna Aided Higher Secondary School fire, Kumbakonam, Tamil-Nadu, India, killed 94 on July 16
• 2004 - Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire, Asuncion, Paraguay, kills 370, injures 500 on August 1.
• 2004 - República Cromagnon nightclub fire in Buenos Aires kills 194, injures 714 on December 30.
• 2005 - Arq Mosque fire in Teheran, Iran, fifty-nine killed on February 14.^{[citation needed]}
• 2005 - The Windsor Tower Building Fire (Spain), February 14-15 [3][4]
• 2005 - Beni Suef Cultural Palace fire in Egypt and kills 46 on September 5.^{[citation needed]}
• 2005 - 11 die at a fire in the detention center of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on October 27.
• 2005 - Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire, a major explosion at Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal in Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom injures 43 on December 11.
• 2005 - Liaoyang City Central Hospital fire, Liaoyang, Jilin, China, 39 killed on December 12.
• 2006 - KTS Composite Textile factory fire, at Chittagong, Bangladesh, 65 killed, 100 injured on February 24.
• 2006 - Kolkata leather factory fire kills at least nine people in India on November 22.
• 2006 - Moscow hospital fire kills 46 December 9.
• 2006 - Fire at store in Ormoc City, Philippines kills 24 [5]
• 2007 - Nursing home fire at Kamyshevatskaya, Krasnodar, southern Russia, killed 63 on March 19
• 2007 - Warehouse fire in Charleston, SC; 9 firefighters were killed battling the blaze.
• 2007 - Warehouse fire in Atherstone-on-Stour, Warwickshire when four firefighters were killed
• 2007 - Warehouse fire in Mexico City, Mexico where five people were killed
• 2008 - Under constructing Korea 2000 refrigerated warehouse fire, Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 40 killed, on January 7.
• 2008 - Namdaemun fire with collapse at Seoul, South Korea on February 10.
• 2008 - Quebec City Armoury fire, Quebec, Canada, on April 4
• 2008 - four-story Rosamor Furniture ameublements plant fire, Lissasfa, Casablanca, Morocco, killing 55 on April 25
• 2008 - Historic Alma College (St. Thomas) in Canada burnt down by arsonists on May 28th
• 2008 - Texas Governor's Mansion heavily damaged during an extensive renovation; thought to be arson
• 2008 - Leisure Living Pools warehouse in Buffalo, New York twice went to three alarms and caused closure of Interstate 190 and, due to the hazardous nature of the chemicals involved, nearby evacuations. June 2
• 2008 - Channel Tunnel fire, between France and England on 11 September
• 2008 - Cornwall Court Fire in Hong Kong on August 10 killing 4 people, including 2 firefighters.
• 2008 - Wuwang Club fire in Shenzen, China on September 20, killing 43^[10][18]
• 2008 - Video Parlour Cats fire by arsonist in Nanba, Osaka, Japan, killing fifteen and injuring ten on October 1
• 2009 - Santika Club fire, Bangkok, Thailand, kills 66 on January 1.
• 2009 - Nakumatt supermarket fire, Nairobi, Kenya, kills 29 on January 28.
• 2009 - Great Beijing Mandarin Oriental Hotel fire of February, 2009 caused by fire works. One death occurring during disaster.
• 2009 - Bashundhara City mall fire killed 7 people on March 13, 2009 in Dhaka, Bangladesh
• 2009 - Homeless hostel fire in Kamień Pomorski, Poland kills 23 on April 13.
• 2009 - ABC daycare center fire kills 47 in Hermosillo, Mexico on June 5.
• 2009 - Lakanal House tower block fire kills 6 in Camberwell, London, United Kingdom on July 3.
• 2009 - Unknown Buildings ablaze on Dean Street, Soho, London

[edit] City or area fires

Great Fire of London, 1666.

• 64 - Great Fire of Rome
• 406 - A great fire burns down much of Constantinople
• 532 - The Nika riots result in the destruction of much of Constantinople by fire
• 847 - Borgo, the area around Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome
• 1204 - Constantinople burned three times during the Fourth Crusade
• 1421 - First Great Fire of Amsterdam
• 1452 - Second Great Fire of Amsterdam, three quarters of the city destroyed
• 1547 - Moscow fire which sparked a rebellion
• 1571 - Moscow fire occurred when the forces of the Crimean khan Devlet I Giray raided the city
• 1657 - Great Fire of Meireki - Edo (modern-day Tokyo)
• 1666 - Great Fire of London
• 1676 - Jamestown, Virginia Nathanial Bacon and his followers burned Jamestown to prevent Governor Berkley from using it as a base.
• 1689 - Skopje, present-day capital of Macedonia, is burned
• 1694 - the Great Fire of Warwick
• 1696 - St. John's, Newfoundland and 35 other settlements burned by French forces under Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
• 1702 - Uppsala, Sweden, large parts of the city devastated and the cathedral and Uppsala Castle severely damaged.
• 1728 - Copenhagen Fire of 1728, two-fifths of the city burned down during three days. 3,650 families became homeless.
• 1734 - Montreal, New France
• 1752 - June 6 - Fire destroys 18,000 houses in Moscow.
• 1776 - First Great Fire of New York City
• 1788 - First Great New Orleans Fire (1788), Good Friday, March 21, 1788, 856 Structures burned.
• 1788 - Great Fire of Tenmei - Kyoto, Japan, 150 killed, 37,000 houses burned, on January 30
• 1794 - Second Great New Orleans Fire (1794), December 8, 1788. 212 structures destroyed.
• 1795 - Copenhagen fire of 1795
• 1805 - Detroit
• 1811 - 1811 Great fire of Podil
• 1812 - Moscow, to deny shelter to Napoleon
• 1812 - Buffalo, New York burned during the War of 1812
• 1813 - Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• 1813 - York, Upper Canada burned during the War of 1812
• 1814 - Burning of Washington during the War of 1812
• 1817 - St. John's, Newfoundland
• 1821 - Paramaribo (Suriname) over 400 houses destroyed
• 1827 - Great Fire of Turku
• 1835 - Second Great Fire of New York City
• 1845 - Great Fire of Pittsburgh destroyed over 1000 buildings
• 1846 - St. John's, Newfoundland
• 1849 - St. Louis Fire, first US firefighter killed in the line of duty
• 1849 - Toronto, Ontario
• 1850 - Kraków, Poland, 10% of the city area
• 1852 - Vaasa, Finland
• 1854 - Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead: a spectacular explosion leads to the great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead, killing 53 and levelling substantial property in both towns.
• 1862 - Troy, New York, over 500 buildings destroyed
• 1864 - Atlanta burned after time given for evacuation of citizens by order of William Tecumseh Sherman
• 1865 - Columbia, South Carolina burned while being occupied by troops commanded by William Tecumseh Sherman
• 1865 - Richmond, Virginia burned by retreating Confederates.
• 1871 - Great Chicago Fire, destroyed the downtown on October 8
• 1871 - Peshtigo, Wisconsin Fire, several towns destroyed in a firestorm, 1500-2500 dead, same day as Chicago Fire
• 1872 - Great Boston Fire of 1872, destroyed 776 buildings and killed at least 20 people.
• 1877 - Saint John, New Brunswick Fire destroyed 1600 buildings
• 1883 - Ponce, Puerto Rico
• 1886 - Great Vancouver Fire, Vancouver, British Columbia, 1886.
• 1889 - Great Seattle Fire
• 1892 - St. John's, Newfoundland
• 1894 - Great Fire in Shanghai; over 1,000 buildings are destroyed
  
  

  

  City of St. John's after the Great Fire of 1892
• 1901 - Great Fire of 1901, Jacksonville, Florida
• 1904 - Great Baltimore Fire
• 1904 - Great Toronto Fire
• 1904 - Ålesund Fire
• 1906 - San Francisco earthquake and fire
• 1910 - Great Fire of 1910 (aka Big Blowup; Big Burn), Washington, Idaho and Montana, over 3 million acres (12,000 km²), at least 85 dead. This fire set new policies, and created new organizations for fighting wildfires.
• 1910 - Ököritófülpös, Hungary, fire in a barn during a dancing-party killed 312 people.
• 1914 - Great Salem Fire of 1914
• 1916 - Matheson Fire, Matheson, Ontario
• 1917 - The Halifax Explosion, largest man-made explosion before the atomic bomb
• 1917 - Over 300 acres (1.2 km²) (73 blocks) destroyed in Great Atlanta fire of 1917
• 1917 - Great Fire of 1917, Thessaloniki, Greece
• 1921 - Tulsa Race Riot, 35 city blocks; 1,256 residences were destroyed by arson
• 1922 - The Great Fire of Smyrna, Izmir, Turkey
• 1922 - The Great Fire of 1922 in the Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada, killed 43 people and burnt down 18 townships.
• 1923 - Tokyo following the Great Kantō earthquake
• 1933 - Tillamook Burn
• 1934 - Great Hakodate Fire, Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, killed 2,166
• 1938 - 1938 Changsha Fire, 56,000 buildings burned by the Chinese army during the Second Sino-Japanese War to prevent the Japanese from getting resources from the city, 3,000 civilians killed on November 13.
• 1939 - Great Lagunillas Fire at Ciudad Ojeda, Venezuela on November 14.
• Air-raids during World War II resulting in some of the world's deadliest fires
  • 1940 - The Second Great Fire of London, one of the most destructive air raids of the London Blitz. 1,500 killed.
  • 1943 - Hamburg, 45,000 killed (largest in an air-raid on Germany)
  • 1943 - Kassel, 10,000 killed
  • 1944 - Braunschweig, 2,600 killed but 30,000 rescued
  • 1944 - Darmstadt, 12,000 killed
  • 1944 - Heilbronn, 6,500 killed
  • 1945 - Dresden, around 30,000 killed in firestorm during one of the most controversial Allied air-raids
  • 1945 - Pforzheim, a quarter of the town's population (17,000) killed
  • 1945 - Tokyo, causing the largest urban conflagration in history. Over 100,000 killed.
  • 1945 - Würzburg, 5,000 killed
  • 1945 - Kobe, 8,800 killed
  • 1945 - Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two large city fires, one in Hiroshima and one in Nagasaki
• 1941 - Santander, Cantabria
• 1947 - Texas City Disaster, two ships explode, igniting chemical works, 460 - 600 killed
• 1948 - Fukui earthquake with fire, 46,000 buildings and houses lost on July
• 1949 - Mann Gulch fire
• 1949 - Landes Mountain forest fire, 256,000 acres (1,040 km²) lost, 240 killed, include 82 firefighters, on August.
• 1951 - Tung Tau fire, fire in a squatter area in Hong Kong, up to 25,000 homeless, led to the Comfort Mission riot
• 1953 - Shek Kip Mei Fire, fire in a squatter area in Hong Kong, 58,000 homeless^[9]
• 1961 - Bukit Ho Swee Fire, flames erupt in a squatter settlement in Singapore, making 16,000 homeless
• 1963 - Paraná forest fire, 20,000 square kilometres destroyed, killing at least 110, with 5,000 houses burned on September.
• 1966 - Serra de Sintra forest fire,outskirt of Lisbon, Portugal, 26.6 km² destroyed, killing 26.
• 1971 - 1971 Kure forest fire, Kure, western Honshū, Japan, 18 firefighters killed on April 27
• 1981 - Arson fire in Lynn, Massachusetts levels downtown factory area under redevelopment; no conviction; $80 million damage estimate[6]
• 1983 - Ash Wednesday fires in south-eastern Australia killed 75 people in South Australia and Victoria.
• 1983 - North Division Street explosion in Buffalo, New York kills 5 firefighters and 2civilians and destroys millions in property.
• 1985 - Isabella Island forest fire, Galápagos Island, Ecuador, 62,500 acres (253 km²) lost on March.
• 1985 - Annanar forest fire, Portugal, 1,500 km² destroyed, killing 14.
• 1986 - Chu Ku Tsai village fire, Hong Kong, 2,000 homeless on Lunar New Year holiday. ^[9]
• 1986 - Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter fire, Aberdeen, Hong Kong, 150 vessels destroyed, 1,700 homeless and 2 injured on December 25^[9]
• 1987 - Greater Hinggan forest fire, Heilongjiang, China, 19 million acres (77,000 km²) lost, 213 killed on April
• 1988 - Yellowstone fires of 1988 largest, most expensive wildfire in the history of the National Park Service, at the world's first National Park
• 1988 - Great Lashio Fire, Lashio, Myanmar, killed 134, 2000 building destroy.
• 1991 - Kuwaiti oil fires following the Persian Gulf War
• 1991 - Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments
• 1991 - Great Meiktila fire, 5,900 buildings and houses burned and kills thirty-one, Meiktila, central Myanmar on April 7.^{[citation needed]}
• 1993 - A Tsunami hit with fire at Okushiri Island, Japan by 1993 quake, 645 houses lost, 202 killed on July.
• 1994 - Isabella Island forest fire, Galápagos Island, Ecuador, 12 km² lost on April.
• 1994 - South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain near Glenwood Springs, Colorado kills fourteen firefighters on July 6.
• 1995 - Great Hanshin Earthquake with fire, Kobe, Japan
• 1996 - 1996 Pat Sin Leng wildfire, Pat Sin Leng, Tai Po, Hong Kong; 5 (3 pupils and 2 teachers) killed on February 10^[9]
• 2000 - Jasper Fire in The Black Hills of South Dakota burns 93,000+ acres (380 km²), the largest fire in Black Hills history
• 2002 - Lagos armoury explosion causes fire which destroys half of Lagos and killed 1,100 people
• 2002 - Edinburgh Cowgate fire
• 2002 - Rodeo-Chediski fire
• 2003 - Canberra bushfires fire that killed 4 and destroyed over 500 homes
• 2003 - Cedar Fire destroyed over 550 homes and many acres of land
• 2006 - Day Fire, Los Angeles and Ventura counties in California.
• 2007 - 2007 Greek forest fires large fire in Greece
• 2007 - October 2007 California wildfires Fires in California
• 2008 - Camden Market Fire, which caused severe damage to one of North London's most famous shopping districts.
• 2009 - Kenyan oil spill ignition kills at least 111.
• 2009 - In February, at the end of a severe heatwave, bushfires swept through the Australian state of Victoria killing 173 people, injuring around 500, destroying at least 2029 homes and wiping entire towns off the map. They are the deadliest bushfires in Australia's history and also one of Australia's worst natural disaster.

[edit] Ship fires

See also: List of ship and ferry disasters

• 1800 - British warship Queen Charlotte — 700 deaths
• 1840 - Steamship Lexington in Long Island Sound — 139 deaths
• 1865 - SS Sultana on the Mississippi River, near Memphis, Tennessee — 1,547 deaths
• 1893 - Freighter Cabo Machichaco in Santander, Spain — 500 deaths
• 1904 - Steamship General Slocum in New York City — 1,021 deaths
• 1917 - Munitions ship Mont-Blanc burned, drifted and detonated in the Halifax Explosion — roughly 2,000 deaths
• 1934 - SS Morro Castle off Asbury Park, New Jersey — 137 deaths, ship gutted and beached
• 1941 - Attack on Pearl Harbor, sinking USS Arizona (BB-39) and several other ships; extensive fires generated aboard and around ships
• 1941 - SS Normandie in New York City, ship capsized and sank at pier
• 1949 - SS Sai On in Hong Kong — 149 deaths^[9]
• 1949 - SS Noronic in Toronto, Canada — 118 to 139 deaths
• 1963 - Lakonia near Madeira — 128 deaths
• 1965 - SS Yarmouth Castle near Nassau, Bahamas — 90 deaths
• 1967 - USS Forrestal in the Gulf of Tonkin — 134 deaths.
• 1972 - RMS Queen Elizabeth in Hong Kong, ship sank in harbour^[9]
• 1987 - Doña Paz in the Philippines — an estimated 4,000 deaths
• 1990 - MS Scandinavian Star off Norway — 159 deaths
• 1994 - Achille Lauro near Somalia
• 2006 - Star Princess in the Caribbean — 1 death
• 2007 - Cutty Sark, 19th-century clipper in dry dock as a museum ship in Greenwich, London extensively damaged while undergoing restoration on May 21

[edit] Other fires

• 1903 - Paris Métro train fire kills 84
• 1913 - Ais Gill rail crash in England kills 14 chiefly through fire on September 1
• 1915 - Quintinshill rail crash in Scotland kills 227 chiefly through fire on May 22
• 1916 - Black Tom explosion (fires led to the explosion)
• 1951 - Sakuragicho commuter train fire, Yokohama, Japan, 106 killed.
• 1955 - Le Mans 24 hour race disaster, Le Mans, France, over 80 killed on June 11
• 1962 - Centralia, Pennsylvania mine fire begins
• 1967 - Apollo 1 Cape Canaveral, Florida
• 1972 - Hokuriku railroad tunnel fire, Tsuruga, Japan, 31 killed, 637 injured.
• 1975 - Tent site at Mina, Saudi Arabia, 138 killed
• 1978 - Taunton train fire on British Rail kills 12 on July 6
• 1978 - Los Alfaques Disaster kills 217 on a campsite near Tarragona, in Spain on July 11
• 1986 - General Mining Union Kinross gold mine fire, Transvaal, South Africa, 177 killed, 230 injured on September 16.
• 1992 - Chien-Kang Bus Fire (健康幼稚園火燒車事件) one bus carrying 50 kindergarten students, teachers, and parents caught fire at Taoyuan on their way to the Leofoo Amusement Park killing 23 and injuring 9.
• 1997 - bus fire, Guangdong, China, bus caught fire on expressway, killing 39 passengers^[11]
• 1998 - Yaounde train explosion fuel train explosion, kills 120 people.
• 2000 - Ibadan tanker truck explosion multiple car pile-up explodes 100-200 killed.
• 2000 - Kaprun disaster, Austrian funicular train fire, kills 155 people
• 2002 - Al Ayatt train disaster, Egypt
• 2003 - Ladhowal train fire, India
• 2003 - Chun-Lung Bus Fire (尊龍客運高速公路火燒車事故) - a charter bus caught fire at Taipei County killing 6 and injuring 4.
• 2006 - Brand India Fair at Meerut Victoria Park fire, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India, 100 killed on April 10.
• 2007 - Comilla bus caught fire in Bangladesh, at least fifty-five killed on January 6.
• 2008 - Lower Saxony bus caught fire by a passenger smoking on the A2 Autobahn (Expressway) in Germany, twenty killed on November 4.
• 2008 - Boromo bus caught fire in Bale Province, Burkina Faso, sixty-seven killed on November 15
• 2008 - Firozabad bus caught fire in Uttar Pradesh, India, killing sixty-three on December 9.
• 2009 - 2009 Kenyan oil spill ignition resulted in the deaths of at least 111 people and infliction of gruesome injuries to countless hundreds more on 31 January, following a road accident in Molo, Kenya.

[edit] See also

• List of accidents and disasters by death toll

[edit] References

1. ^ London, Jack (May 5, 1906). "The Story of an Eyewitness by Jack London". Collier's, the National Weekly (The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco). http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/jlondon.html. Retrieved on August 29, 2006. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} http://www.emergency-management.net/theater_fire.htm
3. ^ ^{a b} http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/ecyyiu/article?mid=969
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/ecyyiu/article?mid=1263&fid=-1&action=prev
5. ^ Death Toll in Chungking Fire Is Put at 2,865, Chicago Daily Tribune (October 3, 1949)
6. ^ New blows suffered by Chiang regime, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (September 5, 1949)
7. ^ NFPA.org. "NFPA.org." Key dates in fire history. Retrieved on 2008-02-21.
8. ^ England, Vaudine. [1998] (1998). The Quest of Noel Croucher: Hong Kong's Quiet Philanthropist Hong Kong University Press. Hong Kong (China). ISBN 9622094732. p 237.
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} http://www.thestandard.com.hk/archive_news_detail.asp?pp_cat=&art_id=26146&sid=&con_type=1&archive_d_str=19970126
10. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aqY2lac_0t8o&refer=asia
11. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} http://www.emergency-management.net/fire_china.htm
12. ^ A burning question of public safety, The Standard, August 29, 1988
13. ^ http://www.worldhum.com/dispatches/item/hope_and_squalor_at_chungking_mansion_20070813/
14. ^ http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0690160902_ref.html
15. ^ ^{a b c} http://www.emergency-management.net/hong_kong_di.htm
16. ^ Emerald: Article Request - Fire safety facilities assessment for karaokes
17. ^ http://www.ema.gov.au/ema/emadisasters.nsf/54273a46a9c753b3ca256d0900180220/ee5aece99cd90993ca256d330005ae8d?OpenDocument
18. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3041743/China-nightclub-fire-in-Shenzhen-kills-43.html