The Great Fire
51 pages • 1-hour read
Jim MurphyThe Great Fire
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Fire Imagery
Murphy repeatedly describes the Great Fire through personified and oceanic imagery, using figurative language to convey the speed, scale, and force of the disaster. This pattern appears early in the narrative with Daniel “Peg Leg” Sullivan’s observation of “a single tongue of flame” shooting from the side of the O’Learys’ barn (14). Moments later, the flames from the burning hay pushed against the roof and beams, “almost as if they were struggling to break free” (15). These descriptions give the fire a physical presence and help readers understand how rapidly it spread through the dry and heavily wooden city.
Murphy continues to describe the fire expanding in ways that stress movement and destruction. After the blaze broke through the circle of engines, it “pushed out fists of flame” that “ate up” clapboard siding, roofs, fences, trees, and sheds (43). Horace White later recalled that “the dogs of hell were upon the housetops” (47), moving rapidly from one building to another. Murphy also describes embers falling like “red snow” and burning debris carried through the air by the wind. These recurring descriptions reinforce the theme of Urban Growth and the Failure of Chicago’s Infrastructure by showing how easily the flames spread through wooden sidewalks, roofs, fences, and tightly packed buildings. The imagery also helps explain why ordinary firefighting methods became ineffective once the fire escaped containment.
Murphy further develops this pattern through repeated comparisons between the fire and moving water. White described the blaze advancing “like an ocean surf on a sand beach” (47), while Joseph E. Chamberlin later saw “a surging ocean of flame” moving through the business district (63). These descriptions stress the fire’s momentum and the difficulty people faced trying to slow its advance or escape its path. Streets, bridges, and firefighting lines were gradually overtaken as the flames moved across the city in waves. Through this personified and oceanic fire imagery, Murphy conveys the scale of the disaster while also capturing the struggle that eyewitnesses faced when trying to describe a fire that spread beyond anything they had previously experienced.
Wood
Wood functions as a recurring symbol of Chicago’s physical vulnerability and the construction practices that left the city highly susceptible to fire. While the city promoted its modern, fire-resistant architecture, Murphy shows that many buildings still depended heavily on flammable materials. He establishes this symbol by detailing how “about two-thirds of all these structures were made entirely of wood,” and even stone buildings concealed “wooden frames and floors, all topped with highly flammable tar or shingle roofs” (18). This widespread use of wood, from ornate decorations painted to look like marble to over 600 miles of pine sidewalks, created a city bound together in a “highly combustible knot” (19). The symbol reinforces the theme of Urban Growth and the Failure of Chicago’s Infrastructure. Chicago’s wooden infrastructure reflects the weaknesses created by rapid expansion, crowded construction, and widespread reliance on flammable materials. One important example appears in the city’s waterworks, the primary defense against fire, which became useless when its own wooden roof burned. Through this symbol, Murphy suggests that Chicago’s construction practices and infrastructure contributed significantly to the scale and speed of the disaster.
The Wind
Strong prairie winds repeatedly disrupted efforts to predict, contain, and escape the Great Fire. Early in the narrative, Murphy notes that the “wind coming off the prairie had been strong all day, sometimes gusting wildly” (13). As the blaze spread, the wind carried flames, embers, and burning debris into districts that residents and firefighters believed were safe, with burning material flying “over the heads of the firefighters” and igniting new fires far beyond the original burn area (39).
The shifting winds contributed heavily to the confusion recorded in eyewitness accounts. Streets and bridges that appeared safe suddenly became impassable, fires broke out unexpectedly across different parts of the city, and witnesses struggled to determine where the blaze was spreading or whether it could still be contained. Murphy later describes the wind as a “tempest” producing fire whirlwinds and showers of burning embers—conditions that made the disaster’s scale not only physically devastating but also almost impossible to comprehend in real time. These descriptions reinforce the theme of Eyewitness Accounts and the Making of Chicago Fire Myths, showing how rapidly changing conditions shaped—and distorted—people’s understanding of events as they unfolded. Through the wind, Murphy captures both the physical acceleration of the fire and the psychological disorientation it caused.
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