The Great Fire of London 1666

In times before electricity, all societies relied on some form of fire for just about everything from warmth, to light, to the way food was prepared. Today, we still use fire for these things at our convenience, but years ago, it was a necessity.

Unfortunately, containing fire to one location has always been a challenge, and the many great fires of the world are proof of the destruction that can be caused when fires get out of control. Massive fires such as the Great Chicago Fire of 1887, The Seattle Fire of 1889, and The San Francisco earthquake fire of 1906 were all devastating fires with tragic and lasting results. Each one changing something about the way fires are contained today. However, as massive and devastating as these fires were, none compare to the Great Fire of London in 1666.

On September 2nd, 1666, Thomas Farynor, King Charles the II's Baker, failed to completely put out the fire in his oven before he went to bed. The result was one of the most tragic and devastating destructions by fire in the world's history.

Several hundred years prior to the Great Fire of London, King William the Conqueror created a law that stated all fires must be put out at night, because of the fact that so many homes were built of wood and while sleeping, the flames could not be watched to assure they did not spread. There had been a large London fire that had massive consequences, and King William wanted to assure this did not ever happen again. The law, which was called Couvre-feu, is where the word curfew was derived.

William's law decreased the number and intensity of fires until 1212, when there was a large fire that killed 3,000 people. When the Great Fire in 1666 happened, it seemed the law King William enacted had all but been forgotten.