On this day in the year 1666, 358 years ago, the last outbreaks of a great fire that had started three days earlier (September 2) were extinguished and that burned down 90% of the City’s buildings, the historic centre of the capital of England, surrounded by the ancient Roman wall. According to historiographical research, the fire destroyed the homes of 70,000 people, in a district that brought together 80,000 inhabitants (out of a total of 500,000 residents in the city). At that time, The City was occupied by traditional buildings, built with wood and arranged on a very dense urban grid.which contributed to the rapid spread and loss of control of the fire.
According to this same research, The fire destroyed 13,200 homes, 87 parish churches, St Paul’s Cathedral and the royal palace of Whitehall.. The day after the fire was extinguished, City authorities gave the figure of only 6 dead, which was accepted for centuries, until recently, historiographical research points out that That fiery mass, which advanced very quickly and uncontrollably (depending on the direction and speed of the wind), and which reached temperatures of 1,250 degrees, would have trapped, killed and incinerated hundreds or thousands of people of humble condition who were never documented..
The fire started in the early hours of September 2, 1666, and It originated in the oven of Thomas Farriner (a baker of probable Catalan origin, who was the official supplier of the Royal Navy). This initiatory focus was located in Pudding Lanevery close to the confluence of the Fleet and Thames rivers. And what was supposed to be nothing more than a fire in a bread factory, became a gigantic fireball due to the absence of firewalls. During the immediately preceding years, and despite the experience of major fires, The municipal authorities had not carried out the demolition work planned to prevent the fire from spreading.
He Firehooks (the precedent of modern firefighters) were unable to control either the initial outbreak or the spread of that fire. On the 3rd, it had already burned the entire riverfront of the City. On the 4th, the fire had already consumed the buildings in the centre of the City. And On the 5th, the fire was extinguished, causing a series of buildings to be demolished by cannon fire from the Tower of London, which, once on the ground, acted as firebreaks.Following that destruction, a new, modern and rational plan for the City was drawn up, and the construction of buildings made of materials that were not fireproof was prohibited. The lower classes were forced to abandon their traditional neighbourhood.
