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Social Network. Complete the registration form. Once each year
comes Fire Prevention Week. It is always the week of Oct. 9, the
anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. It was on Oct. 9, 1871,
when a conflagration occurred in the United States, now known as
the Great Chicago Fire. It lasted for 27 hours, killed more than
250 people, left more than 100,000 people homeless and destroyed
nearly 18,000 buildings. Although the exact cause of the fire
has never been determined, one popular legend blames Mrs.
Catherine O’Leary’s cow for the blaze after it allegedly kicked
over a lantern and started a barn on fire. Regardless of how it
started, the fire nearly destroyed Chicago. Firefighters and
equipment from as far as New York City responded. In 1911, on
the 40th anniversary, fire officials from across the country
sponsored the first Nati