Stephanie Schorow

Fires have shaped Boston since its founding on a narrow peninsula in 1630. In the first comprehensive history of Boston's major fires, Stephanie Schorow tells the dramatic tales of seventeenth-century fires (which were viewed as signs of God's wrath), the 1834 Ursuline convent fire, the Great Fire of 1872, the Chelsea conflagrations of 1908 and 1973, the tragic Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire, the Vendome Hotel collapse that killed nine firefighters in 1972, and an arson ring that terrorized the city in the 1980s. Chapters are also devoted to two key Boston innovations: the Hunneman fire engine and the citywide fire alarm system (first in the nation) developed by William Francis Channing and Moses Farmer.

Stephanie Schorow has successfully captured the excitement and drama of firefighting in Boston... Boston on Fire is a must read for all who love Boston, its history, and its renowned firefighting force.