Submitted by Cristina Pisciotti on the 2017 winter session program in London, England sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice…
As a group, we had the opportunity to explore the Museum of London. While on our tour, we went through an exhibit called “Fire, Fire!” This was by far my favorite and most fascinating exhibit that I’ve seen thus far. In London, 1666 was known as the year of disaster and rebirth. For 10 months, the city of London was experiencing a drought, leaving the city very dry. The fire began on September 2nd in a bakery and lasted three whole days. During this time, houses were made from material that could burn very easily and they were built very close to each other. Fighting fire at that time was very different than it is today. Firefighters used leather buckets with metal hooks and hoses that they called “water squirts”. We were able to actually put on replicas of the hats that the firemen wore and hold the leather buckets which were very heavy. While the city worked to rebuild, people lived in tents out in the fields of London. By 1668, new fire prevention regulations were approved by Parliament and a few years following that, work on the monument to the Great Fire of London began. The story of the way the city came together to rebuild was just amazing.