The fire department was recovering from a fire the previous day when a man accidentally gave them the wrong address to a new blaze. This misinformation led them to a house a mile away which left the O’Leary’s barn to burn unchecked and uncontained for several hours. This delay likely sealed Chicago’s fate. 

When the firefighters realized their mistake, they hurried to the actual scene to try to put out the fire. The fire grew as it encompassed more and more of the city due to the wood used in construction. People began to notice and panic. The firefighters’ hoses and machines broke and petered out because the equipment was still worn out from the previous day's fire. ​​​​​​​

"The fire was barely 15 minutes old. What followed was a series of fatal errors that set the fire free and doomed the city to a fiery death."

-Jim Murphy, author of The Great Fire

Chicago Residents, nationalgeographic.org,                        1871