Charleston is Burning

Two Centuries of Fire and Flames

From the days of "bucket brigades" and private volunteer companies--such as the Phoenix, the Axemen and the Eagle--Charleston has seen more than its fair share of conflagrations. A carelessly overturned candle could ignite a blaze that would consume hundreds of Charleston's closely built wooden structures within just a few hours, leaving large swaths of the city in ruins. Join Charleston native and local historian Danny Crooks as he relates the story of Charleston's many historic fires and firefighting efforts, starting as early as 1698 and continuing through the horrors of the Great Fire of 1861 and the establishment of the Charleston Fire Department in the 1880s.

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