Aspiring Fires Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chicago

Although Mrs. O'Leary's cow is simply myth at this point, the blaze was indeed real, and it was one of the most devastating in American history causing vast amounts of damage and spreading to take down several square miles of city property. The subsequent rebuilding of the city brought it back to become one of the country's economic and commercial hubs.

The water tower in the center of the downtown core was one of the only buildings to survive the blaze; it remains to this day. While the fire was devastating, its effects on urban growth in a continuously growing nation were far-reaching; cities throughout the States revised their building plans to avoid such future catastrophe and devastation.

Answer: The Great Plague

Better known as 'The Great Fire of London', this major event in the city's history lasted several days in 1666, destroying the vast majority of the structures therein. Starting in a bakery, the fire ended up spreading due to favorable winds, crossing rivers and eventually being stopped by strategic breaks. Considering the property losses, the efforts were still considered a failure. Notably, however, the fire destroyed many of London's slums, and, shortly after the event they were noticeably free of the Great Plague. Though not as devastating as the Black Death pandemic three hundred years prior, it did wipe out tens of thousands in London alone before its eradication.

Answer: Earthquake

In one of the most unfortunate series of natural events in history, the city of Tokyo was struck by an earthquake in September 1923, the epicenter being situated nearby in the Kanto region. A larger earthquake would not be had in Japan until 2011. At the same time, many Tokyo citizens were indoors, taking shelter from a typhoon whipping through.

It was believed that their fireplaces contributed to what would become one of the deadliest blazes in the nation's history; high winds, toppled buildings, and utter chaos resulted in massive blazes and fire whirls which devastated the population, killing many taking refuge in larger buildings.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami, coupled with the typhoon, had a death toll of just under 100,000, 70% less than the alleged death toll of the fire sweeping the city.

The disasters left millions without shelter.

Answer: MGM Grand

In a place as busy as Las Vegas, a fire could cause horrible damage. When the former MGM Grand caught fire in November 1980 it became one of the worst hotel fires in U.S. history, killing over eight people inside and causing severe damage to the structure. Of course, it being Vegas, the building was reconstructed within half a year and back to full functionality.

It became Bally's Las Vegas shortly after and a new MGM Grand was built down the strip. What was the cause? It was discovered that electrical wiring in the wall of a restaurant sparked the blaze.

The fire was fueled by a lack of sprinkler coverage in the casino and eating areas, the fault of a poor decisions made by building inspectors. After another fire in another casino the following year, Vegas building laws were amended.

Answer: The Mont-Blanc

Known in Canadian history as the Halifax Explosion, it occurred in December 1917, right at the start of winter. When the explosion shook the coast early that morning, it knocked down a large reach of the surrounding community, toppling buildings and killing nearly two thousand people in its massive TNT-powered blast.

The Mont-Blanc, originally commissioned to bring explosives overseas to France, ended up colliding with the SS Imo and the fire onboard ended up spreading and sparking the dynamite.

It has since been considered one of Canada's worst man-made disasters and, until the bombs were dropped in Japan in World War II, it was the most damaging bomb inadvertently created. To add insult to injury, the damage was covered by a blizzard the following day.

Answer: Gulf War

After invading Kuwait in 1990 and sparking the Gulf War, Iraqi forces ended what would be known to American soldiers as 'Operation Desert Storm' by depleting oil resources, mainly by setting rigs ablaze, destroying billions of barrels of the precious natural substance.

Many of the fires remained ablaze for nearly ten months; they started in January and ended in November, only because of hired contractors who put them out. Before the final rig fizzled out, the fires had already created widespread pollution problems not only in the atmosphere, but in the desert sands which quickly reabsorbed spilled oil.

It was one of the costliest disasters in Kuwait's history.

Answer: Rome

Although many blamed Emperor Nero for the fire that wiped out over two thirds of what was then Rome, Nero ended up blaming followers of the Christian faith for the destruction that ensued in these ancient times. According to historians, the fire lasted six days and was crippling to the infrastructure of the city.

Despite reports that Emperor Nero allegedly played a lyre while his city burned, he remained in power for four more years until, contemplating suicide, he asked one of his closest hands to commit the deed for him. Nonetheless, it has been argued that this horrible fire rivaled the horrible tyranny brought upon Rome by Nero himself.

The city has since been rebuilt (obviously).

Answer: Texas City

Considered one of the worst industrial fires in American history, it began when the SS Grandcamp set on fire, detonating its colossal load of ammonium nitrate and creating a blast so large that it obliterated several nearby oil depots in the process. The destruction wiped out a great deal of local industry, killing hundreds of workers and relief forces and injuring thousands more. Because of the resulting lawsuits, it also marked the first class-action lawsuit in American history, a lawsuit which took ten years to fully settle. In 2005, disaster struck again in Texas City when the second-largest refinery in Texas combusted.

This occurred after BP was forced to pay the highest fines ever accrued by a refinery in the States due to its safety violations.

Answer: A coal mine

Although the origins of the Centralia Coal Mine fire are unknown, its unearthing in 1962 caused major issues. The town was evacuated and abandoned shortly after, and surrounding towns felt major effects from below (including sinkholes, unsafe land, etc.).

The town was, in essence, wiped from the map for safety reasons and visitors were prohibited except from a safe distance, not because of imminent danger from direct fire, but from carbon monoxide fumes, deadly faults, and loosened ground. Although attempts were made to excavate and determine the cause and source of the fire, they were in vain.

It simply became safer to stay away at all costs, and wait a few hundred years for it to die out (maybe).

Answer: Australia

Spreading through the state of Victoria in Australia over the course of a month in 2009, the Black Saturday fires were created mainly due to the worst possible weather conditions-- high temperatures and strong winds heading toward the sea. Although some fires were caused by arsonists, conditions on Saturday, February 7 were the tipping point and, within a month, thousands were forced to evacuate the rapidly-spreading blaze. Over 150 people died in the ensuing fires and over one million acres of land were scorched in Australia.

It took until mid-March before it was extinguished. It was the world's deadliest wildfire in over a decade, and one of the worst ever recorded.