Help! A Building is on Fire Trivia Quiz

Answer: Reichstag

The Reichstag Fire or Der Reichstagsbrand was a pivotal moment in German history as the event was exploited by the Nazi Party (NSDAP) thus enabling them to introduce a new decree. Hitler used the fire of February 1933 to develop the Reichstag Fire Decree or Reichstagsbrandverordnung, which placed limitations on political opponents such as the German Communists (KPD).

Contrary to popular belief not all of the Reichstag was set alight. The fire mainly affected the main debating chamber and the immediate surrounds. The question of who started the fire is one that still gets historians excited. Was it the sole work of the Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe? Maybe. Was it the work of the Nazi party? Maybe. Was the fire started by the German Communist Party? Again maybe. The fact is, no one really knows for sure!

Answer: 1814

The significance of this year is that it was during the War of 1812. The White House was one of the many buildings that suffered due to the blaze known as the Burning of Washington. The White House had to be rebuilt and the then US leader, President James Monroe, moved into the newly constructed but unfinished building in 1817.

Answer: Wax figures

Madame Tussauds is known the world over for its famous wax figures based on people from sport, film, music, science and history. With museums around the world, vast amounts of people view these waxworks every year.

The fire in the London museum in 1925 destroyed many of the existing wax statues. All that remained were the casts, so that at least they could be remade. The museum took another hit in 1941 during the German bombing of the city, known as the Blitz. This also did its fair share of damage to the wax statues.

Answer: Empire State Building

The morning hours of July 28, 1945 in New York City were accompanied by a very thick blanket of fog and this made the pilot's job of flying the North American B-25 Mitchell bomber very difficult. The pilot's name was Lieutenant Colonel William Franklin Smith, Jr. and his crashing into the Empire State Building started a chain of events that would end up in an elevator operator making history and gaining a Guinness World Record.

The operator, named Betty Lou Oliver, was in her elevator at the time of the crash, and after attempts to rescue her failed the elevator fell 75 floors to the basement of the iconic building.

Incredibly, Betty Lou Oliver survived and her record was firmly cemented in the history books. Do you fancy beating her record for most floors fallen in an elevator and living to tell the tale? I think I'll pass.

Answer: Spencer Perceval

Spencer Perceval was shot in the lobby of the House of Commons in 1812, 22 years before the building in which he was killed would be set on fire. Spencer Perceval was the first, and (up to the end of the 20th century) the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated.

The Palace of Westminster, located on the banks of the river Thames, was rebuilt over the course of three decades.

Answer: MGM Grand Hotel and Casino

At the time of the fire the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, later named Bally's Las Vegas, was amongst the largest hotels in the world. The fire started as a result of an electrical fault and 85 people would die, most of the fatalities being due to smoke inhalation. The fire is said to be one of the greatest disasters in the history of the state of Nevada.

Answer: King's Cross

This particular fire couldn't have been worse placed in the London Underground network, as King's Cross St. Pancras is one of the busiest stations in the British capital city. The station now houses a plaque in remembrance of the fatal fire. The simple inscription says:

"In memory of the thirty-one people who lost their lives in the King's Cross underground fire of 18th November 1987".

Answer: Moscow

The people who died in this fire were either patients or staff at the rehabilitation centre in this particular hospital in south Moscow. Those who died were unable to escape because the ward's exit gate was locked shut and thus trapped everybody inside. Nobody from the ward survived and this event went down in the city's history as one of the worst fires ever documented.

Answer: Chicago

The combination of a very dry October that year and structures made of wood made Chicago very vulnerable to a fire that would cause havoc and result in the city having to be rebuilt. The statistics indicate that some 17,000 buildings were destroyed in the blaze and three hundred were killed.

Despite the tragic loss of three hundred lives, one can't help but to think that the death toll was, fortunately, really rather low.

Answer: Windsor Castle

The year 1992 was described by Queen Elizabeth II as her annus horribilis, in the words "1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis."

The repairs made to Windsor Castle had to be paid for with funds from somewhere, and there was a strong debate about whether or not the government, via the taxpayer, should cough up the cash. Eventually it was decided that the public would not be expected to fund the repairs and instead Buckingham Palace was opened to visitors to raise the money.