The conflagration began at 7:20 p.m. on November 9, 1872. Before it was finally put out 12 hours later, it destroyed 776 buildings across 65 acres, caused $73.5 million in damages, and killed an estimated 30 people--11 of them firefighters. As was often the case, lack of construction codes helped the blaze to spread, along with an unreliable water supply and an epizootic that sickened the fire department's horses.
Boston was one of the first cities in the nation to install fire alarm boxes. But after false alarms became a problem, the boxes were locked and keys distributed to leading citizens, none of whom were on hand when the fire broke out.
