The Great Chicago Fire was a major milestone in the city's history. The fire began on October 8, 1871 and did not end until October 10, 1871. People never saw this fire coming, which could have made things worse. The only reason it spread so far is because everything was made of wood, the ground was parched, and the wind was blowing that night; the reason he stopped was because it had started raining. Although the fire destroyed much of the city, it was a positive turning point in history. The Chicago Fire improved firefighters and their equipment, new buildings made of fireproof materials, and brought large investors to the city. There were more than 334,000 people in Chicago (Burgan) at the time. In 1800, 90% of Chicago's buildings were made of wood. Even the streets and even the sidewalks were made of wood. There were fifty-six miles of wood roads and five hundred and sixty-one miles of sidewalks. In 1871 there was little or no rain during that summer, so the soil was very dry, which made it more vulnerable. Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary were residents of Chicago at the time; they lived at 137 DeKoven Street where the fire actually started. The O'Learys had five children; they also had a barn full of five cows, a calf, a horse, two tons of hay and two tons of coal that were a huge fire hazard. The barn and everything in it constituted Mrs. O'Leary's livelihood, but the barn was not insured because they were very poor. Mr. O'Leary worked as a laborer and Mrs. O'Leary kept her cows in a barn selling their milk to neighbors (Edmond). October 8, 1871 was one of the worst days in history. A fire broke out in the O'Leary residence about nine o'clock in the evening (who... middle of the paper... from the O'Leary barn, so how did he know about the accident?) fire before the O'Leary? Bales thinks the Reagans may have been in the barn with Sullivan. Historians agree that the fire actually started behind the O'Learys' barn. In 1997, the Chicago Council passed an ordinance clearing Mrs. O'Leary "Leary of all blame. That exoneration was persuaded by the work of Bales. What happened that night will always remain a mystery (Edmond). The Great Chicago Fire was very devastating. Many people lost everything they had firefighters, better building materials and some large investors. The economy and population have both increased since 1871. There is no precise explanation as to how it is fire broke out, but there are certainly plenty of stories about how it might have started. Leary and his cow will live on forever as a Chicago legend.