MAJOR FIRES

St. John's has had a history of memorable fires, including:

• The Great Fire of 1817: There were two seperate blazes, 2 1/2 weeks apart. Four hundred properties - including businesses filled with winter supplies were destroyed. The damage was valued at about $4 million and roughly one-quarter of the city's 8,000 residents were left homeless.
• The Great Fire of 1846: Shortly after 8:30 am June 9, a pot of glue being heated on a stove by a cabinet maker named Hamlin ignited. The fire quickly spread and caused nearly $4 million worth of damage. The blaze destroyed every merchant house, with the exception of the Newman premises at Riverhead.
• The Great Fire of 1892: It started in a stable on Freshwater Road late on the afternoon of July 8, spread rapidly and, in the end destroyed an estimated two-thirds of St. John's. Damage was estimated to be $20 million, 12,000 were left homeless, and, remarkably, just four people died. It's considered one of the worst diasters in the City's history.
• Hull House Fire, 1948: On Feb. 10, Hull House, a building on the corner of Springdale and New Gower Streets, caught fire. It was being used as an infirmary and 33 patients died.
• Knights of Columbus Fire, 1942: On the night of Dec. 12, during a dance being broadcast live on VOCM, a fire at the Knights of Columbus hostel on Harvey Road claimed 91 lives. It was rumoured to have been an act of enemy sabotage, as it happened during the Second World War. 
• Chafe's Nursing Home Fire, 1976: On Boxing Day, 21 senior citizens perished in a fire at a nursing home in Goulds.
• Harvey Road Fire, 1992: On Dec. 21, a fire that seems to have started in the alley between the CLB Armoury and the Dominion supermarket gutted a large portion of the area and left about 100 homeless. Ironically, the CLB's building was located where the Knights of Columbus Hostel once stood. The armoury and supermarket were destroyed, as were numerous other businesses.  

 More Recent Fires: