Dublin whiskey fire

The Dublin Whiskey Fire took place on the 18th of June, 1875 in the Liberties area of Dublin City.[1] It lasted a single night but killed 13 people, and resulted in €6 million worth of damage in whiskey alone (adjusted for inflation),[2] None of the fatalities suffered during the fire were due to smoke inhalation, burns, or any other form of direct contact with the fire itself, but from alcohol poisoning after drinking from the 6-inch (15.24 cm) deep river of whiskey that is said to have flowed as far as the Coombe.[3]

Origin

The fire is believed to have started in Malone's Malt house and a bonded storehouse in the Liberties.,[4] where 5,000 barrels of whiskey were being stored. The exact cause of the fire is unknown, but it is known to have started between 4:45pm, when the storehouse was checked, and 8pm, when the alarm was raised. After it began inside the storehouse, it heated the barrels of whiskey to a point where they burst, further accelerating the spread of the fire.

Spread

The fire spread remarkably quickly by all accounts, as the whiskey took to almost all surfaces like petrol. By 10pm the flow of whiskey was six inches deep and stretched 400 meters down along Mill Street to the Coombe, where it came close to burning down the nearby Daughters of Charity convent and Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital. The survival of these sites caused the nuns within to begin praying profusely, thanking God for the miracle of sparing them.

Human Reaction

People living nearby were first alerted to the fire by the sounds of squealing pigs from nearby livestock pens that had caught fire, and this is said to have contributed to a surprisingly rapid evacuation that was later commended by members of the emergency services as well as the Lord Mayor of Dublin at the time, Peter Paul McSwiney. He is quoted as saying the following

“The time given for escape in some places during the progress of the fire was so short, I was apprehensive that some people should be left in danger in the garrets and cellars of the district. But on inquiry I was happy to learn that no life was lost during the great conflagration.”

During the evacuation many people gathered by the streams of whiskey, filling any vessel to hand with the substance. “Caps, porringers, and other vessels" were all gathered to lap up the burning liquid, resulting in 24 hospitalizations due to alcohol poisoning and 13 subsequent fatalities.

References
  1. Hopkins, Frank (June 2008). Hidden Dublin: Deadbeats, Dossers, and Decent Skins. Mercier Press Ltd. p. 189. ISBN 9781856355919. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  2. rareAdmin (4 May 2017). "The Great Whiskey Fire of Dublin, 1875". Rare Irish Stuff. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  3. O'Brien, Joseph V. (1982). Dear, Dirty Dublin: A City In Distress. University of California Press. p. 34. ISBN 9780520039650. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  4. Ruxton, Dean. "The night a river of whiskey ran through the streets of dublin". Irish Times. Retrieved 7 June 2020.


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