Fires (entry)

Categories / City Services/Fire Safety
FIRES. Especially common in the first years of St. Petersburg's existence. The first large fire happened in 1710 on Troitskaya Square. A prohibition against constructing wooden houses within city limits was issued in 1727. In the 18th century, large fires were registered in 1736 and 1737 along the Moika River Embankment; a band of incendiaries was caught after the Fire of 1748. In 1747, all government authorities were provided with fire-fighting equipment. Despite the measures taken, in 1774 some 140 houses in the district of the Main Admiralty burnt down; in 1780, the stone Gostiny Dvor on Nevsky Prospect was also destroyed by fire. In the 19th century, large fires broke out at the Bolshoy Theatre on Theatre Square (1811), at the Lehmann Booth on Admiralteiskaya Square during the Easter open-air festival of 1836 (120 people died), and the Winter Palace Fire of 1837. Authorities declared "students-nihilists" and "Poles" the culprits of the May Fires of 1862. During the Revolution of 1905-07, the Revolution of 1917, and the Civil War, the occurrence of fires increased. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, in Leningrad, 12,000 fires were registered, caused by air raids and bombardment. In 1991, during the fire-fighting operation at the Leningrad Hotel, 9 firemen died (9 city streets were given their names, and a memorial plaque was installed on the hotel). A memorial to all perished firemen was unveiled in 1993 at the Serafimovskoe Cemetery (sculptor L. G. Mogilevsky).

Reference: Комлев В. П. "Блокада. Я в полку пожарном...". Л., 1983; Пыляев М. И. Старый Петербург. М., 1990. С. 89-105; Савельев П. С. Пожары-катастрофы. 2-е изд. М., 1994.

Y. N. Kruzhnov. Mogilevsky Leonid Georgievich
Moika River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city
Nevsky prospect/Saint Petersburg, city
Teatralnaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city
Troitskaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city
Комлев В. П. "Блокада. Я в полку пожарном...". Л., 1983
Пыляев М. И. Старый Петербург. М., 1990
Савельев П. С. Пожары-катастрофы. 2-е изд. М., 1994 Admiralty
Bolshoy Gostiny Dvor
Winter Palace
1736
1737
1832
1882