On June 13th, 1886, a great fire destroyed the city of Vancouver in less than an hour.
At the end of disaster movies, when the survivors look at the destruction and contemplate what to do, they often land on the same conclusion: rebuild.
Following the great fire, that’s exactly what Vancouver did.
Everyone was united by a singular goal: to rise again.
Alan Morley, author of Vancouver: From Milltown to Metropolis, wrote that “Doctors and women collected medical supplies and bandages, [while] food, clothing and household goods were donated.”
Nearby towns were generous.
Lumber was coming in overnight, and “by 6 o’clock in the evening an unending relief caravan was making its way to Vancouver.”
Tents and building frames were erected by dawn, despite smoke still remaining. Buildings were in construction within four days.
$6,900 in funds were also raised to purchase the city’s first fire engine, according to Culture Trip.
Construction on a fire hall and water tanks soon followed, as well as the development of Vancouver’s first police force.
“Probably never since the days of Pompeii and Herculaneum was a town wiped out of existence so completely and suddenly as was Vancouver on Sunday”, reported the Daily News days after the fire.
Yet, Vancouver rose from the ashes as quick as the fire that burned it to the ground.
“In 20 minutes, Vancouver had been wiped off the earth. In 12 hours, it was rising again.”
This is part two of a two-part series on the Great Vancouver Fire. You can find part one about the fire’s destruction, here.
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