San Francisco Is Burning: The Untold Story of the 1906 Earthquake and Fires

Excellent book. I grew up in Daly City not too far from the San Andreas fault and know S.F. pretty well. I was a little kid when the 1957 quake hit the area and my grandparents were in the 1906 quake. I can picture it all very well from Dennis Smith's descriptions. It was a great read. Many other reviewers have said it all. I am just glad some of the truth finally came out.

This book had the misfortune of being published soon after Simon Winchester's "A Crack in the Edge of the World." Despite its many considerable shortcomings (described by other reviewers both here and on the "Crack" page), Winchester's work has garnered considerably more attention. To date, there have been 5 reader reviews for "Burning" versus 30 (many of them uncomplimentary) for "Crack." That's unfortunate. "San Francisco is Burning" is a much more accessible, engaging and compelling read. It tells the story I thought I was going to get in "Crack," and does so in a powerfully arresting way. Author Dennis Smith focuses adroitly on the human dimension, the decisions of individuals before, during and after the earthquake that shaped the events that unfolded in the fateful hours and days that followed. The early loss of Fire Department Chief Dennis Sullivan, Smith writes, deprived San Francisco of an experienced leader well schooled in fire control and crisis management. Sullivan's presence might well have prevented, or at least mitigated the impact of, some of the disastrous decisions made by less experienced leaders, particularly Mayor Schmitz and Army General Funston. (Funny, Winchester portrays Schmitz and Funston in a generally favorable light and does not hold them to account for several strategic and tactical blunders, including poorly executed dynamiting of property, which started new fires and exacerbated the conflagration.) There will undoubtedly be a lot more attention focused on the Great San Francisco Earthquake with the 100th anniversary coming up in April. There may well be more books on the horizon. For time-pressed readers looking to gain insight into this historical event, I would strongly recommend "San Francisco is Burning."

Dennis Smith, a former New York City firefighter, has written a great book about the 1906 earthquake and fire that devastated San Francisco. Three thousand people died, 28,000 buildings were destroyed, 200,000 people were dislocated. Warnings about the water system were ignored. The decisions by the emergency leadership resulted in more destruction, the martial law led to senseless deaths and the demoralization of an already devastated population. The San Francisco fire was the greatest metropolitan fire in history outside of war (p.3). The author places this event in the context of those times. San Francisco was then the largest city in the West, and the center of finance, culture, and corruption. The big houses of the super-rich flaunted their conspicuous consumption. The discovery of gold in 1849 caused a great increase in the population (p.30). Growth in San Francisco demanded a reliable municipal water supply (p.35). But the Sierra Club protested this, and aided the private water monopoly (p.36). Most of the houses were built of wood and closely spaced; an inadequate water supply could not handle a major fire (pp.46-47). The earthquake liquified sandy soil and houses sank into the earth (p.53)! Houses collapsed from poor construction, shoddy workmanship, and inferior building materials (p.59). Candles and heating caused fires; a broken chimney let fires into attics. The author states that the 52 fires reported after the earthquake were contained. It was the bad decisions by the leaders that doomed San Francisco (pp.66-67). Chapter 25 explains earth sciences; read it. The final truth about the military's role in making this disaster is in Chapter 30. General Frederick Funston took command of the emergency without having the authority to do so (p.89). The command's orders led to widespread fires and destruction (pp.92-93). Neither the mayor or the general could order martial law (p.96). The earthquake destroyed the fire hydrant system. Emergency cisterns were not filled (p.123). There was a lack of proper fire-fighting action (p.146). The troops were not used in fire-fighting. The shooting of "looters" was officially sanctioned murder soon covered-up (p.157). Chapter 55 tells how buildings were saved in spite of the military. The policy of dynamiting houses caused more fires (Chapter 56). Chapter 57 tells of the actions by the troops. Many federal buildings did not burn because the army could not order them evacuated and their employees defeated the fire (p.186). General Funston ordered army tugboats to stop providing water for the fire-fighters (p.204)! Refugees were fed from the supplies in the rail yards (p.206). Residents saved their homes from the fire until forced out by soldiers (Chapter 76). The Globe Mills, with wheat and flour, was left to burn by the army (p.224)! Chapter 83 tells of the cover-up that began after the fires ended. All sorts of information was collected, then made to disappear (p.234). General Funston's forced evac

Author Dennis Smith is a firefighting historian who here examines the fires which devastated 1906 San Francisco as much as the earthquake. At first one may wonder at the need for yet another 1906 history - but the firefighter focus is special, allowing for a narrowed focus on how the fire spread, the heroism of the San Francisco firemen, and the efforts of ordinary citizens to save the city. San Francisco Is Burning: The Untold Story Of The 1906 Earthquake And Fires thus offers much information not seen elsewhere, and a unique perspective.