10,000
years ago
Cave men invent fire
1431
Heretic Joan of Arc burned at stake
1692
Salem witch trials and burnings
1871
After a cow allegedly knocks over a lantern, Chicago burns to the ground, leaving 90,000 people homeless
1873
For 24 hours, downtown Portland is engulfed in flames; 20 city blocks burned to the ground
1906
Triggered by a massive earthquake, fires break out around San Francisco, wiping out Chinatown and most of the Russian Hill mansions
1945
Less remembered than the atomic bombs, several months earlier US B-29s dropped incendiary cylinders that ignited most of Tokyo, leaving 100,000 dead
1963
Protesting the US-supported government, seven monks in Vietnam set themselves on fire
1968
Protesting the Miss America Pageant, several women burn their bras in Atlantic City
1984
In a “freak” accident freak Michael Jackson’s oily hair ignites during filming of a Pepsi ad
1990
A massive bonfire at Texas A&M collapses, killing 12 students
2003
When pyrotechnics go awry at a Great White concert, a fast-moving fire engulfs a Rhode Island nightclub killing 98 people