Fire Chief Herbert Fothergill hovered in a helicopter over Chelsea in 1973, watching flames engulf 18 blocks of the city, reports The Boston Globe.
A fire alarm was struck at 3:56 p.m. on Oct. 14 for a blaze that began on Spruce and Summer streets, and to firefighters' dismay, it wasn't letting up. Fothergill radioed commands to his crews, who were able to quell the conflagration after a tenacious 24-hour battle, recalled the chief's son, Chuck.
Miraculously, no one died in the Great Chelsea Fire, but it destroyed 300 buildings and homes and displaced 1,000 people. It took days before firefighters fully extinguished the smoldering remnants. A cause and monetary damage were never determined.
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