The 1884 Port Perry Fire

The 1884 Port Perry Fire. . , During the summer of 1884, a heatwave hit the area and as the sun set, on Thursday, July 3, a few minutes before midnight, the townsfolk were rudely awakened by the persistent ringing of the Town Hall bell... the warning for FIRE! , A fire started in the stables behind the Mansion House Hotel (site of the present Post Office). Aided by strong wind, the fire spread rapidly, with wooden buildings virtually exploding as sparks settled on them. , Firemen battled courageously, but their equipment was inadequate to handle the inferno. Flames reached upwards of 40 feet into the air and could be seen as far away as Greenbank and Whitby. All attempts to save buildings were futile. , Panic stricken merchants, most of them uninsured, or under-insured, smashed down the rear doors of their stores, desperate to save merchandise. Some merchandise was rescued and piled on Perry Street, but the heat of the conflagration drove people away and the rescued merchandise itself caught fire as the fire spread to the street. , In less than an hour, the entire business section of downtown Port Perry was an inferno. From the north side of Mary Street to the south side of North Street, from Water Street to Perry Street and along Queen Street all the way to John Street, the fire consumed every structure, with the exception of three buildings. , The Ross and Sons Grain Elevator at the waterfront, plus two other buildings were the only structures to survive. , Thirty-three commercial buildings housing almost 50 businesses, as well as factories, warehouses, stables, six lodges and a dozen homes were nothing more than ashes and embers. , Immediately following the fire, an army of workers converged on the town and in only four months the entire commercial sector, 17 large brick buildings, had been rebuilt.