5 SEPTEMBER 1666 – London had already burned several times in its history, most notably in 1212, but in September 1666 the conditions were present for an inferno of epic proportions. The city of 500,000 people was a tinderbox of cramped streets and timber-frame structures, many of them built with flammable pitch and tar. Stables filled with hay and straw were everywhere, and many cellars and warehouses were packed with combustible materials such as turpentine, lamp oil and coal. To make matters worse, a months-long drought had created a water shortage and left most of the wood buildings kindling-dry. The fateful spark in the Great Fire came early on Sunday, September 2, at the Pudding Lane bakery of Thomas Farriner. Before heading to bed that night, Farriner had made a final inspection of his bakery and raked the spent coals in his ovens, which were still warm from a day of making shipâs biscuit for King Charles IIâs navy. An ember must have survived, for it ignited a fire in the bakery. With the house on fire, a bucket brigade was formed, but most just stood and watched. Sir Thomas Bludworth, Londonâs Lord Mayor, took even less action. After arriving to inspect the blaze, he pronounced it so insignificant that âa woman might piss it outâ and returned to bed. The fire was not extinguished! Over the next days the fire spread to other homes, to other blocks until the London was ablaze. All told, the Great Fire had destroyed 13,200 buildings and left an estimated 100,000 people homeless. Over 400 acres of the city had burned, leaving behind a desert of charred stone and smoldering wood beams. âLondon was, but is no more,â rochestermilitary.com