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          THE LONGEST MINUTE, A BOOK REVIEW

          THE LONGEST MINUTE, A BOOK REVIEW

                                                BY

                         MATTHEW J. DAVENPORT

The subject of The Longest Minute is the disastrous San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The destruction of property and loss of life due to the quake was huge. But the larger tragedy was caused by the massive fire which resulted from the earthquake.

The fire initially burned unchecked due to the magnitude of the destruction and the lack of adequate firefighting of that era.

One problem was the lack of fire hydrants due to corruption involved in their installation. Another problem was the formation of firebreaks by blowing up structures in the path of the fire. Initially, black powder was used due to the lack of immediate availability of dynamite. The black powder explosions only served to spread the fire with flying embers.

The emergency response was less than organized. A disaster of this extent was unexpected. The infant fire department was overwhelmed. The police were also stretched too thin, so assistance was requested from the military. The army and navy provided officers and men with their only orders were to aid the police with handling the disaster. That was it. There was a total lack of guidance or details on how to accomplish this. There was no plan, just do the job. Luckly, the military personnel assigned were resourceful and capable in making a meaningful contribution and provide immediate aid to population of San Francisco.

The level of destruction was not difficult to determine, but the loss of life was impossible to total. Many of the residents were reduced to ash mingled with the destroyed structures.

To deter looters the mayor issued a ‘shoot to kill’ order and at least one rescue worker was killed.

Once the world was made aware of the calamity, aid poured in without any hesitation. This was much different than the present-day opinion that no matter what happened in the United States the country could handle it on its own.

All in all, this is a thoroughly researched book providing a minute by minute telling of the disaster and the reconstruction of the city and how corruption in that effort reared its ugly head. And the telling heroic acts of individuals called upon to act with no plan, only a mission.

This book is a well-worth read of a major disaster experienced by the country.  

November 7, 2024 at 3:07 pm Leave a comment