During the Great Albany Fire of 1848 ten people died and scores were injured in the blaze which burned for about six hours. Almost 600 buildings, including rows of residences, were destroyed.
The burned section amounted to the city’s entire commercial heart, and it disrupted mercantile trade and dealt a severe and lasting economic blow. At the time of The Great Fire, Albany had an all-volunteer firefighting force – many of them Irish Americans.
The Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany, NY will host “The Great Albany Fire of 1848,” a program with Jack McEneny and Tony Opalka set for Wednesday, February 16th. The program is an installment of the museum’s Collars, Canals & Conflagration Series.
The panelists will reveal other potential Irish links as well as the changes that the City enforced to prevent such a disaster from ever happening again.
This event will begin at 7 pm and can be attended in-person at the Museum, or can be streamed live on YouTube.
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