Below is a visual account of this fire along with comments written on the backs of the photographs by the firemen. It was so cold the water froze with everything it came in contact with. There is no better way to bring history to life than through a photograph. The Virginia Fire and Police Museum has gathered together over 750 photographs depicting the life of the firefighter at the turn of the century. The fire engines pull up to the scene.
Flames fly, smoke whirls and water begins to stream.
This part of fire service is the same today as it was one hundred years ago, yet many other things have changed. The photographs in the Museum's collection give the viewer a glimpse of how fires were fought before the invention of the car, when horses pulled the steam engines and fires were reported by a telegraph system.