It's 8.30 p.m. on October 8, 1871, on the outskirts of Chicago, Illinois.

44-year-old Catherine O'Leary puts away dishes, stifling a yawn as she sets a pile of plates in the

cupboard. She's had a long day preparing food, milking the cow, and cleaning her home, and now

she's ready for bed. But Catherine's hope for an early night are spoiled by an urgent

knocking on the door. She opens it up to find a panicked neighbor on the doorstep, pointing

down the alley toward

Catherine's barn. There's an eerie orange glow coming from inside, and with a start, Catherine realizes

the barn is on fire. Catherine rushes along the alley and opens the barn door. But she's forced

back by a wave of heat. The straw and hay that her family stores in the

barn is burning ferociously. Flames are licking the wooden walls and roof, and with one glance

Catherine realizes she has no hope of putting out the fire, but she does have time to rescue her animals.

Braving the heat, Catherine rushes in to untie her cow. It's her most

valuable possession, and she can't afford to lose it. She leads the terrified animal out of the

barn to safety, but before she can return to collect the shrieking pigs and squawking chickens,

the neighbor who raised the alarm grabs Catherine's arm, stopping her from going back into the

barn.

She points up with the barn's rafters just as they fall in, showering the two with burning

embers.

The collapsing barn also spews burning straw and hay high into the air.

And with horror, Catherine watches the smoldering debris fall on the wooden roofs of surrounding houses.

The fire is spreading, and Catherine can't do anything to stop it.

By the time the flames are extinguished a day later, more than 17,000 buildings in Chicago will have burned down.

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