WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8: TWO OF AMERICA'S WORST FIRES
Profile America - Saturday, October 8th. National Fire Prevention Week starts tomorrow - a time to look around your house with the idea of keeping the risk of fire to a minimum. It's also a good time to check the batteries of your smoke detectors. Two of the worst fires in U.S. history broke out on this date in 1871. One was the famous fire in Chicago. Up to 300 people died in that blaze, which left almost 100,000 people homeless. A second fire on that day was much worse, but has faded into history. It destroyed the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and burned across six counties, killing as many as 2,400 people. Each year in the U.S., more than 3,300 people die in fires, and nearly 17,000 others are injured. Profile America is in its 15th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 507, 508, 509
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 354
Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
