Paris in the Middle Ages Had Fewer Fires than Hong Kong?

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Fires in Paris cites the Paris Commune and then the Semaine sanglante as the oldest ones. None from the Middle Ages.

The French version of the page actually has one from the Middle Ages: Bal des ardents, in English Bal des Ardents / Ball of the Burning Men (28 January 1393, four dead in a fire caused by a torch carried the wrong way at court).

In the article Brigade de sapeurs-pompiers de Paris, in English Paris Fire Brigade (was it created 1793 or 1811?), there are in the French article various measures from 1371 to 1722 on how fires should be fought. But no mention of a fire of historic proportions.

I can't actually know that Paris had fewer fires than the ones shown for Hong Kong, since some of these are small and are noted on wikipedia just because they were more recent. But anything the proportion of the fire from 26th November this year, I think it would have been remembered.

So, no, the Middle Ages were not full of a fire hasard, they were simply very conscious of security measures, which seem to have worked satifactorily, unlike the ones for big tower buildings in more recent times. London and Novgorod were not so lucky, but that's because they had more houses purely in wood.

And a fire leaving thousands homeless, like 1953 fire leaving 53,000 homeless, well, that would certainly have been noted in Paris, but didn't occur. It did occur a few times in London (like under John Lackland), with a repeat in 1666, and at least once in Novgorod.

Bourges actually has a few of them: 588, 760, 23 June 1252, 1259, 1338, 1353, 1407, 1463, 1467, 27 July 1487, 1508 and 1538. But these seem to have caused homelessness without causing death. I suppose it's easier to escape a burning house from the upper floor to the ground floor (or to the street or backyard outside it) than to escape from floor 20 in a high modern building.

In Denmark / Norway, Trondheim had fires in 1598, 1708, 1841, 1842 and Copenhagen 1728 and 1795. Hamburg has a fire 5—8 May 1842. All three cities after the Middle Ages.

But Bremen actually in the Middle Ages, Sept. 11th, 1041. Bremer Brand, which I cite:

Opferzahlen des Brandes sind nicht überliefert. Es wird aber berichtet, dass neben dem Dom und der Dombibliothek auch die Stiftsgebäude sowie zahlreiche weitere Häuser in der Umgebung ein Opfer der Flammen wurden.

Victim numbers from the fire are not transmitted. But it's said that beside the Cathedral and the Cathedral's library also the houses attached to the See, and numerous other houses in the vicinity burned down. I venture to guess, none died, and given the social importance of the unhoused, they were quickly rehoused, and their neighbours with them.

Stadtbrand von Einbeck involves many people and cattle dead, 26th of July. It was in 1540 and there were 33 city fires that very dry year. Luther pretended that Catholics had caused them to combat the Reformation, but actually Catholic cities were destroyed too. Einbeck had introduced the Deformation 11 years earlier. Now, there was a confession of Catholic guilt:

On the 28th of July, a drunk shepherd was arrested and admitted under torture that the Patrician Heinrich Diek (presumably a Catholic) had paid him. Next day, Philip of Hassia, the man whom Luther had allowed or was going to allow bigamy, sent warning letters about arson to other cities. On Sept. 4th, Diek had, also under torture, confessed. 18th same month, the Deformer Anton Corvinus (no English article available) transmits the hearings protocols to Philip of Hassia. 28 of December, the Schmalkaldic League proceeds against Duke Henry the Younger, the last Catholic prince in the area. Under torture, Diek had named him as instigator.

Similarily just after the Middle Ages, we have the great city fire of Görtlitz, 1525. Großer Stadtbrand (Görlitz). 180 houses or 1/3 of the city burned down. Death toll, the baker in whose house the fire broke out this night between 12th and 13th of June. Plus his children. 30th of April, same year, the Deformer Franz Rothbart (no article in English) had celebrated Lutheran "Mass" for the first time, 44—45 days before the fire. Less than 100 years earlier, 1429, the city within the walls had not been burned, but the Hussites had burned the surrounding suburbs.

Munich? Stadtbrand von München, 13th of February 1327. It destroyed 1/3 of the city. The Franciscan Hermann Sack would decades later as chronicler say that 30 people died. October Feast Museum is in a house that was enlarged after this fire. Hear about the moral sequel, pretty different from Einbeck:

In der Folge wurde für die Obdachlosen und ihre Familien gesammelt und die Bürger halfen gemeinsam beim Wiederaufbau.

In the following days or weeks, one collected for the homeless and their familities and the burghers were all of them helping at the rebuilding. Probably happened in Einbeck too, but there it is overshadowed by the war preparations on Duke Henry the Younger, starting to open war when he attacked Goslar for its Deformation. Back to just after the Middle Ages, the Stadtbrand in Prag 1541 / Požár Malé Strany a Hradčan. 1541 was obviously the year after 1540, and in Prague, no one was accused. Except the sumemr heat, 2nd of June. Prague:Einbeck = 1:0. Hradčany, all 42 houses destroyed. Malá Strana, 133 houses destroyed, 78 spared. I think pretty much of churches and the castle were destroyed too.

Hájek trug auch Informationen über die Todesopfer zusammen. Er gab an, wo die Menschen wohnten und wo sie gefunden wurden, von jedem Opfer nannte er zumindest den Namen oder den Beruf. Seinem Bericht zufolge starben insgesamt 52 Menschen. Auf der Kleinseite waren es 23 Menschen, auf der Prager Burg 23 und auf dem Hradschin 6. Zwei beschrieb Hájek als verkrüppelt, aber am Leben. Die meisten Todesopfer waren Bedienstete und Kinder.

Wenceslaus Hajek collected the information about the death toll. He indicated where the people lived and where they had been found, of each victim he at least mentioned name or occupation. According to his account, in all 52 people died. On Malá Strana, 23 people, on the Castle, 23, on the Hradčany 6. He described two as crippled but alive. The majority of the death victims were servants and children.

If we look, again, on Einbeck, the blaming of Catholics after a fire takes us to First Century Rome, right? German wiki has a page on Roman city fires. Römische Stadtbrände The one in AD 64 came just decades after one in 27. These are the ones after 64:

• Im Jahr 69 wütete ein größerer Brand auf dem Kapitol.
• Auch zur Regierungszeit des Titus brannte es im Jahr 80 auf dem Kapitol und dem Marsfeld.
• Im Jahr 192 verwüstete ein weiterer großer Stadtbrand weite Teile der Stadt.
• Bei dem Brand von 283 fing das Forum Romanum Feuer.

Won't translate that right now, but if you note the years, 69, 80, 192, 283, the list ceases before the Middle Ages.

On the German category, I have not included Constantinople, since it's not in the Latin area, nor London, since it's well known, even for the Middle Ages, but most of the total of 67 city fires were from Modern Times, not from the Middle Ages. Returning to the French category, I found Oslo and Rennes and Oulu also were burned down only in Modern Times. Stockholm was unusually "firey" during the Middle Ages:

Throughout its history, Stockholm has been struck by many large fires, one of the oldest documented fires ravaging the city on April 14, 1297. The years 1330, 1344, 1407, 1411, 1419, 1445, 1458, and 1495 saw the city ravaged by major fires. The fire of 1407 was caused by a lightning strike and was alleged by some sources to have claimed up to 1,600 casualties. This fire destroyed many areas, including the Black Friars' Monastery of Stockholm.

After the year 1501, the building of wooden houses was banned inside the city walls. In 1552, the ban against fire hazards within the city was tightened so that the wooden houses in the town center were to be demolished and replaced with stone. However, there were still flammable wooden buildings, such as outhouses and sheds, left in the yard.

Obviously, Stockholm was in the same category as London and Novgorod. Too much wood in the city. The item on 1600 casualties is from Swea Rikes Historia, but even Sven Lagerbring in 1783 said "according to some sources" ...

Hans Georg Lundahl
Bpi, Georges Pompidou
I Lord's Day of Advent
30.XI.2025