The Great Fire of London was a major fire that occurred in London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666. There were lots of fire hazards in London in the 1660’s with many houses being wooden and many open candles, fireplaces and ovens were used. A thousand men from the city known as watchmen or bellmen patrolled London at night to watch for fire. A bit after midnight on Sunday 2 September 1666 a fire broke out at Thomas Farriner’s bakery in Pudding Lane. There had been no rain for weeks and the fire was started when a spark from his oven hit fuel in his kitchen even though he said that before he went to bed he checked every room for any fire and there was none, then he said it was arson. But there is no way of knowing. The family was woken by the smell of smoke and to their horror they realised there was a fire in the shop. Because they were unable to use the stairs they climbed out through a window and climbed onto the roof of the neighbouring house. The fire bigrade tried to fight the fire but what little they could do normally was next to nothing and there was a strong wind so they couldn’t get close to the fire. Soon the fire became too big for the fire bigrade and they had to move back and close Pudding lane. Later that morning Samuel Pepys who was a English writer and politician wrote in his diary that it had so far burned down about 300 houses. Throughout the next day the fire spreads West and North but it couldn’t spread South because of the river. Suspicion soon arose in the city that the fire had been lit on perpose. Sparks flew through the air and seemingly unrelated house fires started all over the place. Tuesday was the day of the most destruction during the fire. It destroyed multiple buildings including St. Paul’s Cathedral, The Royal Exchange and Guildhall. The wind dropped on Tuesday evening and the fire was finally was under control on Wednesday 5 September 1666. The official death toll for The Great Fire of London is 6 but many believe that to be a understatement. Historians believe that the actual death toll was much higher. An estimated 13,200 houses burnt down leaving about 100,000 people homeless.