What are five historical facts that you learn about the fire and its aftermath in Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson?

The fire that the question is asking about is the fire that burns down Lady Seymour's house. Isabel rescues Lady Seymour and a few of her valued possessions from the fire. That particular New York City fire is an actual historical event. Here are the five things I learned about the fire from this book:

• I learned there was an actual real fire that ravaged a large part of New York. Until reading this book, I...

The fire that the question is asking about is the fire that burns down Lady Seymour's house. Isabel rescues Lady Seymour and a few of her valued possessions from the fire. That particular New York City fire is an actual historical event. Here are the five things I learned about the fire from this book:

• I learned there was an actual real fire that ravaged a large part of New York. Until reading this book, I only knew about "The Great Chicago Fire."  


• The fire happened in 1776.  


• It burned about 500 buildings.


• It burned nearly one quarter of the housing that existed in New York at the time. 


• "Canvastown" was the name for the burned remains of the city because of the hovels hastily constructed over the burned-out cellars.  


• Nobody knows who or what caused the fire.  

One last interesting detail about the fire: the World Trade Center Towers were built over portions of New York that burned in 1776. St. Paul's Chapel is located in that area as well. That chapel has survived both the fire and the September 11 attacks.