Fires of the Past: San Francisco’s Blazing Lessons

Ignite your curiosity with "Fires of the Past," a sound film spotlighting San Francisco’s catastrophic blazes during Fire Prevention Week, likely from the 1930s or 1940s. This reel crackles with drama: a rooming house fire roars, a building collapses in a thunderous heap, ambulances wail through frantic crowds, and voices narrate the chaos. Paired with haunting 1906 earthquake and fire scenes—rubble-strewn streets and flames devouring the city—it blends past devastation with a modern warning. In stark black-and-white, the audio of sirens and shouts drives home the stakes, making it a gripping lesson for history buffs, disaster scholars, and San Francisco heritage fans on the cost of fire and the push to prevent it.