Copenhagen fire of 1795

The Copenhagen Fire of 1795 started on Friday, 5 July 1795, at or around 3 pm by the Navy's old base south east of Kongens Nytorv on Gammelholm, in the Navy's magazine for coal and timber, the so-called Dellehave. As the workers had already gone home, a considerable length of time passed before efforts to combat the fire started, and out of fear for theft, the fire hydrants had been removed. The people of Holmen also blocked the civilian fire brigade, possibly in the belief that since it was a military area, the military should take care of it.

There had been an extended period without rain and the dry wood, combined with the storage of rope work and tar, made the fire spread quickly. The wind blew especially strong from east-southeast, and that meant the countless embers were carried through the air into the city. Because of the strong sunlight, small fires were difficult to detect until they have taken hold. This is why the fire spread from Gammelholm to the main magazine along Holmens Canal (Holmens Kanal Danish) and over Holmens Canal to the quarter around Saint Nicolai Church and from there, along Gammel Strand to the area around Nytorv/Gammeltorv.

Right by Saint Nicolai Church, after the Copenhagen Fire of 1728, infrastructure to fight fires had been constructed because the area was very densely built up. A basin that could hold 400 barrels of water had been excavated for use. In addition, a pumping station was built that could pump water through an 800-foot-long hose. The pumps were able to raise the pressure to such a level that it could deliver one barrel of water per minute from the hose. But when a spark set fire to the church tower, nobody could find the key to the door of the pumping station. Only some time later did anyone think of kicking the door in. By then, the fire had already taken hold and the residents in the surrounding quarter were panicked. The road became so full of people, who were also transporting furniture to safety from the fire, that the water hoses could not be brought close to the fire. Soon the church burned to the ground, and with it the pumps. At that point, the Saint Nicolai quarter could not be saved.

The majority of the residents in the area threatened by the fire chose to flee, but in some places residents chose to stay in their houses and fight the fire. This happened in the first three to four houses on the north side of Østergade. Here people spread themselves throughout the houses both inside and out, armed with buckets and plenty of water. This prevented the fire from taking hold and saved the neighbouring street of Købmagergade at the same time, since it would have inevitably have spread to there as well.

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Wikipedia