1901 – A boiler explosion at a candle factory in Jacksonville spread to a nearby mattress factory on this date. The fire was initially underestimated and within hours it had spread across the city resulting in one of worst disasters in Florida history. Known as the “Great Fire of 1901,” the blaze destroyed over 2,000 buildings and left 10,000 people homeless in the span of about 8 hours. Some reports claimed that the flames could be seen from as far north as Savannah. Amazing only 7 deaths were reported at the time.