Each tab of this LibGuide details a specific Illinois fire or incident. Each fire has a summary of the events, a section of resources at IFSI Library, online resources with links, and some include a section with online book resources and/or video resources. Each resource includes a description so users know exactly what each resource contains, and each IFSI Library resource includes a link to the catalog so users can make requests of the items.

Local Lending (Illinois Residents Only)

                                   The Great Chicago Fire of 1871

This guide was produced by the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) Library to bring together resources about significant fires in the history of Illinois. These resources include books and audiovisual material available at the IFSI Library, as well as freely available online material, including articles, websites, books, and videos. The primary audience of this guide is fire fighters and emergency responders, but students and members of the public with an interest in Illinois and American history might also find this guide useful. Each tab of this guide contains information about a different fire.

The IFSI Library houses more than 65,000 items, including books, periodicals, manuals, codes and standards, DVDs, CDs, e-resources, audiobooks and other fire emergency resources. The library exists to serve all first responders in the state of Illinois. Users can request materials in-person, via telephone or email, or through the Online Catalog. The catalog may be searched keyword, title, author, subject, or publisher, and the search can be limited to specific formats. You may enter as many or as few search terms as you would like; the more search parameters the fewer results there will be, but those results will be more specific. You can visit us in person, or, if you live in the state of Illinois and have an Illinois library card, we can send the materials you want to your local library via interlibrary loan.

Library Hours:

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Monday - Friday

Special operating hours may be held during events.

IFSI Library Website

IFSI Library Staff:

Lian Ruan, Head Librarian: lruan@illinois.edu

Diane Richardson, Reference & User Training Librarian: dlrichar@illinois.edu

David Ehrenhart, Archivist and Metadata Librarian: ehrenha1@illinois.edu

Contact fsi-library@illinois.edu with questions or concerns.