Read this excerpt from The Great Fire.The fire had begun near the corner of De Koven and Jefferson and quickly fanned out thanks to increasingly gusty winds. One tongue traveled north up Jefferson, while the other headed east toward Lake Michigan. There was no way firefighters from two engines could contain a wind-driven fire with such a wide front. Still, they did their best.Two men hauled the cumbersome canvas hose as close to the flames as possible and aimed a stream of water at the burning building. The water hissed and boiled when it struck the burning wood, sending up a vapor of white steam.