You are a firefighter in San Francisco. In the predawn darkness on April 18, 1906, you are asleep in the firehouse when the alarm bell is sounded. You slip on your hip boots and jacket, grab your hat, and slide down the pole to greet the other firemen who answer the call. As you hook up the horses to the water wagons, you look out of the station house to see the city ablaze. The worst diaster in United States history has just occurred - The San Francisco Earthquake.
Describe in a diary format, what you experience during the following 24-hours. Your diary needs to be set up in two-hour segments starting at 5:20a.m. on April 18, 1906 ending at 5:20 a.m. April 19. You should have 12 entries. Be sure to include all the senses in your descriptions: sight, sounds, taste, smell, and touch.
1. Read through all the accounts.
2. Take notes on the descriptions of the devastation and the response of the firemen
3. View the pictures in the newspaper accounts to help you visualize what happened
4. Set up the format of your diary in two-hour periods
Set up a time line in two hour increments. When you begin writing your diary, use the time line as the framework for each diary entry,
You have written about what many call the greatest national diaster in US history. There were no agencies in place to assist people during diasters as there are today. The real heroes were the common people like the firemen you wrote about. In 1989, the San Francisco area experienced an earthquake that registered 7.0 on the scale. While there was extensive loss of property and life, the devastation did not compare. Was it because the earthquake was not as severe? Were there other factors involved?
This page written by Karen Alexander
This page was adapted from Bernie Dodge 's WebQuest_Template1.html by Tom March