Book excerpt: Even before the Great Fire of 1872, which destroyed almost eight hundred buildings in the heart of downtown, fire had already irrevocably altered the city of Boston's appearance, fortunes and psyche. In Boston's Fire Trail, members of the Boston Fire Historical Society trace the history of fire in the Hub and create an intriguing retrospective of this compelling facet of the city's past. Daring rescues, conflagrations, arson, accidents and human courage--all are here, along with historic details of the circumstances and locations of more than forty-five fires and sites significant to the history of Boston's fire department. Follow the fire trail with one of the most renowned fire-fighting forces in the nation.