‘Fire! Fire!’ – A New Yorker’s Nightmare 1873

Edwin Austin Abbey's 1873 illustration, “Fire! Fire! – A New Yorker’s Nightmare,” humorously depicts a citizen’s fear of fire, a common occurrence in the rapidly growing city of New York. The black and white image captures a chaotic scene of a fire engine racing through the night, its horses ablaze, while a man, wearing an oversized helmet and holding an axe, sprints to put out the flames. The artwork highlights the fear of fire and the brave firefighters, often known as “The Guardians of the City,” who tirelessly battled these blazes. The image conveys the anxieties of urban life, where the threat of fire was ever-present, but also the heroic efforts of those who risked their lives to protect the community.