Part 2, Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis

"Fire" shows Roebling with the courage of a Civil War commander dealing with the second disaster to befall the Brooklyn project and hints at the resistance some are giving it. In October 1870, Web & Bell are contracted to build a caisson for the New York side. Roebling enlarges it slightly, modifies the water shafts and air locks, and orders the fireproofed. Harper's Weekly publishes a spectacular double-page aerial view of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn spanned by the finished bridge and acknowledges Washington Roebling's competence to execute this great engineering feat - implying earlier doubt. As the caisson reaches 43 feet, plans are made for brick piers to offer support while it is being filled with concrete. A fire breaks out Dec. 2, 1870.

Fire is discovered at 9:30 PM, in a seam where two chambers join the roof and the caulking has not been...