Dublin whiskey fire

Common card · No. 342037

On the night of 18 June 1875 a fire broke out in a whiskey storehouse in the Liberties area of Dublin. The escaped whiskey formed a burning river six inches (15 cm) deep that is said to have flowed as far as the Coombe, destroying 35 houses and killing several pigs. While there were no human fatalities as a direct result of the fire or flood, 13 people died of alcohol poisoning after drinking from the stream of whiskey, which was of undiluted cask strength. Total property damage was estimated at over £100,000, of which the lost whiskey constituted £54,000.

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