Fire tore through the heart of St. John’s, Newfoundland, three times in the nineteenth century. It left behind utter destitution and an urgent need to rebuild. Survivors were forced to look inward for the strength to start afresh. St. John’s: City of Fire is an historical account of these three fires. It weaves through eyewitness accounts of the conflagrations, depicting the panic and the infighting, as well as the devotion to St. John’s and the determination to see the city rise again. Excerpt