Owen P.

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?

After having the opportunity to visit many historical buildings in Miramichi, I found it most interesting that there are many buildings still standing today that survived the fire. I learned that many of the surviving buildings are now historical heritage sites that are visited by tourists from New Brunswick and all over Canada.

What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?

After researching for my project, I have learned how quickly a fire can become out of control and can destroy so much in such little time. I've learned that it is extremely important to practice fire safety protocols and rules so that a fire disaster like the Miramichi Fire of 1825 won't happen again. I would like to remind all Canadians to always be safe and remember to follow fire prevention rules.

How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?

Dealing with a forest fire in 2024 is much different that it would have been in 1825. There have been fire brigades since the 1800’s, but they did not have the training, equipment, and transportation that we have today. We still deal with forest fires in Canada every year, but thankfully we have trained fire fighters that work hard every day to keep Canadians safe and alive during disasters. In 1825, forest fires were a deadly situation because they didn’t have the technology, equipment and warning signs like we do today.