Table of Contents

Acknowledgements xi Foreword xiii 1 Introduction 1 2 The SRC Fire Branch, 1864-1906 21 3 Fire and Climate 53 4 Risk-Shaping and Lobby Groups 87 5 Conclusion 125 Notes 129 Sources 159 References 161 Index 171

About the Author

Eleonora Rohland concluded her MA studies in economic, social, and environmental history at the University of Bern, Switzerland in February 2009. She is currently working on her Ph.D. thesis on the memory and perception of hurricane disasters in New Orleans (1722-2005) at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, Essen (KWI), Germany. In November 2010 Eleonora's thesis was awarded the young researchers award of the Research Group for Critical Business History (AKKU), Bochum, Germany.