The fire burned for a full two days and nights until a heavy rain poured down, extinguishing the terrifying blaze. But two-thirds of Chicago's downtown had irrevocably turned into scorched earth; hotels, commercial buildings, opera houses, banks, and postal buildings were all engulfed by the flames.
Charred bodies were seen all over the streets, but many of the deceased were burned to ashes by the fire. Others, in a panic to escape the disaster, fled to the shores of Lake Michigan and jumped into the lake to their unfortunate demise, with floating corpses scattered across Lake Michigan. The streets near the Heixinggen Bank's Chicago branch were crowded with disaster victims.
To prevent an outbreak of disease, bank employees conducted a two-week disinfection of the area surrounding the bank and established refugee shelters around it.
