He had visited Philadelphia where high-pressure wagons pumped water through 3.25 inches (8.3 cm) pipes for a range of 360 feet (110 m).

In 1914, Salem was a city of 48,000 people (12,000 more than ten years earlier), and consisted of 5,826 buildings on 5,100 acres (21 km2; 8.0 sq mi) at an assessed valuation of $37.25 million.

The Great Salem Fire started with a series of explosions, caused by a mixture of acetone, amalacitate, alcohol, and celluloid.

A book authored by Arthur B. Jones of the Salem Fire Department provided a detailed list of the 21 area fire departments that assisted: Peabody, Beverly, Marblehead, Lynn, Swampscott, Boston, Chelsea, Wakefield, Danvers, Reading, Stoneham, Newburyport, Revere, Lawrence, Malden, Gloucester, Manchester, Medford, Hingham, Somerville, and Winchester.

[2] Firefighters and equipment from Fore River Shipyard in Quincy happened to be in Stoneham at the time of the fire, and responded from there.

[2] Firefighters from other area communities also responded to provide relief, including from Ipswich, Wenham, and Cambridge.

[2] The Salem Evening News covered the events in a series of articles, which were later reprinted as a book by Montanye Perry.