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 The Brooklyn caisson was built first, and the digging inside it went on for months. One evening a messenger raced to Washington's house. He pounded on the door with an urgent message: a fire had started deep inside the thick wooden roof of the caisson. If it continued to burn, the roof would weaken and the tower would crash through it. Washington hurried back to the bridge and stayed all night helping to put the fire out. No matter what they did, the high pressure air in the caisson just made the fire burn hotter. In desperation, Washington opened the doors in the top of the caisson and pumped it full of river water. Finally the fire was extinguished, but Washington collapsed and was carried to his home. He had suffered a severe attack of caisson disease. |