, 1860-01-05

Tic Steam lFtfE 1LtaTtnfs~InE 4E4ftM10e
ny of NesT Yorh.
The New York Post, ia leading article.
speaks Of the late disastrous Ere in that city,
and calls attention 10 two points,
1st~ Tie danger from fire Of the numerous
buildings now a.lays constructed. 1t says of
them, they are s'nerc stacks Of con>bustiblcs,"
and:
Or,1Ae buildings consumed by thc late fire
many we're enormous tive'story structures,
reacli~s from 1ccklnan street to Ann, with
work Of in1annuble matter. When this con-
texture of'suod work is once seized upon by
tire, that clement seems absolutely to level i:
the destruction it causes, and the interior be-
cUmcs perfect volcano, raging within its
crater, the higl walls "r the building thus en-
suis'l it until everything combustible is laid in
! ashes.
I'd. 1t is manifest that if we continue to put
| ur these lofty and spacious structures Of conl-
b,,stible matcria!s, and slight the acifitcs which
| the improvements Of modern art place within
our reac!, for constructing fire.proof buildings.
we must hare some more powerful and compen-
dious machinery for putting out fires t. I'LL we
ordinarily cn1,loy. Wc must call to orr ussist-
ance the power by which we drag huge Iulks
| slopg oIr railways and rivers, and by which VIC
pierce tl,e mountains, making passages from
/
cannot lift to the proper height, or peur in fast
enough aud copiously enough, the streams of
| water which arc required to tuench the yolca-
| noes kindfcd IN these enormous buildings. We
| must have power that will suck up tons Of
| water at once from riFers or vast reservoirs aud
Hing tt.tln in mas upon the 1ames Nothing
can 10 this but steam.
1t bears the following testimony to the eff
cicncy Of steam, as at present applied:
The efficiency Of the steam fire engines was
rery fully manifested yesterday; but we want
more of them, and it may he that those which
we hare arc susceptible Of Improvement, either
plicution. We know that it is claiuaed By those
who worked tue steam fire engines, that if they
had becn allowed free access to tile hydrauti
yesterday, they could have got the flames undcs
IN o comparatively short space Of time. How
this may Ge we do not pretend to say NC med
die not with that controversy; but the ipade
| duacy of such engines rs are worked by hanc
| to put out tic great fires that VIC are to have
hereafter in our city, was made very clear
When The fire companies working the ordinary
engines gave cut through wearncss or be
nunbed with the intense cold, the steam eu'
zines, which had lnd IN enormous length o
lose FROM their stations 10 ttie East River. con
tinued TO play regularly and with increasing
effect, until tile flames were fully subdued. Bu
for them, the tire would probably huye continu
ed to this time, eating it way from one tall struc
ture to another, and the coaflaoration Of Dc
| cember, ls:?, might have stoud in tue annals o
the city rival Of the calanitous one Of Decem
bcr, 1855. The conclusion Of Tie public will b
that for wiutcr weather, such as re have q
+ present. md for lofty and extensive buildings
sucl. as we are now putting up al over the cit
without regard to The combustibiity Of the lnu
a tsruls, engines worked by steam arc indispen
: sublc to the speedy cxtinguishmeut Of fires.