Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-04-18
Extinguishfng Fires when FIRST
Discovered.

1.-THE great fire on Sunday night
originated in a stable on De Koven
street. 1t was discovered by police.
man when it was very small. Hoping
to extinguish it without sounding an
alarm, he set to work to do so, but find.
ing tho FIRE was too much for him, he
called, etc" -Ertroct from, Chief En-.
yi"eer Dumrelt's report, the officer o.
the Boston Department.
So we see that the Gre, when first
seen, was very small. There is no
doubt in the minds of those who know
the power of small engines that one OF
two Of them would have kept the fire
in the first building, and a few others
would have put out easily every fire
which caught on the three or four
buildings from it. And all this before
the arrival of the hose carriage. eleven,
or the engines, nine and six blocks
away. So the fire, having nothing to
oppose it, until the opposing force was
as nothing, cut rather narrow swath
Of fame through the city. "Why,"
said sufferer, "when the fire caught
upon that house," pointing to a new
house, two houses three or four blocks
off, over where you see those double
houses, we're all on fire." An owner
Of planning mill said: s'The fire had
passed by, and we thought we were
safe, when all ut once the fire was all
around US" Nothing will 50 we'll de-
scribe how this happened as to repeat
the old saying, describing a storm OF
snow and wind: Round and round
the house and peeps in every crack. :"
Just that happened after tho fire had
cut the first swarth of its awful nights
work, and the engines had left to keep
lit if possible, somewhere in check
The cart-loads Of living Goals flew on the
wings of the wind into every crack and
Granny, under, over and upon every
building to the right of the track Of the
fire, when, Of course, there being no
protection against them, some Of them
were Sion in flames. Instantly the
first scene was acted over a new swath
went flying after tho first, and then
another, until, us we were told by an
intelligent person, 1.-The fire went rush
ing down four or FIVE times, one after
another, right through the city," This
was one of the ways that the fires secm-
ed, as has been said, "to back up
against the wind" SO the LITE one
,otich could haze been crushed ont in q
tsw minutes (soc the Chicago Tribune
Of December 49, became thousand :
and one hundred and sixty acres Of the
West Division Of Chicag go in few
hours was smoking, blackencd mass
Of ruins. When the fire reached tn.
great buildings, the tremendous heat,
excited by the force Of the gale, set fire
to the right faster than the Goals, and
they found no mischief to do The
force opposing the fire was steam fire
cugincs, aud not half enough of them.
That the men did their duty l have not
IL doubt, but the system is just what
batteries were in our late war ,-splcn-
did when supported by infantry, but
unsupported just what ehc engines we're
at Chicago. Not one victory should VIC
have won against an army armed with
batteries and intantry with only bate
RIGS for our brave defenders. So we
sec detcat after defeat in our battles
with the. element Of fire, great fires
here. there and everywhere; and so we
shall cumtinu, tn do until VIC adopt the
common sense system in our fire depart
mcnt which is now established through
out the armies Of the civilized world
A few words Of the fire in Jefferson
street. Many Of the buildings on that
street were in great danger and were
badly charrcd, and there were no en-
y;ncs to protect them. They were