Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-11-22
ONE LESSON ON THE GREAT FIRE

The destruction of the most substan-
tiallv built portion of Boston by fire is cal
culated to again direct the attention OF the
public to the lesson taught little more
than a year ago in Chicago. the utmost ex-
penditure of money and ingenuity will fall
to produce structures which will resist the
action of the fire in mighty confagration.
The block of granite warehouses destroyed
in Boston sWere unparalleled in any cOun-
try for apparent strength and stability
Built of solid granite blocks, one would
have supposed that they Would be imper-
yious to the inrOads of the flames, however
fierce; yet they were swept away as If they
had been the merest wooden sheds, when
the FIRE had gathered its full force.
But although it appears to be an lmpos-
sibility to construct street OF contiguous
buildings which shall be absolutely fire
proof, every citizen can do something to
prevent the recurrence Of such calamities
as have overtaken Chicago and Boston, by
exercising careful watchfnlness over his
own premises for the purpose Of prevent
ing the ignition of the little spark whose
kindliDg leads to every great contiagratlon.
OF all the so-called accidental fires which
occur from year to year, annlhllatlng mil
lions of dollars of the wealth Of the coun-
try, scarcely one takes place which is not
the result of culpable carelessness.
The most common cause o. fires in our
! large cities is the practice Of running
stove pipes through wooden partitions.
| These pipes become heated and char the
wood: some day when an unusual heat is
! applied. this wood work takes fire, and the
| flames working their way between the par
! titions, the house is soon destroyed.
| Matches left carelessly where children can
reach them, or dropped ON a wooden floor
| where they are ignited by being stepped
! upon, or stored away il closets where the
rats and mice can nibble them, form the
cause Of innumerable fires and vast des-
| tructiOn of property. Stoves placed Oh
wooden floors, without adequate protection
beneath them, Cften heat the wood exposed
to their influence until it is no hing more
than finder; then coal rolling from the
fire completes the work and reduces sub
stantial building to heap Of ashes. Ke1o-
stne and '.non-eXplosive'' oils are the
cause ofnumberless accidental fires which
misht be prevented by the exercise
of that care which one would suppose
common sense would suggest to every
householder. Steam coils for heating
buildings often reduce the wood work they
/ are fastened against to a condition easiy
susceptible f Ignition, requiring very little
extra application of heat to set them all
! af.me. Cotton waste and similar III a
! terial carelesSly left i'll neglected places to
perform the work Of Spontaneous COM
bustion have brought many a costly edi-
flee to the ground; while defective gas
pipes, permitted to go year after year
without inspection, have resulted i'll more
disast Gus fires than the criminal Ingenuity
! Of an army Of incendiaries could accom-
| p!ish.
Itmay. be impossible to construct city Of
! ftc-pro,f buildings; but it is very easy for
/ property holders, by carefully watching
/ their own buildings and the servants they
| employ, to prevent the inception Of contia-
| grations which may extend themselves in
/ dttini:cly-N. Y. Sun.