New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-12-26
TIE ERE LlKS.

Once more the burning of q building In this
citv takes a sacrifice of human life into it's
flaming ruin. By the destruction OF the
Centre-st. structure, on Christmas Eve, It ls
reasonably believed that seven persons were
burned or suffocated to death, The untortu-
mates were imprisoned in one of the upper
stories by the breaking out of the FIRE. 1t Is
supposed that they became dazed and bewil-
dered by the alarming appearance OF flame
and smoke which poured up the stairways, and
so staggered on to their fate, or met 1t wnere
they we're confined. The repetition OF these
narrowing tragedies ought to arouse attention
to the weaknesses in our systems OF
building which mako such horror posi-
BILE. 1t ought to compel once more the
often defeated inquiry, Who is responsible
There is an officer in this city called the
Fire Marshal, whose duty it is, among other
things, to examine and report upon the con-
dition of buildings, with particular reference
to the danger of fire. 1t appears that this oin-
Ger. ON the oath of November, examined Mr.
Barnum's Circus building, and declared IL 10
be unsafe. The precise fanlt in It's c0nstruc-
ton (apart from the radical defect in the ma
terial) is not clearly explained; but it would
the establishment ran close to the joists, and
in at least one case touched the WOOD Tor
space of several inches. The Marshal gave
orders to make the proper alterations, and one
of the employees of the circus testifies that
either then or of some other time portion OF
the timber was cut away where the hot pipe
rested against it, and some other slight pre-
cautions were taken. But on the S0th OF
| November, Fire Marshal McSpedon made o
second examination, and declared the building
still unsafe. Later, he denounced 1t in an OIL
cial report to the Commissioners of Police as
unsafe for the public and dangerous to the
surrounding property" He seems to have
done all that lay in his power; who is respon'
sible for the failure to act upon his recon-
mendationsf
This is such O conspicuous and sensational
instance of disaster for which somebody was
| to blame that we are not without the hope OF
a punishment following the investigation now
on foot. 1t was a terrible blunder to permit
the erection of such a building in the first
place. 1t was merely pine tinder-box, COW
cred with thin sheets of iron which architects
well know are not protection against ire
and though it might resist slight shower OF
sparks from without, just as tin roof would,
| q fame catching within would almost infalli-
| bly, get beyond control in few moments.
| To make it still worse than it had been Origi-
nally, Mr. Barnum had just erected over the
main entrance an enormous pine FACADE, rls-
ing far above the roof and extending the
whole width of the property, on which were
depicted in all the glories Of paint the attrac-
tons Of his great show. When the law pro-
hibits the putting up of wooden buildings
in tho city, it is preposterous to allow struc-
lures like this to stand. That it did not burn
whilo the seats were filed with specta-
tors, we can regard only as fortunate
accident; that it did not involve In
its ruin the Academy of Music, Tammany
Hall, Steinways, the Irving-place Hotel, and
much other valuable property, is mercy for
which we have to thank kind Providence
and a good fire department. The question
whether there is no power to compel the
owners of such dangerous buildings either to
make them safe or to tear them down is one
that cannot be settled too soon. How many
more public edifces are there in New-YOrk,
halls, churches, hotels, workshops, which the
fire department knows to be "unsafe for the
"public and dangerous to the surrounding
propertysn When discoveries like that of Mr..
McSpedon are made, is there no authority
strong enough to interfere. nobody who will
even tell us of our peril7 How was it with the
Centre-st. factory7 Did the Fire Marsha l
and the Police Commissioners, and the Super
intendent of Buildings, know that this too
was unsafe7 We seem to have officers enough
to investigate and report now, can we not
have somebody who will actf