The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-10-25
SOME LESSONS OF THE FIRES.

Eastport was burned up and now large
part Of Pennington is in ashes simply be-
cause their inhabitants neglected to take the
precautions which experience has shown to
be necessary to avert such catastrophes. 1t
is unpleasant to call attention to this truth,
for the people of both towns have already
been terribly punished for their negligence
in the losses which they have sustained.
To do so by way of reproach would be little
short of brutal. But there are other towns
and villages in Maine whose facilities for
checking fire are quite as poor as were those
of Eastport and Pennington, and whose es-
cape from such a calamity as those towns have
met with has been due purely to good luck
1t is in the hope of stirring these towns and
villages up to the adoption of precautionary
measures before it is too late that we call
attention to the negligence of Eastport and
Pennington.
A man who saw the fire which devastated
Eastport soon after it started testifies that
with very small quantity Of water he could
have put it out, but water was not to be had.
1t will be recolected that the place in which
the fire started was sardine factory, built
entirely of wood and saturated with oil
The owners must have known that it was
extremely infiammable. 1t was therefore
gross negligence on their part not to have
had at hand an abundance of water and ap-
planes for using it, or if water was not
available some other material for extinguish-
ing fire. Had they taken that precaution,
there can hardly be doubt but that the fire
which destroyed a million dollars worth of
property and left hundreds of people desti-
tute would have been extinguished before
dollars worth of property had been burned.
Next the people of the town were culpable
They had had their attention called to the
fact that the village was peculiarly ex
posed to the ravages of fire. A good
many Of them, too, had had the danger
impressed upon them by the refusal of repu-
table insurance companies to take risks up
on their buildings. Yet the only precaution
they took to avert calamity which they
knew threatened them was to buy two small
hand engines; and even this precaution was
rendered nugatory by neglect to provide
constant and adequate supply of water. The
neglect of Pennington was not quite so con-
spicuous, for Pennington was not so much
exposed, but even in this town it was known
that the facilities for extinguishing fire were
inadequate. SO recently as last Thursday
the Chronicle predicted that if a fire got
started there with favoring breeze, Farm
ington would suffer the fate of Eastport.
The fire and the fayoring breeze came, and
the prediction was fulfilled.
As we said before, we call attention to
these facts not to reproYe the people of
Pennington or Eastport, but to awaken 9TH
er towns to the dangers TO which they are ex-
posed. These towns were by no means sin
ners above all others. Probably their facili-
ties for extinguishing fires we're unite as
sood as those OF the great majority of towns
IN Maine. In most of them steam FIRE en-
gine Is unknown, and their reliance is ell
tlreiy ON hand tubs, which are practically
worthless after a fire gets well under way.
Now is the time while the people are arous-
su oh Tue subject by these calamities at East |
Por. ana bennington, to agitate for better |
appliances As time goes by, the memory of |
these disasters will grow dim, and with it |
VIII become aim also the lessons which they |
teach.
Inc most important Of these lessons |
Is me obvious one of the necessity of |
an eihclent fire department. But this is |
by no means the only one. Another
relates to the material of which buildings |
are constructed. The great majority Of the
buildings both in our cities and towns are |
now built of wood. A reform in this respect
is imperatiyely necessary 1t may be i'm
practicable outside the cities to bring it
about by law, but much may be done in that
direction by agitating the subject in the
press. Brick and stone should take the
place Of wood, especially in populous dis
tricts and for buildings that are to be used
for purposes which expose them peculiarly