Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-09
RESULT OF CARELESSNESS.
Chief Brown Calls Down Business Men for
Allowing Waste to Accumulated Sal.
wage Corps Needed.

Chief Brown Calls Down Business Men for
Allowing Waste to Accumulate-A SAL
wage Corps Needed.
Chief Brown, of the Department of Pub
lie Safety, was asked yesterday what sort of
precautions the people themselves, who
cavil at the work of the Fire Bureau, have
taken against the danger of fire. He said:
''You would be astonished at the negligence
manifested, particularly in some of the COM
mercial houses. They allow packing cases,
excelsior, wrapping paper and all kinds of
rubbish 10 accumulate in their cellars the
whole year. A man goes down to find some
thing, lights a match to search for it, throws
the match carelessly away and some insur-
ance company weeps tears at 81 a tear for
somebody's carelessness. Take trip through
the cellars of business houses in the city
and see if have exaggerated. The same
trouble exists in some of the hotels, as in the
case OF the Monongahela, where the attic
was packed with mattresses and oiI-soaked
boards were said to be strewed around the
cellar.
"There is another thing that should be
regared as an important factor in the safety
of buildings and that is the architecture.
The Monongahela House had several diff
ferent kinds of roofs, which very much i'm
peded the work of the fremen, and any
architect who would put fue like an
elevator over battery Of boilers should fol-
low some other calling.
'The remedy, If any, lies with the Board
of Underwriters. They should investigate
such cases as I have mentioned, and raise
the rates for such negligence This would
bring the people to their senses, and
materially lessen the labor and danger of
dremen, who have enough to contend with
in their avocation in the natural course of
things"
Inspector McAleese concurred in the re-
marks of the Chief but went further, and
said there should be legislation to prevent
accumulation of infammable rubbish in
cellars. The worst fires to contend with, he
said, in his experience, where those in hotels
on account of the danger to life which sets
everyone excited, and provokes too much
comment from the spectators, who are al
ways too numerous on such occasions.
''Still, think on the WHOLE" be said,
eve have reason to be thankful, for there
are probably more than a couple of dozen
buildings in the city where a big fire would
be possible. The fact is the people here
have no cause for grumbling, for since 1845.
with the exception of few oil fires. Pitts
burg has never had big fire. 1 mean one
which would reach $500, 900 or so. 1 shall
tell you something, however, in which we
are sadly deficient and which we ought to
have had Is years ago, and that is a salvage
corps attached to the Fire Bureau. 1t
would have been of great value at the Mo-
nongahela fire, as in fact at any other. 1t
would pay the underwriters to support one
themselves, or at least to contribute largely
to its support. The losses by water would
be reduced to minimum, and those by fire
considerably lessened. A good salvage
corps would be a great addition to the
safety of the city, and I suppose the citizens
will find that out some time"