The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1891-04-04
Great coniagrations in History.
c.J.m. Woodbury. in scientific American.

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doubtedly the burning of the Serap@um
library at Alexandria, in the year GAO, by
the Caliph Omar l., is most widely mourn
ed. as the destruction of 500 600 volumes
cut off much of the record of human knowl
edge at that time. The general impression
of the Importance and significance of this
fire is, no doubt, augmented in great meas
ure by the alleged answer of this Saracen
conqueror who replied to the protest
against the burning with: ''If these books
are against the Koran they are pernicious
and must be destroyed. If they agree
with the Koran they are redundant and
need not be preserved" And it is not
generally remembered that Julius Caesar
burned larger library of 100000 volumes
at Alexandria, known as the Brucien library,
B. c. IS, nearly 700 years before the burn
ing of the Serapeum library by Omar |.
At times of sack and pillage Jerusalem
has been burned time and again, the most
noted instance being at the siege by the
Romans under Titus, during the year 40,
when Il faction called the Sicarii set the
city on fire in many places, and eventually
! 100000 of the inhabitants perished by
fire and the sword
Constantinople has, like all Oriental
cities suffered severely from fires, large
part of such losses being undoubtedly due
to the fatalism of the Mohammedans, who
bow to their kismet. Said sultan If
it be the will of Allah that my lavorite city
burn, it is the will of Allah
In Dillaways quaint account Of travels
in the Levant in 1897, it is stated that the
sultan is summoned three times to fire in
Constantinople, and if the fire lasts an hour
he is obliged TO attend in person and bring
mules laden with piasters for the firemen
A great fire at Rome, II B. c., caused
the Emperor Augustus to take measures
for increasing the defense against fire,
which had been hitherto in the hands of
bodies of police, numbering 20 or 30,
stationed in various portions of the city,
and re-enlorced at times of fire by compa-
nies of volunteers. lie appointed new
officers with the rank of magistrates, who
were entitled to wear magisterial robes
Each was attended by two lictors, and pro
vided with fire organization Of 600 slaves.
It is probable that this was not entirely
satisfactory in its operation, because six
years later another fire caused him to
undertake further reforms on Il scale fully
characteristic of him who ''iound the city
built of brick and left it with palaces of
marble lleincreased the fire department
to Il scale commensurate with the needs of
the city. Seven thousand freemen were
organized into seven battaliOns, and one
battalion was quartered in every alternate
ward Of the city. These men made careful
inspections Of the kitchens, of the heating
apparatus, and Of the water supply in the
houses, and every fire was the subject of
Judicial examination. The cost of the or
ganization was maintained by a tax of %
per cent. on the sale of slaves,
Two notable examples OF contagious
stopped by conhagrations are the burning
of Moscow by the besieging Tartars, in
July, 1870, when the plague was stopped,
and secondly the fire in London, September
=, 1866, which also stopped the plague,
and it has been unknown there since.
The London fire is properly called the
great fire of modern history, because the
reforms which were started in consequence
of it are living issues in the municipal affairs
of today The fire was caused by an over
heated bakers oven, and in the course of
four days it swept over 43G acres, burning
13,200 houses, SO churches and St. Pauls
Cathedral, causing damage estimated TO
be e10,71G,000, say S53,5O0,000.
Under the direction of Pepys the fire
was stopped by blowing up buildings, which
was, at the time, the only method of re
dueing fire that had grown beyond the
capacity Of the small fire engines These
were on large tubs, and threw a stream of
water directly on the fire, as hose was not
invented until ten years later 0672) by
Van der Heide.
The cities of America, on account of the
larger amount Of wood in their construction
and the prevalence of irresponsible methods
of building, have suffered severely from
fires.
The first devastating fire in America
was probably the one occurring at Boston
March 20, 1860, when 400 dwellings and
stores We're burned, causing a loss of El00,-
600.
In the colony Of Massachusetts Bay reg
ulations 10 regard to construction of chin
neys and matched roofs were made as early
as March 16, 1880, and various enactments
were made at later dates The ordinance
at the town meeting of Boston, March II,
1645, made provision that each house
holder should have ladders long enough to
reach to the ridge of his house, and pole
"about II feet long, with a good large
swab at the end Of it; and various graded
penalties were provided for those not con-
forming to the law.
Philadelphia has been remarkably free
from conhagrations in comparison with
other large cities II does not appear 10
have been visited by great fire until July
9, 1850, when fire along the Delaware
river front, at Vine street, extending over
Is acres, caused a loss of life estimated as
high as 33, in addition to 120 wounded
and a pecuniary loss of 81 100000.
New York was visited by severe con-
fagration in the southern part of the city
on December 16, 1885, which extended
! over dll VI ~ dtltS. VI
houses, and causing a loss which has been
estimated as high as $50, ,000, 900, on which
there was only SS,000,0 900 insurance an
amount which ruined several insurance
companies.
One of the first of the more recent con-
fagrations was the burning Of Portland,
Me, July 4, 1866. The fire was caused
by boy throwing a frecracker into a
cooper's shop, for the avowed purpose of
soaring the workmen. In this respect the
act was an unparalleled success, the damage
being about sl0,0O0,0OO.
The Chicago fire, October 9, 1871, was
one of the largest in all history, devastating
an area of 81 square miles, and causing a
loss of about S190,OO0, 900, on which in
surance was paid to the amount of about
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