Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1893-06-17
PEOPLE WHO GO TO FIREs.
They Arc Of An Sorts and OF y.pi,g NJ
erees OF Honesty.

They Are OF All Sorts ana % sAf3t.E -
erees OF Honesty.
In this city, the other day, fully
100, 900 people ran to firel There is a
strange;fascinatio about big blaze,
not only for the small boy but for
the man as we'll From the
time the engine-house doors
Ay open in response to the still
alarm, till the police draw the lines,
there are always hundreds OF people
anxious to assist or take part. in
some way, in lighting the red dragon.
There are cranks who rush to every
neighborhood fire, for no other reason
I'm the world but that of being on
deck Sometimes, however, they run
with motives not the most honest
The class of tenement hooters" is as
well known to the police as are
'"funerai thieves" and they are about
as sincere, When mans house is
going up in smoke, naturally he is in
hurry to get out his goods; conse-
Quently he gratefully accepts the SER
vices of some stranger, who works
like beaver in getting things down.
stairs. The proprietor is excited and
runs wildly to and fro; the fire is at
last subdued; then he takes an in
ventory of his goods, out on the curb;
everything looks all right, but he soon
finds that some one has made of with
Sl00 worth of his silver.
Aside from the honest fire crank
and the looter there are the junk
men who hurry to the scene as soon
as they think it safe. They gather
about, occasionally darling through
the fire lines, and with crooked iron
proceed to rake the debris in quest OF
spoil.
AS far as the attractions of a fire
20 they are by no means over when
the engines have rumbled home The
wreck of the building is always re-
garded as dangerous by the depart
ment, and must be allowed to cool off
before it is entirely abandoned. A
stream is kept playing on the smok-
ing bricks and mortar. the fire ladies
run to and fro, pulling, hauling,
chopping, seeking everywhere for a
spark.
The public is deeply interested in
this sort of labor, too, for that mat
ter Small boys, idling men, busy
bodies generally, mount the ruins,
pulling away fallen posts and walls
trying to make people believe they
are assisting the firemen. The police
are supposed to prevent this, but they
are not always successful. 1t is the
duty Of the officers to see that no one
carries off any plumber, and also to
keep back intruders so that the fire
men may work freely. After the
debris has cooled though. even the
police abandon the scene, and then of
the men and women who ran TO the
fire, the patrol alone remains con-
spicuous. Their duties compel them
to keep a watchful eye on the prop
erty saved, in the interest of the in
surance companies, whom they di-
Iectly serve, and in whose pay they
are.
Fire patrOlmen must see that no
unnecessary damage is done during
she fighting of the fire, must carry
goods to a place of safety, must see
that none of it is stolen, and must
protect it until the insurance ad-
iusters get an opportunity to assess.
This is not done in day. Insurance
adjusters are as crafty and slow going
as detectives. They never hurry.
They run TO the fire quick enough,
bat they are very slow to depart.
They hang around for days at time,
intently gazing on the ruins. What
they think of in these somber mo-
mentS has never yet been recorded.
When you see a man at the debris Of
a big fire, his brow beSet with fur
rOwed lines of care, his hand in his
coat like a general, or statesman,
you must set MIN down as an insur-
ance adjuster, bordering on how
much the insured will take on the
dollar and not protest too strongly.
The last man who runs to a fire is
the chap VINO deals in old brick and
mortar. He goes and looks over the
remains of the building, then sees
the owner and bids There are a
! number of dealers in New York who
make speciality Of spoil from fires.
They sort out the wreckage, and then
advertise their finds under the head
of second hand window frames, etc.
The brick are cleaned at small sun
per thousand and are then sold fol
rough inside work.-New York News.