Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-06-26
0. T. MARSH. WOODSTOCK,
LONDON'S FlIlE FIGHTERS.



and the Building Laws.
The London fire brigade is great
ly favored by nature and the build
ing ordinance. a humid atmosphere
does not inspire u fire toits most in
slant and splendid exploits, and
stone, hr!ck and tiled cdiiices are
gather tenacious of life Therefore
it may be said that London fires are
tlow burning, and for that reason
the deliberately acting fire brigade
is enabled to keep up its reputation
for efficiency, which seems to be
governed less by desire to eXtin-
guish flames than by IL purpose to
keep them from spreading. That
which is particularly lamentable is
the eXtraol binary peril to life occu-
pants of Il burning structure have to
encounter in their efforts to escape.
In two instances within year that
came under my own observation the
buildings were OF three stories, re-
spectivcly so substantially built of
brick that the four walls of each
were left intact, though everything
between them vas consumed. In
each case four persons were burned
to death because the narrow staip-
case, the only avenue of escape, was
shut off, and the fire brigade was
too late in getting its ladders into
service. | don't believe there is ever
the saving of life by means of those
canvas receivers which in the Unit
ed States enable persons hemmed in
to leap from windows And as for
fire escapes attached to lofty build.
ings, London is without evidence of
their existence
Within the county limits of Lon
don, some IS, Il2 statute acres, there
is il population of, in round num-
bers, / 800, 600. To fire guard the i'm
mense territory there is Il brigade
of SIP fircmrn, % men under in
struction, II pilots and rs coachmen.
There are ~ land fire cOachmen.
There are SO land fire engine sta
tons, 5 river stations, 3 substations,
Is street stations, 81 land steam fire
engines, 0 steam fire engines on
hnrgcs, r. manual engines, rs hose
carts, 81 miles of hose, 8 steam tugs,
Is barges, PIG fire escapes and $50
call posts Tho average number of
men available for duty is 052 by
day ard 3SS by night,
In the majority of London houses
there is but one stairway, and that
a narrow one There is no emcrgen-
cy exit or escape, and the thought
OF provision to insure safety in the
event of Il fire seems never to have
entered the mind Of builder That
the fire escapes furnished ut the
eleventh hour by the iii'emen are to
a large extent mockeries is proved
by the proportion of 10G fatalities
to l22 "seri0us" fires An economic
conservatism is largely contributOry
to the fire risks Of London where Il
cheap mineral oil is chiefly used in
lighting Lamps are in common use
where Il brighter illumination than
candles afford is desired There is Il
pretense Of gas in most of the better
sort of houses, but mineral oil lamps
predominant even there, and in the
great majority of lodging houses
gas is used only on the drawing
room and dining room floors. Flee
trio lights are coming into service
very slowly, and only ut that rate
because Of the growing influence
of Americanism. But candles and
lamps are still the main opponents
of darkness in London houses, as
throughout TIE rest of Eng
Their utility i'll support Of the fire
brigade or III supplying it with rea.
son fur existence is considerable
when weighed against other causes
Of fires. out Of the total 3,Gl6 fires
candles may claim the credit for
FOG and mineral oil lamps 800 among
ascertainCd causes, and probably II
fair proportion Of the $50 "un.
known" causes. - Chicago Times
Herald