Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-08
BEST IN THE WORLD
1t Must Be So, for They Admit It
Themselves.
ENGLISH METHOD OF FIGHTING FIRE
They Go About It With Suitable
Dignity and Decorum.
SCORN ANY INNOVATIONS
ENGLISH METHOD OF FIGHTING FIRE
SCORN ANY INNOVATIONS

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
LONDON, November a. 1897
Commander Wells of the London fire de-
| partment is the hero of the most desperate
act of revolution this metropolis has beheld
| for a century His daring disregard of the
| law Of the land was exhibited during last
weeks fire, which overswept the most an
Gent of the business portion of the city.
doing good service in clearing two or three
acres Of rubbishy buildings, which Ameri-
cans would scorn to utilize for hen houses.
Two or three antiquated little fire engines
were picking their lesurely way to the
scene of the Indignation some twenty
minutes after the flames had manifested
themselves, when they became stalled at
the entrance to Aldersgate street, which is
an insignificant sort of lane, though one of
the principal business thCroughfares of the
city. Several hundred carts, cabs. trucks,
dravs and costers' barrows, which had been
caught III the burning district were crowd
ing to escape through that lane and choked
it like a feet of canal boats pushing for
a narrow lock.
The firemen were brought to a standstill.
For the carts to be turned back was i'm
possible. because retreat would have forced
them into streets hemmed by burning
buildings. To wait for them to disentangle
themselves and clear a path would have
| wasted another half hour. Commander
Wells grasped the situation like a great
&c neral. In ten minutes, Derhaps fifteen
he steeled his mind to I; bold resolution
He sent 4 squad of men running On ahead
to sweep The spectators off the sidewalks
into the roadway. Then, with pale and de-
teriE1Ied face and such CLEAN in his eye
as possessed Napoleon when he ordered the
last charge Of the old guard at Waterloo
he commanded the engines TO proceed along
the sidewalk. The fremen were surprised,
but. with true British courage. they drove
ahead, and, the newspapers portentous-
ly chronicle, amid the cheers OF the pop
ulace."
Disregard of Precedent.
Well might the populace cheer, for this
was the most radical disregard of law and
precedent that has been done by a Briton
since Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up
parliament. 1t made an epoch in the an
nails of the fire department and the history
of London. The papers and the people have
talked about little else since. The episode
cvershadowed in interest and importance
all other features of the fire.
The London fire department is a most
Impressive spectacle to look upon. 1t makes
fine showing in the procession on Lord
Mayors days, with its tiny red engines,
painted and scrubbed like confectioners'
delivery wagons. looking like toy carts
rather than real grown-up, serious ma
chimes; its glowinsly polished brass works,
it's dainty little hose carts and reels, all
manned by dignified. aldermanic gentlemen,
dff.Oitu III the l!liCheSl DldHkeI coats OF
tlue. white gloves and shining brass kel-
nets, heavier than those In the tower
worn by back-number kings 1t is beauti-
full to behold, also, trundling along to a fire,
with all the firemen rising up, shouting tho!
ho!' fer people to get out of the way, just
as the old volunteer companies did hun
dreds of years ago all catching bronchitis
from exercising their lungs in the night
air but scorning to adopt such new-fangled
notions as bells. 1t is as conservative
thoughtful and deliberate in all It's move
ments as most British machinery; there
is no unseemly undignified haste.
Putting Out Fire.
The method of putting out a fire in Lon
don was well Illustrated by last weeks
affair. TIE blaze started in a feather ware
house. Some passing citizen saw the
flames and hunted UP q constable around
the corner. whom he told. The constable
FASTENED to the scene to make sure that
the information was correct The papers
say that he FASTENED, but it is doubtful if
u London constable would SO far forget the
demands of his dignity. CurSory inspection
convinced him of the truth of the report,
as the entire outfit was flaming like fur
mace when he reached it. So he blew his
whistle to summon another constable, be-
cause 1t was contrary to rules for him to
leave his beat The constable on the next
beat was out of hearing, he usually is,
or took time to think ii over, because ten
minutes passed before he had appeared
and by that time two houses We're burning.
There was a cOnsulta tion-the papers de-
scribe it as q hurried consultation"-be-
tween the two constables to what should
be done. and they decided that one of them
should run to the nearest fire station,
which happened to be on his beat, and re-
port the outbreak. At this stage of the
proceedings three buildings were seized,
and tenants of neighborlng stores had be-
gun to move their goods to the sidewalk.
Twenty minutes after the fire had been
discovered, said the Evening News, notice
had been received by the fire department.
This was all unusual delay, adds the News,
which IS true. because the average time
for a constable to make up his mind and
relay the intelligence along to engine
house is only ten or twelve minutes, &C
cording to good authorities.
Wonderful Work!
Within half an hour after the beginning
of the fire there were a dozen or more en-
gines on the scene and. after the firemen
had unraveled their hose and made coup
,ings with the pipes. they got to work
They did wonderful work, too, as all the
newspapers admit for though there was an
entire block ablaze when they arrived, they
succeeded by heroic exertions, and despite
serious handicaps, in restricting the devas-
tation to an area of eight or nine blocks,
though to do this required one hundred en-
gines. The London papers have told of
the drawbacks which hampered their work.
One was that several men tainted under
the weight Of their uniforms and brass he'll
NETS after an hours work. Some reckless
citizen, writing to the Times, suggests that
firemen be allowed to remove their over
coats and helmets when they think their
work would be facilitated thereby but this
incendiary proposal is squelched under
weight of unanimous disapp-oval, because
it would terd to the relaxation of disci-
pline and the loss Of that soldierly appear
ance in the firemen which makes them the
pride Of London. Another drawback to the
most effective results was that the fire was
too hot for the men to stand nearer than
the opposite side of the street, and many Of
the engines, unfortunately, could not pro-
tect stream Of water across even a Lon
don street. This same reporter for the
Evening News, who explained the delay in,
turning in the fire alarm. gives other in
teresting details. He obtained permission
to ascend to the roof Of building which
commanded a fine view of the scene, he
says, but unfortunately for the interests of
history, is compelled to add. 1.-The scene
was one which baf1ed description" But
the Evening News. in common with other
papers, Is confident that the firemen did