Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-07-06
fire Protection an small Towns.

The disastrous result of the Laurel
fire-a tremendous loss and very small
insurance, the fact that the town had
no protection against fire causing the
insurance companies to charge exor-
bitant rates--is stirring the people of
other towns to realization OF their
danger. Georgetown, Seaford and other
small towns are situated Just as Laurel
was. They are built largely of frame,
have no water works or organized pro-
lection against fire and, consequently
littlu insurance. A fire in any one of
these towns would prove a repetition
of the Laurel disaster.
The Seaford News vigorously calls
the attention of the people of Seaford
to their danger, and says:
We want to get to work at once.
The best way is to call citizens
meeting and devise the way to have
vote taken by the property owners to
elect a water commission of i've mem
bers composed of the best business
citizens of the town. Their duty is to
purchase and have charge of water
works. We are running a great risk
and then the insurance rates are liable
to advance. Some will ask where will
this money come from? We will state
that having talked with several mem
bers of the Town Council, they are
willing and ready to cooperate to man
with the citizens to give them tine
assistance they can SO the town will be
properly protected. The money will
be advanced on the credit of the town
and at the next session of the Legis'
lature have them to ratify our action.
Don't wait, but commence work at
once. One fire might pay for the cost
of twenty systems.
From this we infer that the Seaford
people feel that they have already
delayed too long and must act at once.
The Delaware Democrat of George
town also refers to the important sub
iect in the following manner
The citizens of Georgetown may
learn a lesson from the awful expert
ence Of Laurel. Like that town, we
have no means of fighting the flames
in case fire should occur here, and il
one should break out and the wind
should be in the wrong direction a
similar fate would overtake us. Now
is the time to make preparations, when
the danger of our defenceless condition
is strongly impressed upon us. Insur-
ance rates here are high, as they were
at Laurel, and for the same reason,
the lack of water and fire apparatus.
Insurance, therefore, is not general
as it should be, and the loss would
be correspondingly great.
Let there be an effort made at once to
supply our towns with these necessary
NJ L,,l
larger assurances, and with a knowl
edge that a fire cannot do great
deal of damage we may sleep more
peacefully and be comforted with tht
thought that the loss cannot be great
The Lewes Pilot alludes to the well
known fact that long immunity make
people careless of their danger. "Fo
more than two hundred years." i
says, '.this town has escaped con
flagration, but sooner or later we vii
be visited, and it should be decide,
upon at once to be prepared for tn
emergency. If the water works in cours
of construction in Laurel had bee
completed ten acres of buildings i
ashes would have been standing. Wit
this knowledge it is criminal negligenc
for those in authority in this CON
munity not to begin at once move
ment to strengthen our defences by tn
construction of water works.
The lesson of the Laurel fire ma
be good one, after all, if people {
other communities take it to hear
They can easily provide themselvt
with efficient protection against fir,
and should do so without further della.