The Savannah morning news., 1900-12-03
gowsoMEoUEER FIRES START
..,rvprARIsW RESPONsIBLE FOR
.,1y1rER CENT. OF THE FIRES.

,-,-e.--Some of Them Are Match
ling rats, Chemical conbfna-
.,,.. Plate Glass Windows, Poor
,.,.rtric wiring, Explosives In
,t,.pinE Material. and the swing
t,s Gas Brneket-A Dangerous aud
,,rtpiained Explosive That IL
,.,.rnted IN Closed Buildings by
r,at-A steamship Fire That
u.lprd ExtinEuish Itself Chemical
,t,c~ndinrism DimcuIt 90 Prove.
,-,g York Nov 30-Suspieious fires arr
-....uv occurrence IN al the great elite
v,.-syer there is a blaze the orisin o.
... 81 not apparent, cry OF inc n
l.,-..rr Is AZ once raised. Yet investisa-
...r SHOWS tina. less than per ee4t. e
...- ares are the result OF a De iberata
..erpt 20 destroy property. Taere are
,.... Known causes OF fires which must
=. -or.lfered in advance Of theory that
,h. .tfaeratlon was the work q th4t
tps,mmatory human bacillus, the irshus
r..-. are however. To every city p O.
te.soral i1cendiaries. men VINO T. faf
4. Ate buildings by the most igen Gus
,r,.r is tht 60 lection Of the insufan e
IN che owner q the pro cry. One o.
80 savorlte schemes of the ircenai ~
r.r. Tor a chair. an oil stove and a enc
,-l The stove Is placed upon n cha
a,I t-e wick lighted. To the back q
he chair Is tied strons cord TIE
-,-4 .s ufr-ed out through q VT dow. Tbs
s-,aar pulls the cord al the desirel mo-
mert lrsets the chair. a. d the ou ming
81 nom the dislocated stove start tn
-.el .ra4ou. Ansther scheme requires
.r. IN electric nnht bulb aId a tox Of
-.5.t clippings. The current q elect To-
Il, b. turned on and tho llshtgd bulb Is
ri -ked 90 the eli pings r per msots
have shown that IL requires fourteen min
,t.. 10 melt the as bulb and eel afre
,ae materials surrounding H.
The nre-bug. however. accomplishes
com.arailvely little compared TO bis
f-.,nds. the jerry builder. the careless
carpenter. tho incompetent electrician.
and he plumber ami the painter. who are
loo .ree with their spirit lamps. In an
gvesggation Of 5s5 suspicious fires mad
y Uses hy Peter SeNrey. the r'ire Marshal
% Greater New York. there were Only
Two fros which we're absolutely proven
Is have been OF incendiary origin. Ia
several other ases persons were arrested
rr The charge Of arson. but juries failed
10 convIcl them. The Investigation Of
-ese fires rasu ted 10 the q rest Of twelva
PERSONS the maj rity OF whom were dis
,aarged by magis mates for the lack OF
conclusive evidence In most CT the eases
.aers seemed 20 be a moral certainty u
Hs gullt OF he accused persons There
u1re IN the city Of New York In that year
FOUR thousand two hundred and thirty.
-.uo hres from ell causes.
"a e Fasarm aEaaas
fires Of suspicious gin are confronted
| z.h many difficulties. Not the east o.
| lese ls the manner IN which citizens.
| apparently f-r no good reason. deliberate
r % sltad the investigators A deputy
Ore marshal once spent nearly a day Ia
/ as investigation OF fire which he be-
/ eyed 10 have been the work Of an in
/ -,rd.ars He would probably have Sill
been 100 The dark with regard 70 II had
Dr. MOI overheard a conversation ne h wa
/ aynF che tenement where the fire had
occurred a woman was smuggling a
ckeu On the kitchen OF one of tn
apartments. a blaze from the burning
4 pa7sr had Rritsd a towel which wos dry
4 fg over The stove and the IRE spread
i -ty Throughout the room. Thinking
4 i-at she would be censured FOR careless
4 r.ss she had Cyaded the questions Of the
rf-.l.s ard put them 20 a great deal Of
trouble besides bringing Innocent persons
1risr suspicion.
Queer Causes of Fires.
An investigator Of fires Of peculiar orr
en- such as are constantly occurring in
args cities must have a saving knowi-
See q chem stry physics architecture
era ~ a variety Of other arts ard sci
frces II is noe generally known for In
sance that a combination % indigo and
'ssei OF Il a prolific source OF destruc-
use fires Fabrics dyed with indigo and
a'shed with a preparation Of linseed OF
PIT. 70 stored in a confined space. take FIRE
q themselves. Il was only few years
sgo mat a dry goods house was nearly de-
'toyed because the proprietor did not
know the ructive qualities OF oil and
q me Indian dye. I.amphiack when pack
q away in an nl-ventilated room often
s.nfrlies enough heat 10 set itself on
's In one OF the principal cities OF che
riied States the laboratory OF a per
Tuner was nearly wrecked by a terrific
ERICSSON The maker Of scents believed
'ao' discharged employe had set FIRE
g mo huldng but he hadn't. The fire
vas due 10 the slow evaporation OF a high
f-s In a room IN witch a small labor
i'oTy gas stove had been left burning
Iaere passed through the streets OF
Boston A few years ago load OF hav
theh suddenly became enveloped In
1tme. Tho driver % the hay wagon
va about 20 assault a gulleless youth
R7' wag smoking q cigarette nearby Tho
io16le however had nothing 20 do with
ne cigarette smoker but WIS caused BY
ne Tire % wheel rubbing against
81 iron rod on the side Of The
'ason bys;ander had seen the spark
ned nv the contact between tie nie-e4
metal nv into the Inn mup4ble hay
10 aN mnurfartnrinE ertab h-~entr a
,ieqlent carse OF fires g. the rub ing o.
sA'oer nefing against ire ed~e = tie
shT'ure through which & p'ssev FIRM
Hoo' 70 floor. In a farcy good rou n
.tIte IRON vault was blown open " soms
'oi'e generated within and there il ne =
meet % fame NoNodv had heer n
e vault for AZ least twelve hours The
zee box was filed with payer dolls re-
Is''1 each pair Of which there wa a elm
Y e'huloid. A Shree-lnch ste~ m pipe W
a l''eb AGAINST the rea~ OF tie veult N >
~ heat u gave out had raised the tenn
pe'Ature OF the iron box 10 ~ h deg ee
lal The celluloid films had aiken FIRE
~ cotton Il one q the cornuoren pats
eeliuloid. and the explosion was the
A'lra result Of a combinat o. o. gun
-ol'on and high temperature. one OF the
et stubborn ires which ever, Wis :
ago had its origin In a plate 81 -
-loW The vitreous pane concenfra Ell
neat Of the August sun upou cellu-
.'l comb. The comb blazed and splut-
''~l and soon the other SAMPLES o. J..
-''l which we're around Il were on IRE
4Ns flames cofnuuutaa taN rof.fdtv =. tha