Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-07-26

days later might not have noticed thar
anything was the matter with Il unless
he happened 20 look up and see that the
woodwork around the upper windows
was charred.
Yet the down Of chance so arranged
that little blaze that IL betrayed sud-
denly the Inadequacy Of London's prep
arations for fire lighting and put
city into a fright lest another calamity
overtake Il before It could catch up
with The times.
Ten minutes after the fire broke out
IL occurred 20 someone that MAYBE me
man AZ the fire station. a stones throw
distant didn't know about H. So some
good Samaritan ran around ana 10 q
them When the iremen arrived twenty
young girls on the top floor had tegun
to get nervous. as considerable smoke
was arising from the floor below W.
the blaze seems 20 have started. SOM
one had torn the canvas cover from
the top Of passing banana cart ana
willing hands were stretching II taui
TO catch the girls who were Ing urged
TO lump. But OF course that wasn't
supposed 20 be necessary after the ilre-
men arrived with their ladders. Those
ladders were run up and then II was
discovered for the first time In the
twenty-five years that this build ng
had been within sight Of the fire sta
ton that n ladder Afty feet long would
not reach 10 a window sixty feet from
the ground.
II was remembered that there were
some larger ladders at station over
across the river, and these were sent
for In the meantime, the poor crea-
lures on the top floor were becoming
mad with fright, and one by one were
throwing themselves out into the
meager taruaulln that had been
stretched for them again above the
sidewalk Some Of them struck &c, and
escaped with slight injuries some
missed It, and were mangled on the
pavement; some tainted before they
could lump, and were suffocated nv
the smoke before the longer ladders
could get across the river; two were
carried out by a brave fireman who
had himself let down to the window by
a rope from the roof
ASTONISHING STATE OF AFFAIRS
Ten lives were lost in all and six
young girls were badly hurt Letters
from Indignant spectators began 20 ap.
pear In the papers next day. awkward
questions were asked and then an as
tunlshing state OF things was revealed,
The fire station around the corner
had once had one Of these newfangIp
American ladders, II seems that would
reach to the top stories OF the build
ings In the neighborhoOd but IT was
too long 10 be accommodated In the
station. and some trouble had leen eX-
perienced In carrying 1t through the
streets. SO ii had been broken up for
hrewoOd The department also had
some safety nets, somewhere or other
but couldn't lay hands on them at the
time
The use OF scaling ladders that could
be booked up from window to VIM
dow had been suggested by some crank
sometime previous, but had been rather
contemptuously rejected, They might
have tried them here and there, but
the department wasn't going to commit
itself officially to any such hare
Drained schemes,
Chemical engines2 Yes It was un-
derstood that they had been used in
the United States or some such place,
but they had not been adopted in Lon
don.
Permanent iron fire escapes for build
lngs used as factories? Oh yes some
modern buildings had them. But this
unfortunate building In Queen Victoria
street-and the officials begged to eX-
tend their sincere condolences to the
bereaved families-had been put up
before the, present factory inspection
system mad come into force. and con-
sequensly had never been inspected,
How, pray could the law be made to
apply to any except buildings erected
after the law was passed?
The gun that shoots a life line over
burning building was looked upon as
rather a fantastic contrivance, and the
adoption of water towers had never
been seriously considered Automatic
fire alarms were not In use. The eiec-
trio system that drops n harness on
the fire horses before the gong has
had time to repeat It's call was In use
IN some station. but most Of the en-
CINE houses had been considered too