New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-09-08
NEW YORK'S MANY FIRES
Cigarettes and Matches Alone Cause
S2.5OO.OOO Damage Yearly

81, OOO ,OOO OUUtUSc Il curly
For carelessIy dropped cigarettes and matches
New York City pays in fire losses the tidy sum VI
81 10000 in a single year If the other causes Oh
New York's twenty-three daily hres-de1ecti'e Vi
rnismanaged heating and lighting apparatus ana
machinery. badly constructed buildings. greasy
waste hot ashes and similar fire encourasers-are
taken into account the bill for soong with fire IN
New York IS 100000 year. distributed among
$500 different alarms This figure. based upon the
official fire patrol reports. does not however. IN
cIude s415Gc0 paid directly by the taxpayer Tor
damage to Fire Department property For every
tine the firebell rngs IN this city and the apPa-
ratus goes out. Tor false alarm, IT costs at
least $50 for damage to trucks and strain on the
valuable fire horses Nor does II include half a
million dollars Of damage 10 asphalt paVements
from Chdren's bonires.
This annual fire loss has grown such proper
lions that boards OF underwriters and also the nre
patrols are making an elaborate study OF the
causes of fires In fact. they take the fever tenn
perature OF New York's buildings as carefully as
a physician follows the fever line OF a typAon
patient. And these observations are charted care
fully by expert statistcians and made the subject
OF deep study by pyro-speciaists- The most re-
cent OF these yearly charts covering 63SI fires IN
the boroughs Of Manhattan and The Bronx which
did S70000D damage. gives some peculiar sta
tistCF
The most fiery day of the week in New York ia
ironing dlv Tuesday when 9S9 fires occurred. due
partly the ranges and gas stoves being kept at
full blast with piles OF dry clothes around them
The busiest hour Of the day for fremen is the
dinner hour. 20 : 2 m. when 52l alarms came in
At this time factories and offices have just been
deserted and whatever has been eft amiss has
time to finish srnouldering and burst into flame.
The busiest month is January. when coal is piled
in TO get heat. This month has So fires TO its
credit. though November with its election ceie-
brations and the necessity Of using lights and
giving heating apparatus It's first really good test.
is a close second with so fires 70 its discredit
Recreation hours seem 10 be the time or The day
when the majority OF the fires occur and the period
from midnight O'Clock in the morning the
Ughtest For only S6S fires charged early
morning. while 1855 occurred between p. m and
Midnight, 1897 were at the shopping and matinee
hours. from noon TO s o'clock and LIS happened
between breakfast and luncheon. Aud this idea is
est figure for the week s82. is for sunday. when
The special frequency Of fires between o'clock
and midnight is attributable to number OF causes.
In the first place. in these hours more lights
lighted there is more smoking OF cigars: alcohol
chatting dishes much in requisitiou All Of these
things mean that matches used more than
are deserted. and If there has been any fre seed
inmate before midniEht Moreover. the streets at
this hour are filled with persons who are careless
doorways or In rubbish around the doorways Of
shops men TOO not [ew good felIows begin 10
this time, and try to-hic-hgIt the-htc-gas and
when the match burns their fingers drop il the
bed or i'll waste paper basket. But especially at
this time are homes without adults Mr.. and Mrs
Nevvlywed at the theatre and their fiat is va
cant save for Annie CfreenhOrn. Father and mother
can't or at a place Of amusement, and the iiftIs
children. after nurse has gone to bed. up and
Te enginGs and e Tss II ash barrels down cellar
our When no one is sbonT '''s' prefer 10 come
The fires after Y ?. m. are. in many cases. mod
dishabIlle. rises to attend to him. She strikes a
6efo and b en mat taf shades are up
in n IN hand. TO the window 70 pull down the
tains This is not effective as measure OF mod
. ssty because soon The mother and the whole fam
Tie worst monetary damage by IRE is in De
loss occurred. The lowest month for loss is Sep
though the fewest fires occur in August The sum
es bTs arc % bnrnq8 4giTa'qS Is HSed ana few
least damage to buildings OF the summer months
We're contributed by the Fourth Of July fireworks
and about the Fourth and Is watchful. the damage
was low.
These facts 20 the time Of fires. with other
elaborate data. collected by the fire insurance
companies for the purpose of establishing their
rates
The work of collecting all this material has Gre
nicaI training in archtecture ni,TsHi g 81 and zen
hammable and explosive materials in their rela-
mis- demand by sivnr speciaI D5l'hS 10 meet
cnce- Almost any Saturday afternoon in the win
Ter one can see "a gr9up ~ men climbing around
tenements. studying under the direction of an en-
gineer from the Insurance Board the points which
make building safe unsafe in the ss of TN.
pyTo-speclallsts These men are students IN the
night course fire insurance given al the VASE
ington Square building of New York University bv
+ r. Hardy. specialist Of the. New York Fire IN
derwrlters- For the Most part these structure
climbers are insurance agents and clerks VINO wish
TO become inspectors and fire engineers. y number
or them, however, prosperous stout
though canny, real estate agents lawyers ami
owners They do not relish especially the climb
over scaffolding, and have no desire To take no
sIch feats as a life work But they are awake 10
the fact that by knowing how ma he {; building
safe, and by avoiding the things insurance
people coIGehnn they can put their property in
low rate category and reduce Their yearly In
surance bills. "