Year: 1873




Mr. Joseph Bird, of Boston, having first
challenged public attention as fre-strate-
gi>t by pamphlet in ISIS, by the invention
Of hand-pump or " small engine" and
also by remarkable letter, day or two
after the Chicago fire, in which he called
attention to the insecurity of Boston, and
which proved sadly prophetic, has now col
lected his erudition and experience in
pyromachy into a neat volume from which
we take the following extract


1t should be the duty Of some person in
every town 10 give the cause of fires, why
they were not at once put out, how large
or small they were when first seen, how
much they had increased when water was
thrown upon them, and if extingulshed a
once and without loss. the manner and
means made known, that other property
might be saved in like manner. If such a
record was published. we should learn
that one cause of fires was the cr0wdng to-
gether Of wooden buildings, a. at Portland
/ and at Chicago. from which sparks flying
from the first building on fire. would set
many Others on fire before the first engine
could be got 70 work, OF even perhaps be-
L
was fire. And if it should be proved that
for these little fires the small hand engines
were more efficient than great steam fire
engines, and that such fires, by their
use, could have been put out with
loss OF a few dollars instead of many
millions, they would soon be adopt
| ed. Then by the combined force of the
steamers and the small engines, conhagra-
tions would become almost obsolete. Many
an awful fire, the news of which has been
sent over the land, would have been dashed
ont without loss 10y some man or woman,
noy or girl, if proper and efficient means for
doing it were at hand, and it was the Gus
tom to publish such instances of self
p osSession at fires, as it was of the heroic
d seds Of our soldiers in the late war.


Take, for instance, the following ex-
ample boy, employed in a store near
the Old South Church, discovered a fire in
the basement Of the store in a very danger
GUS place, which in a few minutes would
have driven the inmates from the store, and
re suited in the loss of thousands of dollars
worth Of property. Springing to the wash
bowl. the only implement at hand, he filled
it with water and throwing 1t upon the
flames, he was in n moment back with
another. and others followed. and 50 he
dashed it out almost before the other in
mates knew there was fire on the premises.
As one of the salesmen went to find out the
cause Of the smoke and disturbance, the lad
/ emerged from the smoke, saying, as be
rushed for more water, Il have got 1t al
most out =" And soon it was quite
| out. and the serious danger over. Not
word Of this praiseworthy action was re-
ported. Yet itwould no doubt have pre-
\ vented many other fires if published and
commented upon in the newspapers Of the
| day. Nor do believe the boy ever received
a "thank YOU, sir from the insurance
/ company for whom he saved thousands of
| dollars.


The best managed fire | ever saw was
\ dashed out in few minutes by a woman
whoworked with entire self-possession, and
! taught man and her daughter to do 50
| also 4 kettle of tar had boiled over in
! wheelwright shop, and set the stock, chips
| and shayiugs, under a workbench, on fire.
The workmen now seeing the fire, took the
kettle OF tar from the fireplace to the door.
dropping the burning tar all the way, and
throwing it out to the side of the shop,
where there was a large hole into the cellar
down which the burning tar ran upon the
chips and shavings which were scattered
about there A pretty kettle of tar, one
would say \ dense black smoke enyelOped
the row of buildings, and gave the alarm
to the firewoman. The wind was blow
| ing a gale to add to the danger. In a
moment She seized two pals, filled one. and
telling her daughter to fill the other, and
to pump into the trough, she sprang to the
fire, and dashed her pail of water under the
bench where was the first fire. In few
seconds came another pail which went into


the same place, and drowned out that part
| o,e the fire. Now came help, the first man
/ L.
of " ater on the flames along the floor, she
point I'd to the fire in the cellar, and told
| him to put it out, which following her ex-
ample. he did from the water in the trough,
which wa now almost full, for the girl
stuck to t. he pump, as her mother did to the
fire. By Il us time the mother had put out
all the fire in the shop, and the danger was
over. as half q dozen men came rushing up
too late to be of any service. IL the fire had
not been alta cked until they arrived
whole neighbo rhood would have been de-
stroved in an hour. just as the fire was
out. though the smoke was so dense that
nothing could be seen in the shop, the
workman came out Of it, as black as tar
barrel. and with lamp-black enough upon
him to have fitted out dozen negro min
strels.


| | doubt if the brave heroine of this ex-
ploit was ever thanked by more than one
of the half dozen owners of the buildings in
danger. or received reward from those for
whom she saved many thousands of dollars.
Nor did the account of the fire go into the
papers, to teach and encourage other
women and men to follow her example in
similar times of danger. A house far from


help from engines took fire on the roof, and


before it was discovered a large portion of
one side of the roof was on fire. A young


lady of the house caught a mop and pail of


water, and telling the Others to bring more


water, she got on the roof. and dashing out
the flames with the mop, soon did for the