fire. The cause is clear. The requisite cool- | sand eager eyes of the night cabmen and the ness and method which every one can exerhouseless poor. It is not at all uncommon cise so philosophically in other people's mis- for a cabman to earn four or five shillings of fortunes, utterly fail them when in trouble a night by driving fast to the different stathemselves. The doctor is wiser in his gene- tions and giving the alarm, receiving a shilration, and is never so foolish as to prescribe ling from each for the " call." for himself or to attend his own family. In most Continental cities a watchman Thirdly, we have, in contrast to the im- takes his stand during the night on the topmense rabble of Bumble engines and the most point of some high building, and gives Bashi-Bazouks of private establishments, the notice by either blowing a horn, firing a gun, small complement of men and material of or ringing a bill. In Germany the quarter the Fire Brigade. It consists of twenty- is indicated by holding out towards it a flag seven large horse-engines, capable of throw-by day, and a lantern at night. It immeing 88 gallons a minute to a height of from 50 to 70 feet, and nine smaller ones drawn by hand. To work them there are twelve engineers, seven sub-engineers, thirty-two senior firemen, thirty-nine junior firemen, and fourteen drivers, or 104 men and 31 horses. In addition to these persons, who form the main establishment, and live at the different stations, there is an extra staff of four firemen, four drivers, and eight horses. The members of this supplementary force are also lodged at the stations, as well as clothed, but are only paid when their services are required, and pursue in the daytime their ordinary occupations. This not very formidable army of 104 men and 31 horses, with its reserve of eight men and eight horses, is distributed throughout the Metropolis, which is divided into four districts as follows:-On the north side of the river-1st. From the eastward to Paul's Chain, St. Paul's Churchyard, Aldersgate-street, and Goswell-streetroad; 2d. From St. Paul's, &c., to Tottenham-court-road, Crown street, and St. Martin's-lane; 3d. From Tottenham-court-road, &c., westward; 4th. The entire south side of the river. At the head of each district is a foreman, who never leaves it unless acting under the superior orders of Mr. Braidwood, the superintendent or general-in-chief, whose head quarters are in Watling-street. In diately suggests itself that a sentinel placed in the upper gallery of St. Paul's would have under his eye the whole Metropolis, and could make known instantly, by means of an electric wire, the position of a fire, to the head station at Watling-street, in the same manner as the Americans do in Boston. This plan is, however, open to the objection, that London is intersected by a sinuous river, which renders it difficult to tell on which bank the conflagration is raging. Nevertheless we imagine that the northern part of the town could be advantageously superintended from such a height, whilst the southern half might rest under the surveillance of one of the tall shot-towers on that bank of the Thames. The bridges themselves have long been posts of observation, from which a large portion of the river-side property is watched. Not long ago there was a pieman on Londonbridge, who eked out a precarious existence by keeping a good look-out up and down the stream. Watling-street was chosen as the headquarters of the Fire Brigade for a double reason: it is very nearly the centre of the city, being close to the far-famed London Stone, and it is in the very midst of what may be termed, speaking igneously, the most dan gerous part of the metropolis-the Manchester warehouses. As the Fire Brigade is comparison with the great Continental only a portion of a vast commercial operacities such a force seems truly insignificant. tion-Fire Insurance-its actions are reguParis, which does not cover a fifth part of lated by strictly commercial considerations. the ground of London, and is not much more Where the largest amount of insured property than a third as populous, boasts 800 sapeurs-lies, there its chief force is planted. It will, pompiers: we make up, however, for want it is true, go any reasonable distance to put of numbers by activity. Again, our look-out a fire; but of course it pays most attenout is admirable: the 6,000 police of the metropolis, patrolling every alley and lane throughout its length and breadth, watch for a fire as terriers watch at rat-holes, and every man is stimulated by the knowledge, that if he is the first to give notice of it at any of the stations, it is half a sovereign in his pocket. In addition to the police, there are the thou tion to property which its proprietors have guaranteed. The central station receives the greatest number of "calls" but as a commander-in-chief does not turn out for a skirmish of outposts, so Mr. Braidwood keeps himself ready for affairs of a more serious nature. When the summons is at nightthere are sometimes as many as half-a-dozeu 4 the fireman on duty below apprizes the superintendent by means of a gutta percha speaking-tube, which comes up to his bedside. By the light of the ever-burning gas, he rapidly consults the "London Directory,' and if the call should be to what is called "a greengrocer's street," or any of the small thoroughfares in bye-parts of the town, he leaves the matter to the foreman in whose district it is, and goes to sleep again. If, however, the fire should be in the city, or in any of the great West-End thoroughfares, he hurries off on the first engine. Five minutes is considered a fair time for an engine "to horse and away," but it is often done in three. Celerity in bringing up aid is the great essential, as the first half hour generally determines the extent to which a conflagration will proceed. Hence the rewards of thirty shillings for the first, twenty for the second, and ten shillings for the third engine that arrives, which premiums are paid by the parish. All the engines travel with as few hands as possible: the larger ones having an engineer, four firemen and a driver, and the following furniture: for seven hours out of the vicinity of a conflagration. We need not say which plan answers best. A Frenchman runs away, as soon as the sapeurs-pompiers make their appearance upon the scene, to avoid being impressed. Still, such is the excitement that there are some gentlemen with us who pursue the occupation of firemen as amateurs ; providing themselves with the regulationdress of dark green turned up with red, and with the accoutrements of the Brigade, and working, under the orders of Mr. Braidwood, as energetically as if they were earning their daily bread. The fascination of fires even extends to the brute creation. Who has not heard of the dog " Chance," who first formed his acquaintance with the Brigade by following a fireman from a conflagration in Shoreditch to the central station at Watling-street? Here, after he had been petted for some little time by the men, his master came for him, and took him home; but he escaped on the first opportunity, and returned to the station. After he had been carried back for the third time, his master-like a mother whose son will go to sea-allowed him to "Several lengths of scaling-ladder, each 63 feet long, all of which may be readily connected, form- have his own way, and for years he invariing in a short space of time a ladder of any re ably accompanied the engine, now upon the quired height; a canvas sheet, with 10 or 12 machine, now under the horses' legs, and alhandles of rope round the edge of it for the pur-ways, when going up hill, running in adpose of a fire-escape; one 10-fathom and one 14-fathom piece of 2-inch rope; six lengths of hose, each 40 feet long; 2 branch-pipes, one 2 feet, and the other from 4 to 6 feet long, with one spare nose-pipe; two 6-feet lengths of suctionpipe, a flat rose, stand-cock, goose-neck, damboard, boat-hook, saw, shovel, mattock, pole-axe, screw-wrench, crow-bar, portable cistern, two dog-tails, two balls of strips of sheepskin, two balls of small cord, instruments for opening the fire-plugs, and keys for turning the stop-cocks of the water-mains." The weight of the whole, with the men, is not less than from 27 to 30 cwt., a load which, in the excitement of the ride, is carried by a couple of horses at the gallop. The hands to work the pumps are always forthcoming on the spot at any hour of the night, not alone for goodwill, as every man and there have been as many as five bundred employed at a time-receives one shilling for the first hour and sixpence for every succeeding one, together with refreshments. In France, the law empowers the firemen to seize upon the bystanders, and compel them to give their services, without fee or reward. An Englishman at Bordeaux, whilst looking on, some few years since, was forced, in spite of his remonstrances, to roll wine-casks vance, and announcing the welcome advent of the extinguisher by his bark. At the fire he used to amuse himself with pulling burning logs of wood out of the flames with his mouth. Although he had his legs broken half a dozen times, he remained faithful to his pursuit; till at last, having received a severer hurt than usual, he was being nursed by the firemen beside the hearth, when a "call" came, and at the well-known sound of the engine turning out, the poor brute made a last effort to climb upon it, and fell back dead in the attempt. He was stuffed and preserved at the station, and was doomed, even in death, to prove the fireman's friend: for one of the engineers having committed suicide, the Brigade determined to raffle him for the benefit of the widow, and such was his renown that he realized £123 10s. 9d. Mr. Samuel Brown, of the Institute of Actuaries, after analyzing the returns of Mr. Braidwood, as well as the reports in the "Mechanics' Magazine," by Mr. Baddeley, who has devoted much attention to the subject, drew up some tables of the times of the year, and hours of the day, at which fires are most frequent. It would naturally be sup rious causes, which would never have been suspected. From an analysis of fires which have occurred since the establishment of the Brigade, we have constructed the following Tables: Candle Gas Area. One reason, perhaps, why there is such a general average in the number of conflagrations throughout the year, is, that the vast majority occur in factories and workshops where fire is used in summer as well as winter. This supposition appears at first sight to be contradicted by the fact, that nearly Curtains as many fires occur on Sunday as on any other day of the week. But when it is remembered that in numerous establishments it is necessary to keep in the fires throughout that day, and as in the majority of cases a very inadequate watch is kept, it is at once. apparent why there is no immunity from the Scourge. Indeed, some of the most destructive fires have broken out on a Sunday night or on a Monday morning--no doubt because a large body of fire had formed before it was detected. A certain number of accidents occur in summer in private houses from persons on hot nights opening the window behind the toilet glass in their bedrooms, when the draught blows the blind against the candle. Swallows do not more certainly appear in June, than such mishaps are found reported at the sultry season. If we watch still more narrowly the habits of fires, we find that they are active or dormant according to the time of the day. Thus, during a period of nine years, the percentage regularly increased from 1.96 at 9 o'clock A.M., the hour at which all households might be considered to be about, to 3.34 at 1 P.M., 3:55 at 5 P.M., and 8.15 per cent. at 10 P.M., which is just the time at which a fire left to itself by the departure of the workmen, would have had swing enough to become visible. The origin of fires is now so narrowly inquired into by the officers of the Brigade, and by means of inquests, that we have been made acquainted with a vast number of cu 243 4 166 1 22 13 Sewing in do. Sewing by Candle 7 Lime overheating 1 Cargo of Lime do. 2 Dust falling on hori zontal Flue Doubtful Incendiarism Waste do. 76 Rain Slacking do. 89 High Tide 100 Explosion 80 Spontaneous Combus upset playing with do. with do. playing tion 19 Heat from Sun 15 Lightning Carboy of Acid burst 1 ing 80 Drying Linen Shirts falling into fire 45 Lighting and Upset 1 1616 43 8 1 ting Naphtha Lamp 58 Fire from Iron Kettle 1 Sealing Letter 1 Charcoal Fire of a Rat gnawing gaspipe Suicide Boys letting of Fire14 Insanity Fireworks going off 63 Bleaching Nuts Children playing Unknown with Fire works 45 7 . 1,323 Among the more common causes of fire (such as gas, candle, curtains taking fire, children playing with fire, stoves, &c.), it is remarkable how uniformly the same numbers occur under each head from year to year. General laws obtain as much in small as in great events. We are informed by the Post-Office authorities that about eight persons daily drop their letters into the post. |