 CHAPTER VII. FIRE DEPARTMENTS OF MIDDLE Europe, Austro-Hungary, Switzerland, and Italy. The dominant feature of the Austrian fire department is the high degree of excellence attained by purely voluntary core, which owe their development in a great measure to the system of federation introduced as long ago as 1869. This organization was extended in 1885 under the name of the Austrian Fire Brigade Board, comprising delegates from the provincial brigades under a president and two vice presidents. In 1900 this board received recognition from the Crown, became known as the Austrian Imperial Fire Brigades Association, and obtained an annual subvention from the government. Today this federation numbers more than 9,500 brigades, representing practically the entire Austrian service. Some idea of the magnitude of this force can be gathered from the amount of the apparatus involved, namely over two hundred steam fire engines and over thirteen thousand manuals. From time to time this association appoints technical commissions to examine all questions connected with the scientific aspect of fire control. Further courses of study are specially designed to familiarize officers and non-commissioned officers with the theoretical problems involved in firefighting. Particular attention is directed to the inspection of local brigades and efforts are made to secure uniformity in their organization. According to the principles adopted by the Imperial Association, every volunteer corps must be composed of two sections, each properly equipped for fire extinguishing and lifesaving work. Thus these brigades can be used not only for fighting fires, but may equally be called upon to render assistance in the event of accidents of any nature. Such a system is no doubt of public benefit in rural communities, but would clearly be impracticable in large towns unless all municipal forces were under the control of the same executive. A matter of enormous importance in the economics of the Austrian fire service is the fact that the law of the country requires all insurance corporations and companies trading on Austrian territory to contribute about two percent of their total gross premium income on the risk taken in Austrian territory for the specific purpose of assisting in the upkeep of the fire brigades and towards the firemen's widows and orphans fund. This law affects all companies irrespective of their nationality. It must be here emphasized that the foregoing remarks apply only to Austrian territory proper, Hungary possessing a distinct and separate organization of its own. The Hungarian Fire Brigades Union consists of one thousand three hundred twenty-five units out of a total of nearly nine thousand corps, sufficient evidence of the fact that it has not won the same popular interest. Its executive serves as the board of experts to which the minister of the interior applies when technical questions have to be dealt with. An annual course of instruction is arranged by the union lasting three weeks, and no officer, apparently, can attain chief officer's rank in a union brigade without having passed this test and obtained a certificate. As to the union's general work it has systematized all questions of uniform and badges of rank. It has created a long service medal and has issued clear instructions for competitions and a guide for the testing of fire extinguishing appliances. Doubtless this list of ordinances is possessed of local value, but to the scientific mind it seems strange that questions of technical import have not received more attention from such an association. True a uniform coupling is used throughout the country, and there is a standard manual fire engine, but as non-union brigades possess these appliances it may be presumed that their adoption has merely been a matter of convenience. The city of Vienna, as regards fire protection, is dependent upon a municipally paid professional brigade assisted by volunteer suburban corps under the control of brigade headquarters. Eight officers, five civilians, and four hundred seventy-five men, form the personnel of the former, located in fifteen stations, with two special watches in public buildings. The officers consist of the commandant, a chief inspector, and six subordinates, all of whom are housed at the central fire station. Of the rank and file, eight are drill sergeants, forty telegraph clerks, fifty-three foremen, twenty-two engineers, while two hundred forty-eight comprise the actual firefighting force. In addition, twenty-four telegraph clerks and engineers are detailed for duty with the volunteer suburban brigades, the remainder of the force, numbering seventy-eight being coachmen. Numerically such a fighting strength for the fire protection of a city the size of Vienna would seem hopelessly inadequate, but in this connection a word must be said for the building regulations enforced by the municipality, which greatly diminish fire risks owing to their far-sighted efficiency. The apparatus of the brigade is adequate to its needs, perhaps the most distinctive feature being the chemical engines, in connection with which are operated eighty-foot mechanical extension ladders. Their crew consists of an officer and five men, additional gear carried comprising three hook ladders, a hose reel, a hand-engine, a smoke-helmet, a jumping sheet, an ambulance-chest, tool-box, torches, and so forth. On duty the firemen wear uniforms of white canvas, which scarcely seem appropriate considering the nature of the work they are called upon to do. Generally speaking it would appear from the data obtainable that there is a tendency to overload the men with gear, and that some of the heavier apparatus is insufficiently supplied with personnel effective to operate it. The suburban volunteer brigades turn out to fires in their own districts, but may be called upon to assist in the event of a serious outbreak in the city. Their equipment is very similar to the municipal brigade, and since the men are volunteers, and as such enthusiasts they take a pride in keeping as up-to-date as possible in all matters pertaining to their apparatus. Vienna is particularly fortunate as regards its water supply, which is ample for the requirements of the brigade. There are three thousand six hundred twenty hydrants, with an average nozzle pressure of from seventy-five to ninety pounds, so that the use of the steam-fire engine is rarely necessary, doing away with much of the cumbersome apparatus found in other continental cities. The Hofburg Theatre is generally considered one of the finest in the world, but judging from the following report from the Journal of the British Fire Prevention Committee, it would seem that, in common with most other similar structures in the European capitals, fire for architectural magnificence has outweighed the less artistic essentials upon which fire safety depends. It is subject to a considerable risk of fire through antiquated electric installation. The switch room on the stage is one of the most dangerous the members of the party have seen. Besides being dangerous electrically, it is highly inflammable, and lined with match-boarding. There was much unnecessary match-boarding and woodwork in the theatre. It appeared curious that a building such as the Vienna Hofburg Theatre, on which such an immense sum of money had been spent, should contain defects so palpable that they were inexcusable. The staircase from the stage to the mezzanine was very antiquated and capable of much improvement. The exits, however, seemed ample. The theatre has its own fire staff, and below the gridiron is fitted with a species of sprinkler operated from the stage level. Beyond this precaution apparently nothing is done to ensure the safety of the flies or the scenery dock. There is, of course, an iron curtain between the stage and the auditorium, though the front of the house is seemingly left unprotected. At all theatres in Vienna an evening watch is posted, and the fire apparatus is examined prior to and after each performance. Though an ambulance service can scarcely be considered an integral portion of a fire department, yet in Vienna the two organisations are so combined as to be almost inseparable. Formed consequent upon the Ring Theatre Fire of 1871 by Baron Mundi, the Vienna Volunteer Ambulance Society has, as its object, the creation of a civil ambulance service to render aid on occasions of great emergency, such as conflagrations, railway accidents, floods and the like. It consists of three departments, the first detailed for fire service, the second for flood service, and the third for first aid service. The fire service comprises several of the Vienna Suburban Volunteer Fire Brigades, four hundred of the men of these brigades being organised to do duty for this purpose outside the metropolitan area, if necessary. The flood service comprises one hundred forty-nine men from the leading rowing clubs, and has its own pumps, pontoons and food-distributing vehicles, thus acting to some degree as a substitute for a regular river fire department. The first aid service comprises fourteen paid doctors, three hundred twenty-five voluntary doctors, sixty medical students, three ambulance superintendents, twelve ambulance orderlies, and six coachmen. In the administrative building of the society there are waiting rooms, duty rooms, an accident ward, operating theatre and watch-house, the latter specially equipped with telephones, for communication with the fire department, police and other authorities. For railway accidents the radius of action is three hundred miles. While in the event of a conflagration or great disaster the society can count immediately upon the services of fifty doctors and two hundred volunteer ambulance orderlies equipped with twenty-six ambulances, two hundred fifty stretchers, and a large quantity of minor appliances. This forms a valuable auxiliary to the fire department which can always rely upon its immediate cooperation. Some consideration must now be given to the Budapest Fire Brigade, which is likewise a combination of professional and volunteer forces. The staff of the professional brigade consists of a chief officer, an inspector, a senior and two junior agitants, twenty-three warrant officers, three engineers, fifteen foremen, one hundred seventy-five firemen, and sufficient coachmen to drive the horse appliances. Amongst the apparatus may be noticed sixteen fire engines, twenty-two manual engines, and a supply of hose wagons and extension ladders. Headquarters and substations are connected by private telephones. There are one hundred forty-nine fire alarms distributed throughout the city, which number seems inadequate. Since the publication of these data it is understood that arrangements have been made to re-equip the force, but necessarily this operation will cover some time. On the other hand the Volunteer Brigade is a model of its kind, possesses an independent constitution and comprises some eighty members. It is capitalized to the extent of forty thousand dollars, and receives in addition a special annual subsidy from the municipality. Though legally an entirely self-governing institution, the Corps voluntarily puts itself under the command of the Chief Officer of the Municipal Brigade. Their equipment is housed together, since that operated by the Volunteers is bought and maintained by the city. The professional head of the department has at his daily disposal ten men who do duty every night and render service if called upon. Owing to the fact that the fire risks in Budapest are regarded as considerable, it has been found necessary to augment these two services by essentially private organizations of factory fire brigades. These number forty-four all told, total sixteen hundred men, and have a mutual understanding whereby the members of any one factory assist others in case of need. In criticizing the fire department and equipment of a town such as this, it must first be remembered that it would be expecting too much to demand the finished organization and up-to-date resources of a city such as New York. When it is considered that only laterally has fire control come to be regarded as worthy of more than passing attention, it speaks volumes for the enterprise of a municipality situated so far east and peopled by a race so temperamental as the Hungarians to have evolved so efficient a service. This comment is made necessary, because since comparisons are odious but constantly instituted, it may be imagined that such a statement of facts implies discredit. The following condensed account of the burning of the Parisian store in Budapest on August twenty-fourth, nineteen-oh-three, though ancient history, still possesses considerable interest. On the ground and mezzanine floors of the building were business premises, while the other four storeys comprising the house were given over to residential apartments. An open courtyard in the center of the block provided light and air to the residential portion. The proprietor of the business premises, wishing to increase his accommodation, had rented the mezzanine floor of the two adjoining blocks, cutting large openings in the party wall. In addition he roofed over the open court at the floor level above the mezzanine, closing the doors on the ground and mezzanine floors, leading to both front and back staircases, and blocking the windows facing the business premises. The store premises were stocked with dry goods. At about seven p.m. smoke was seen issuing through the partition separating the business from the main street entrance of the residential portion. It is alleged that the outbreak was due to an electric short circuit, but more probably it originated among some of the inflammable goods in the store. The fire spread rapidly, volumes of smoke cutting off the egress of the tenants. Shortly the whole of the business portion of the building was involved, and the flames entered the residential part through the glass roof over the central court. Thus the tenants had no other means of escape except the windows overlooking the street, the door of the back staircase having meantime become involved in the general conflagration. Before the arrival of the brigade three persons had jumped from windows and lost their lives. By the time that the brigade had arrived upon the scene the fire had obtained so firm a hold that the fire escapes and jumping sheets could not be employed to proper advantage, with the result that twenty-six other persons jumped, of whom nine lost their lives, sixteen were seriously injured, and one was unharmed. According to the openings in the party walls of the mezzanine the fire spread to the adjoining block, narrowly avoiding a very much larger area of damage. The moral of such a calamity is obvious. When tenements are over business premises every constructional means should be adopted to ensure the safety of the residents. In this connection the municipality itself should see to it that in all new buildings attention is paid to fire risks, and also that no trade or business of a dangerous nature should be carried on in any inhabited dwelling. This is of a special importance in these days when the employment of celluloid in various forms has come into such common use. Since the development in Rome from 1870 onwards combustible materials in building construction have been practically prohibited there, in buildings prior to 1870 wood could be primarily found only in roofs and floors. The wooden staircase in Rome is an exception, and in structures both old and new a substantial vaulted fire-resisting floor separates the ground floor from all other parts of the building, thus all shops on the street level are effectively isolated from the tenements above. The number of factories and workshops in Rome is small and is limited to a few steam mills. Consequently up to 1894 the fire brigade was composed of municipal workers who took it in turns to man the stations and to act as theatre watchmen. Since that year the force has been reorganized, being two hundred strong, of whom one hundred forty are firemen, fifty belong to a special reserve, and ten are officers, the municipality pays the entire expenses of the brigade amounting to about twelve thousand five hundred dollars per annum. There are in all seven stations connected by telephonic communication and an alarm system of roughly a hundred points. As regards water supply there are three hundred fifty hydrants exclusively for fire purposes, together with some three thousand others which can be brought into use if necessary. It is estimated that the number of fires per annum amount approximately to two hundred seventy, of which on an average two hundred sixteen may be listed as petty, the damage incurred being in each case under two hundred dollars. Since the population of Rome aggregates half a million it will be seen that the incidents of fires per thousand inhabitants works out at only one point eight. The total average fire damage annually reaches fifty thousand dollars. In case of necessity, following the usual continental procedure, the brigade renders assistance at disasters other than fires. As far as apparatus is concerned there is little to demand attention, the equipment for the most part being somewhat antiquated. No better illustration of the divergency in Italian temperament could be exemplified than the organization of the Milan fire department and that of Rome. The northern capital is keenly alive to fire risks, and with that enterprise which distinguishes the Piedmontese it has left no stone unturned to keep its equipment at a high level of excellence. By the decree of the viceroy Eugene Napoleon the brigade was first organized in eighteen eleven and consisted of two officers and eighty-one men who were exempt from military service but were under military discipline. This jurisdiction was not removed until eighteen fifty-nine. A great fire which occurred in eighteen seventy-one showed the necessity for the augmentation of the force, and in the following year one hundred members were added, divided into two sections of fifty firemen each. The first was formed of regular firemen posted at the stations, the second of workmen who were obliged to undergo a periodical instruction, attend fires, and undertake patrol duty in the theatres. In nineteen oh five the corps was modernized and the present personnel comprises eight superior officers with two hundred forty rank and file. The superintendence of the equipment is delegated to a chief engineer assisted by a motor expert. Included amongst the appliances are eighty-six manuals and nine steam fire engines, five motor-driven pumps, and nine extension ladders. The use of the chemical engine is general, and a large supply of smoke helmets is included in the apparatus. There are seven stations with direct telephonic communication, each being specially connected with the municipal offices, the police, the military, and the theatres. On an average per annum there are seven hundred eighty-five alarms, of which sixteen are serious, fifty-two of less importance, and six hundred fifty-nine of slight consequence. False alarms are inconsiderable. In addition the brigade renders first aid being provided with special ambulances for that purpose, while it assists also in the demolishing of dangerous structures. The Scala Theatre, Milan, is world-renowned on account of its vast size, being third in seating capacity of all such structures. It is subject to the supervision of the theatre committee, but being a building of considerable antiquity and very inferior in fabric it can only serve as an example of how a theatre may escape destruction by fire regardless of the fact that the most elementary rules of constructional equipment have been disregarded. Hence great credit must be accorded to the theatre committee in its efforts to obtain small improvements whilst not having the required powers for the drastic action necessary. The hydrants in the building have a nozzle pressure of about forty pounds at the stage level and are so arranged that the upper floors may be served through their being coupled to steam-fire pumps. Another feature in Milan is also worthy of note. As in many continental countries the government of Italy has taken over control of all pawn-shops and has organized them into a state department known as the Mont de Piette, which comprises, besides the actual loan office, a credit bank and a safe deposit. For this purpose the municipality of Milan has constructed a special fire-proof building, which of its kind is a model. Of reinforced concrete the floors of the galleries are of iron with cages of steel wire for the storage of goods in pawn. There is a special watch-station on the top of the highest portion of the building connected direct to the fire-head quarters and a special patrol is kept constantly on duty. Incidentally there are some sixty thousand depositors per annum and nearly sixty-five percent of the goods pawned are under the value of four dollars. The total value of pledges in one year reached the enormous sum of two million three hundred thousand dollars, a sufficient indication of the use made of this institution. By a government regulation when a reserve fund of fifty thousand dollars has been accumulated the profit goes to municipal charities so that the money of the needy may be said to supply in part their own necessities. The Florentine fire department is the best volunteer organization of its kind which can be found in Italy. It is commanded by a military officer, specially selected from the army for this purpose, and paid by the municipality, which also provides the equipment and the fire station. Otherwise it is officer and manned by volunteers, numbering about one hundred thirty officers and men. Their apparatus consists of four steam-fire engines, a salvage and dangerous structure trap, which is in itself something of a novelty, and three extension ladders. Florence has about one hundred sixty fires annually. Since the water supply is not altogether satisfactory, and hydrants are not to be found in all the streets, special engines are used capable of drawing water at a distance of over three hundred feet. When the pressure is too small, pumps are used in tandem. The average power from the mains is about forty pounds to the square inch, which is sufficient for the services it is called upon to perform. Needless to say, the part played by the fire brigade in Venice is one which, in some of its aspects, is unique. Naturally, in a city with canals as high roads, the question of transportation differs materially from that in other towns. The core forms an integral portion of the Vigili, or municipal watchman, who preserve order and generally render assistance to the community. Thus in the event of a serious conflagration, the police section of the Vigili augment the fire section and vice versa. Each division has a commander and its own staff, both being under the supervision of a military officer, especially appointed by the municipality. The rank and file of the fire department, number seventy-one, and are distributed in six companies of varying strength. Their apparatus is naturally designed for water transport, and consists of one large modern petrol-propelled float, one large old type steam float, two thirty-five-foot steam launches, and several small petrol motor boats which are used as first-aid appliances. Manual engines, ladders, and so forth, are carried in a large fleet of swift gondolas. Fire escape work is done with Roman ladders, which are usually planted on two gondolas slung together barge form, or if the depth of the canal permits, the lower length is bedded in the canal bottom. Owing to the substantial character of the older buildings and also of the modern residential and business structures, the fire hazards are primarily those in the dock area, with its numerous sheds and small warehouses of a highly inflammable character. There are also some large industrial works in which the fire risks are equally great. The number of fires annually is comparatively small, averaging one hundred twenty-five, and it is rare that more than one or two can be classified as serious. Roughly the fire loss per annum is fifty thousand dollars or about four hundred dollars per fire. Generally speaking, a considerable awakening of interest in questions relating to fire control is manifest in Italy, King Victor being something of an enthusiast in that respect. It is a mistake, however, to suppose, as is advanced by some technical writers, that Italy is more immune from the fire peril than other countries because of its climate. The facts speak for themselves, and the fire risks in New York are nearly as great in mid-summer as in the depths of winter. Italy's geographical neighbour, Switzerland, possesses a fire service run practically on national lines, that of Zurich supplying an excellent example. This is a compulsory militia brigade under the control of the chief of police, who is also chairman of a committee of nine charged with the protection of the town from fire. Zurich covers about twelve thousand acres, fifteen hundred of which are built over with some fifteen thousand houses, the whole of the buildings being subject to the local building regulations, and the state insurance association's rules in which they are compulsorily insured. Every male inhabitant of the town is compelled to do some service for the prevention of or protection against fire, from the age of twenty to fifty, which duty may be fulfilled by active service, or in the case of an able-bodied citizen who is found unsuitable for such service by the payment of a tax. This impost is fixed upon the basis of his income, though certain citizens are ipso facto exempt from active fire duty. The fire brigade comprises fifteen companies of one hundred twenty men each, the officers being appointed by the municipal committee. Only men who are personally enthusiastic and who are possessed of good physique are selected and are preferably recruited from the building or allied trades. Absence from drills is regarded as a serious offense, being punishable by a fine, alternatively with imprisonment. The city ensures the whole of the brigade against accidents and illness with the Swiss fire brigade union, and also provides a fund for families in cases of the death of firemen on duty. Each company has three sections, a fire service section, a life-saving section and a police section, the latter being utilized for keeping the ground free and attending to salvage. Further each company is supposed as a rule to be able to deal with any fire in its own district, and it is only in the case of a very serious outbreak that additional companies are requested. Thus there is a system of decentralization and independence of action in this force not often met with elsewhere, which applied to a large area would be unworkable. Firemen receive twenty cents for each drill of two hours, while for fires they receive forty cents for two hours and ten cents for each additional hour. This would appear to provide an incentive to unscrupulous firemen, though probably such are non-existent in Zurich, to prolong the life of a fire in accordance with the demands of their purse. The official regulations also state that refreshments are provided, though in this connection it is not clear whether, before, during or after a blaze. An extensive telephone service is at the disposal of the brigade, but since all the personnel are not connected with the system, the alarm is mainly given by horns blown by those who have telephones in their homes. One may be forgiven for imagining that under such circumstances this number cannot be very great. By law the telephone service is free for alarms and is at the disposal of any one for that purpose. A company comprises one chief officer, one second officer, one doctor, two ambulance men, and six orderlies as staff in charge, supplemented by, for the fire service, one lieutenant and forty men, for the life-saving section, the same, and for the police section, one lieutenant and twenty men. The full force of all companies is about two thousand three hundred of all ranks. The apparatus is simple in nature, investing mainly of hose reels and ladder trucks, housed in corrugated iron sheds to which the firemen all have keys. This simplicity of equipment is only made possible by an excellent service of hydrants, of which the city has two thousand eight hundred ninety-five, with a nozzle pressure of from sixty to a hundred twenty pounds. This represents a great advantage over the pressures to be found in most other continental cities, and is attributable to the fact that the water supply comes from the mountains. The fire control service is organized on most elaborate lines, owing to the fact that the building regulations and state fire insurance are practically in the same hands. All fresh construction, and even alterations, is subject to a cantonial building act, and it is the duty of the building department to carry out the law. Three members of the town council form a committee to grant or refuse licenses for new buildings or alterations to old ones, and in this duty they are assisted by technical advisers, namely the city architect and a number of architectural assistants and surveyors. In the case of a license being refused, an appeal may be made to the town council in Plenum, and finally to the cantonial government. Amongst the regulations is the stringent inspection and cleanliness of chimneys, and the officials are, ipso facto, liable to prosecution, in case of an outbreak of fire, if it can be shown that they were guilty of neglecting that duty. Such regulations speak volumes for the intelligence of the city fathers of this Swiss town, and are evidence of the realization by the municipality of the necessity for efficient fire control. The principles underlying the organization of the Lucerne fire department are very similar to those governing Zurich, with the difference that there is not so much decentralization and the force is more homogeneous in character. It possesses, however, one feature which is probably unique. Attached to the life-saving section of the core is a technical division composed of experts drawn from such industrial undertakings as the municipal electrical supply company, the telephone company, the tramway company, the gas works and the water works. The officer in command of this section is a civil engineer on the regular staff of the brigade, whose duty it is to advise the commanding officer on all technical points. All these divisions and subdivisions must tend toward some confusion in practice, but at the same time the fire chief has ever at his disposal a fund of highly scientific information upon which to draw in case of need. It may be emphasized, however, that the actual exigencies of firefighting under the conditions common to fires of any magnitude cannot permit of any fire chief accepting or soliciting advice from any quarter. He must be sufficient unto himself in the moment of action, though naturally he may have imbibed much useful knowledge from such sources during official discussions. Anything that in the smallest degree tends to diminish the initiative of the fire chief must be disadvantageous to a proper grasp of his complex duties, and it is to be feared in this case that in a multitude of counsel is confusion. This is penned in no critical spirit, but rather as embodying the experience of a practiced firefighter. 8. The trade of arson. It is calculated that incendiarism for the purpose of obtaining insurance money is responsible for the destruction annually in New York alone of $4 million worth of property. This represents a daily loss of $10,000, or more than the yearly pay of a major general in the United States Army. Needless to say, this criminal practice is not confined to New York. Every large town in America suffers in a greater or less degree from the attentions of the genus Firebug. Now for this state of affairs it is impossible wholly to acquit the great insurance companies. For laterally it has become usual to accept fire risks of considerable value without instituting the searching inquiries which are a sine qua non for the completion of business in Europe and elsewhere. Of course cases of arson do now and again occur in any community, but that a gang of criminals should find it both easy and profitable to carry on incendiarism as a regular calling seems almost incredible and bespeaks a species of toleration which is scarcely to the credit of the community. Quite apart from danger to public property and unnecessary loss to insurance companies stands out another point in the most vivid of relief, namely the dire peril to human life of which these fiends take no account. This murderous trade appears to be peculiarly lucrative, and judging from statistics it offers little risk to the perpetrators of discovery and punishment. In addition, also, it requires no stock in trade, such for instance as is necessary to the forger. It demands no courage, such as characterizes and lends an air of romance to the train-bandit, and most assuredly it makes no great call upon mental ingenuity, such as marks the operations of a bank's windler. Hence the fire-bug may without doubt be classed as belonging to the lowest and most degraded portion of the criminal population. Not that necessarily the votaries of this occupation lack a certain amount of spurious education. On the contrary, they are drawn from all grades of society, the less educated being as a rule the tools employed to do the actual burning. In this category must also be included those misguided individuals who finding themselves in financial difficulties regard a fire as the simplest method of retrieving their shattered fortunes. Frequently such people employ the services of the professional fire-bug and share the proceeds. Thus fire-making has become a regularly accepted calling, which it is most urgent should be stamped out in its entirety once and for always. Were additional evidence of the accuracy of these statements needed, it is surely supplied by the following curious circumstances. During the spring fires in the fur trade are prevalent, while hat and cap fires usually occur in the summer. From September to December it is peculiar that the ready-made cloak and suit trade suffers severely, while any change of fashion in millinery or feathers is invariably followed by a corresponding destruction of the old stock through fire. The advent of the motor-car heralded the burning out of hundreds of stables, and now the influx of cheap automobiles into the market appears to approach to overproduction since garage outbreaks have become practically incessant, all of which is, of course, only circumstantial evidence, though it may be aptly remarked that in some countries this alone is sufficient to bring a man to the gallows. Insurance officials argue that in order to collect insurance on anything alleged to have been destroyed, proof of loss must be submitted. But for the professional fire-bug this matter presents no difficulty. His system of operation includes a full knowledge of whence he can obtain ample supplies of false invoices, forged affidavits, and perjured testimony. In some cases goods and furniture which have done duty in other fires are previously placed on the premises in order that all necessary proof of loss may be at hand. This business of incendiarism is responsible to a large degree for that undesirable class of persons known technically as public fire adjusters. It is the self-imposed duty of these functionaries immediately on the occurrence of a fire in any part of the city to hasten to the scene and get into touch with the insured person affected by the outbreak. The keenest competition exists among them, and cases have been known when as many as ten were seeking the same insured party at the same time, and one of them succeeded in obtaining his client by virtually kidnapping him and carrying him away in an automobile. Finally these adjusters play the part of philanthropists. Actually they are influenced solely by motives of keen self-interest. Instances have been known where such men have obtained as many as five separate contracts from an insured person immediately after a fire, each contract promising ten percent of the insurance money to the adjuster, the assured thus being compelled on settlement to give up fully fifty percent of his claim against the insurance companies. Although there are no doubt many honest agents, it is desirable to point out some of the questionable methods employed, especially in cases where arson charges are involved, thus giving direct encouragement to incendiarism. It is safe to hazard that if many incendiaries had to appear personally in the offices of insurance companies or of their accredited agents, and could not conceal themselves behind the crooked adjuster, the actual facts connected with many questionable fires would be revealed. The most pernicious practice imaginable is that of the agent who when he solicits business amongst known firebugs has a distinct understanding with them that fires are to follow the issue of policies. This incriminates these gentlemen equally with their clients, and they must richly deserve a long term of imprisonment. Others, again, instruct policyholders how to pad their claims against companies without any appreciable risk of discovery. Hence, human nature being admittedly frail, it is not uncommon for an individual to realize that by this means he can secure a maximum financial return for a minimum outlay. The writer would here point out that incendiarism does not only affect the social fabric of the community, but multiplies to an inconceivable degree the labours of the firefighting force. For generally speaking the incendiary lays his fire in such a way that it is of an obstinate character, and only too likely to involve its surroundings. Also it is deplorable to relate that women are among the most expert in this nefarious trade. Only an innocent looking curtain and gas-jet blaze, or clothes-closet fire, is the skillfully executed work of the female incendiary. In this connection the following may be taken as illustrative of the lengths to which women will go in their efforts to make money by this means. During the night of August 15, 1910, a motorman on a trolley-car passing down Third Avenue in Brooklyn noticed a red glare of a fire in one of the houses on the route. With commendable curiosity he stopped and investigated. He saw a woman apparently sleeping near the doorway of a shop, with her two children beside her, one and infant in a cradle. Being a hot night there was nothing particularly surprising in this. The shop door, however, was a jar, and the motorman peeped in. A strong smell of benzene assailed his nostrils, and in his anxiety to ascertain the cause he pushed the door further open and stumbled upon two little bonfires blazing merrily. Promptly arousing the apparently sleeping woman he turned in the alarm. Other tenants in the premises, which contained a number of families and children, rushed down and attempted to put out the flames. Then the sleeping beauty of fiction became the shrew of fact and a wicked one to boot. Don't do that, she screamed angrily, you will only spread the fire and let the fireman put it out. Her peculiar anxiety not to have the outbreak promptly extinguished aroused suspicion and investigations were made. Fireman found several wide-mouthed bottles in differing parts of the shop, all containing kerosene, around their necks being tied cords which led to a main string passing out under the door to where this ingenious lady had been pretending to sleep. Her explanation of this paraphernalia was unintentionally humorous. She suggested that it must have been the action of a wicked burglar. This naive proposition, however, did not satisfy the authorities, and after a severe cross-examination she admitted that the fire had been made at the instigation of a so-called adjuster. This enterprising agent, learning that she had only thirty cents left in the world, had glibly pointed out to her the great advantages to be derived from a fire policy followed by a convenient fire. He had dilated upon his success as a professional incendiarist, remarking that in Chicago he had engineered two uncommonly remunerative ventures. In the first he had made the fire, while the family, in order to avoid suspicion, had gone to a cinematograph show, while in the second case, in order to give some spectacular realism to a bald piece of villainy, he had actually allowed himself to be rescued at the crucial moment by the fire department. Acting upon this information the police made inquiries and quickly ran to earth the promoter of this dastardly plot. Brought face to face with his accuser, a dramatic scene ensued. The woman, upon it being pointed out to her, that she had endangered the lives of numerous innocent children through the inhuman character of her act, completely broke down and exclaimed, I didn't want the fire, I didn't do it, I will tell the truth to show that I made a mistake in being influenced by this wicked man. He is a fire-bug and has made many fires in Chicago. It only remains to be said that the woman received a well-merited sentence of five years penal servitude, while the community will be freed from the attentions of her accomplice for double that period. One more account of feminine ingenuity. A lady residing in an apartment house with her three children, had as her sole lodger an old soldier with a wooden leg. One morning she peremptorily gave him notice to leave that same day, and within twenty-four hours a regrettable and of course accidental fire gutted the flat. The insurance company concerned paid her claim without demure, the sufferer removing without delay to a more commodious quarters in another part of the town. After a short sojourn there she announced her intention of paying a visit to the seaside. The night following her departure some children sleeping in the apartment below the one she had vacated were awakened by hot water dripping upon them from the ceiling. Immediate investigation resulted in the discovery of a fire in the flat above, the heat of which had melted the water pipes and had thus been instrumental in arousing the inmates of the house to the peril of their position. After the fire department had suppressed the outbreak, a remarkable state of affairs was disclosed. Sideboards, cupboards, and closets were found to be literally packed with ingenious time plants, guaranteed successfully to smolder for several hours, and then by bursting into flame to work their wicked will upon everything inflammable in their vicinity. Under the bed was also discovered a wooden box stuffed with papers and cotton waste, soaked in oil and surmounted by the inevitable candle. In the presence of such glaring evidence the woman was obliged to cut short her holiday and return in the company of a police officer. The insurance company which had been mulked in damages over the preceding fire suddenly bethought itself of the unusual claim of sixty dollars for one wooden leg, and upon making inquiries found that the possessor of this means of locomotion had never mourned its loss. Brought to trial after a lengthy hearing the accused was found guilty of arson in the first degree. The writer feels that he cannot do better than give the exact words of the judge who passed sentence upon this callous fiend. There are certain crimes which are so revolting in their utter disregard of human life, that one wonders at the cold-blooded calculation necessary to perpetrate them. Such a crime is arson in the first degree for which crime you were indicted and for which you have been convicted in a lesser degree after a careful trial. The first woman found guilty of this crime here in twenty years. I am convinced that you were responsible for the previous fire in your former home, and when you found that you were not suspected of that crime you planned this affair, and at the same time increased the insurance upon your property. When the defendant is a woman, a mother, who with fiendish indifference for the lives of two families in her house, with four little children in one and two in the other, acts as you have, such a deed passes human understanding upon any other hypothesis save that you were capable of becoming a murderous by that midnight fire, arranged in your rooms with the candles set in oil-soaked combustibles, you, absent to avoid suspicion and all for the paltry insurance money you hoped to get. I have never seen a cooler, a more calculating prisoner. No womanly sympathy is here, simply a fire-fiend trying to secure money at any cost. Any feeling of pity or sympathy for you at this hour I must suspend before my stronger feeling of duty towards the people of this community whose lives and property have twice been in jeopardy through your act. You are a menace to this city of homes, and I therefore sentence you to remain in prison for a term of not less than fourteen years, and not more than fourteen years and six months. Comment upon the above is superfluous, unless it be to say that never was a sentence so richly deserved. Because it is almost inconceivable that women should descend to such depths, these instances of female depravity have been given precedence in the role of dishonor connected with incendiarism, but let it not be imagined that the crimes of men in this direction are any less horrible or less callous. The story of Samuel Brandt is of recent occurrence and is one of the few instances where a fire-bug has been caught red-handed. Brandt openly boasted that he had worked up his profession into a high art and that no fire-martial would ever suspect him of the many charges which could be placed to his account. With two other men he arranged to set fire to a certain flat in Brooklyn, and it may have been his overconfidence which gave the clue to the ever-vigilant police department. Unknown to Brandt he had been under surveillance for some time, and the exact hour at which the fire was to take place had been discovered. The fire-martial being in the know arranged that several of his staff should disguise themselves as street cleaners and peddlers and loiter about in the vicinity of the premises. In a push cart, beneath a load of potatoes and other vegetables, were concealed a length of hose, some hand grenades, and various other firefighting apparatus. All these precautions were taken in order not to arouse Brandt's suspicions. But just at the moment when all arrangements had been perfected, a guileless policeman very nearly caused the ruin of the plan. He had stationed himself so near to the house in question that it was feared Brandt might take alarm and make his escape. Through the medium of a woman a note was sent to the officer stating the case and asking him to leave his beat for the time being. Almost immediately after the departure of the policeman smoke was noticed to be issuing from the windows of the apartment in question, and Brandt, accompanied by one of his accomplices, was seen to hurry from the house. This was the signal for the supposed street cleaners to throw aside their brooms and for the peddlers to advance nearer with their innocent-looking push cart. Rapidly they closed in on the two men, who, remarkable to say, showed fight, since the genus Firebug does not as a rule suffer from a surplus of physical courage. They were quickly overcome and handed over to the police, the peddlers suddenly developing into first-class firemen who speedily extinguish the flames. The fire had been started in a clothes-closet, and the flat was literally a magazine of combustible material. At his trial Brandt remarked, I am a specialist in making fires, and I can make them so that no one can catch me. The fire-martial is a joke. If he gets you all you have to do is tell him that you were away and get someone to prove it. It was proved that Brandt and his associates worked a regular system. One of them would solicit business by going to the owner of a store, flat or small business concern, and offer to arrange for the insurance, at the same time planning the burning of the place. His terms were somewhat exorbitant, judging at least by that operation which cost him his freedom for fifteen years. A policy had been taken out for goods supposed to be worth eight hundred dollars, and from this sum no less than five hundred dollars was to be deducted by way of commission, or approximately sixty-five percent of the claim. Incidentally Brandt's gang was by no means unique. Others are known to have operated in Chicago and Patterson, New Jersey, and if they have ceased from their efforts it must in no small degree be due to the active campaign waged lately against all of their kidney by Commissioner Johnson of the New York Fire Department, who can well claim to be their bitterest foe. Undoubtedly one of the most dastardly acts in the entire history of incendiarism was the series of operations carried on during the year nineteen-twelve by a gang under the leadership of a fiend in human form known popularly as the Torch. Their system of swindling the fire-insurance companies was peculiarly atrocious and consisted of obtaining policies on good horses substituting for the same broken-down hacks and then burning the latter in order to collect their claims. Fortunately for a week prior to the night of one of their projected holocausts the suspects had been watched and their movements had become known to the fire-martial. The torch was regarded as a desperate character and hence the fire-martial's assistants who were chosen to surround the stables involved on the night in question were heavily armed. While some two hundred yards away two steam fire engines were stationed in readiness for immediate action. Shortly after midnight the watchers were rewarded by seeing a glare inside the stable and a moment later the torch and his son were observed making their way from the rear of the stable through a hole under the manger's. An alarm whistle was blown, three revolver shots punctuated the silence, a signal to the firemen to hurry with their apparatus and a moment later the two desperados were fighting like wild cats in the hands of their captors. When an entrance into the stable had been effected it was difficult even for men accustomed to all kinds of human riskality to realize that what they saw was the work of men and not devils. There were three fires burning, one just inside the doorway, a second a few feet away, and another in a corner immediately behind seven helpless horses which were tethered to their manger's. The coats, tails, and mains of two of these animals were saturated with gasoline. One of them was blind and the other was lame. The fire burning inside the doorway was so arranged as to block the only exit in case of possible rescue, and it succeeded so well in its intention that for a considerable time it hindered and rendered most dangerous the efforts of the firemen. The actual owner of the horses confessed that he had hired the torch to carry out this inhuman task since he had been told that the latter was an expert in that line of business. With the utmost callousness this firebug admitted his share in the deal, and showed not the least emotion when told that for the next twenty years, if the world was so unfortunate as to be encumbered with his presence for that time, he would be compelled to make his home at Seng Seng prison. Though the writer knows full well the sentiments of humanitarians, an ant-corporal punishment, he is unable to dissociate himself from a firm conviction that for crimes of this nature perpetrated with such cold-blooded brutality, flogging is the most suitable reward. Unfortunately, the number of stable fires is considerable, and the fact that approximately thirty-three percent of the same are listed officially as cause not ascertained leads to the conclusion that they are of suspicious origin. Here surely is sufficient food for unpleasant thought. For the hand which will apply a match to make a bonfire of a lot of dumb animals, will most assuredly not hesitate where human lives are involved. In another case which came under the writer's notice no less than sixty horses would have perished miserably but for the prompt action of the fire-brigade. Six separate fires it was found had been started in the stalls of the stable, each plant consisting of candles surrounded with kerosene-soaked straw. For perpetrators of this kind of outrage, what human punishment can be too great? The following case is of interest as evidencing the truth in that popular phraseology Chickens Invariably Come Home to Roost. An enterprising gentleman who had had a suspicious fire in a candy-store had been carefully kept under supervision, as it was expected that initial success would encourage future operations. One bleak march morning a police officer was on patrol in the neighborhood of the suspect's store when he noticed a man with a bundle of newspapers walking briskly down a side street. In a casual way he watched him and saw him throw something away which tinkled metallically as it fell on the pavement. The officer picked it up and found it to be a portion of a toy cash register made of black enameled tin. Putting it in his pocket he resumed his patrol, and a moment later came upon a motorman who had discovered a fire in the identical candy-store under observation and the alarm was turned in. The place was locked and there was a strong smell of kerosene. While waiting for the arrival of the fire apparatus, who should turn up but the same man whom the policeman had seen throw away the metal register, the store was completely gutted and investigation clearly pointed to incendiarism, but direct proof was lacking. It was established that the owner was in serious financial difficulties, his account at the bank consisted only of six cents, and neighbors testified that his checks had been returned marked insufficient funds. Further, shortly before the fire, he admitted that he had borrowed money. This was certainly evidence of a presumptive character, but inadequate to secure conviction. On searching the remains of the fire, however, a charred toy cash register was discovered, minus the portion corresponding to that which had been picked up by the policeman. Confronted with this exhibit, the suspect first declared that he kept several of the same design for sale. Later, under cross examination, he allowed that for fun his wife had used one and had deposited therein two dollars. The line adopted by the prosecution was that the accused had prepared his store for the fire, and that just prior to his departure he had recollected the two dollars and had broken open the register in order to secure it, carelessly throwing a portion of the same away in the street. Council for the defense sought to shatter this theory by producing a brand new toy register of similar design in court. Triumphantly he pointed out the following notice. To open this bank, place ten dollars in coin, it will then open automatically. If you don't deposit ten dollars in coin, you will have to get an ax. Where pleaded the council was the evidence that the accused had ever even possessed an ax. It was obvious that a blaze of this nature, which had not even incinerated a toy cash register, could not so completely destroy a steel ax head that no trace of it could be found, and the fire department had never suggested that they had come upon any trace of such a thing. Further, his client maintained most strongly that the policeman who identified him as the individual who had dropped the portion of the register on the morning of the fire was in error. And in any case he defied the jury to find any cause to connect the cash box of the accused's wife with that under discussion. It had been proved that the box was unopenable without an ax. Where was the ax? Upon this the jury retired to consider their verdict. Everything seemed in favour of the prisoner when one of their number asked to inspect the exhibit. Within the space of three minutes he had disproved the printed statement on its exterior and had opened it with a pen-knife. That candy storekeeper received a well-earned five years' imprisonment. It would be easy to continue multiplying instance upon instance and story upon story to show that the existence of the working incendiary is no figment of the writer's imagination, but rather a fact with which municipalities, fire departments, and insurance companies have got to grapple. It accounts in part for the remarkable discrepancies between fire losses in American cities and those in European communities. During 1910 London had 3,941 fires, Paris 2030 Berlin 2068, and New York 14405. For every 100,000 inhabitants Berlin has 97 fires, London 81, St. Petersburg 75, Paris 74, Vienna 59, and New York 300. The fire loss per head of population in the United States generally is nearly five times greater than that of any foreign country. In New York during 1911 the per capita loss was two dollars forty-five cents, while the average for European cities was about fifty cents, sinking as low as twelve cents in two towns so differently situated as Southampton and Dresden. After making every allowance for climatic differences structural defects and the use of inflammable building materials, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the firebog has a lot for which to answer. Broadly speaking it is not an exaggeration to estimate twenty-five percent of New York fires certainly as of incendiary origin. The insurance risks carried by the one hundred and seventy-five companies in New York totaled the gigantic figure of forty billion dollars spread throughout the country. Hence it goes without saying that the influence exerted by these corporations financial and otherwise is stupendous and may indirectly control the welfare of the community. There are not wanting those who maintain that insurance companies within a certain degree welcome fires as bespeaking business. It is reported that the manager of a Scottish insurance company in a speech at Edinburgh said, were there no fires there would be no insurance business and on the other hand the greater the fire damage the greater the turnover out of which insurance companies make profits. Now this is only the report of a speech and quite probably has been transmitted incorrectly for it most certainly is at variance with the opinions of the insurance officials with whom this writer has come in contact. Rather is the question one affecting the nation as a whole. The search after all classes of business is so keen nowadays, the turnover so tremendous and the demands of the shareholders for large profits so exacting that directors and others responsible must be pardoned if in their anxiety to do the best for those dependent upon them they accept risks which cooler calculation and difference of environment would show to be preposterous. It seems absurd to discuss an evil and then not to suggest the remedy. But incendiarism though actively affecting the routine of fire departments and causing fire chiefs endless worry and anxiety properly belongs to a sphere outside the purview of the scientific firefighter. It is an excrescence on the social fabric which needs removal by those specially equipped for the task. And undoubtedly those referred to are the insurance companies. The means and methods to be employed must be left to them, for it would be as futile for the writer to tender suggestions on such a highly complicated problem as it would be absurd for underwriters to give him advice regarding the best way to fight a fire in a warehouse filled with explosives. But it is satisfactory to be able to state that already signs are not wanting of a general awakening of interest in the subject amongst all classes affected, professional and otherwise. That is to say the insurance companies are on the move and it is no longer so easy to affect policies on worthless goods, while the individual of doubtful financial stability and dubious reputation is likely to experience considerable difficulty in persuading even the most reckless of agents to consider seriously his application. Towards this happy consummation no one has worked with more energy and goodwill than Commissioner Johnson of the New York Fire Department, to whose publication on the subject the writer is indebted for many of the illuminating facts used in this chapter. It will at least be conceded by all concerned that the introduction of legislation to assist the insurance companies in their laudable efforts by making the punishment fit the crime and thoroughly frightening the firebug by the penalties awaiting him would be a distinct step in the right direction. End of Section 8, Recording by Maria Casper. Section 9 of Fires and Firefighters by John Kenlon. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 9. Gasoline and Garages. The advent of the motor-car has not proved an unmixed blessing to the firefighter, and it is no exaggeration to say that the general adoption of motor traction has enormously increased the fire risk. In the first place, gasoline, the most usually employed of motor oils, is an extremely dangerous substance to handle, though that familiarity which breeds contempt has robbed it of its sinister significance, while ignorance of an almost culpable nature has rendered its handling additionally and unnecessarily perilous. The first essential for motor owner, chauffeur, or garage proprietor is that he should understand something of the chemical qualities of gasoline, in which term may be included all other spirits of a kindred nature, such as petrol, naphthalene, etc. This does not mean that they must study the subject with the microscopic care of the professional chemist, but it does presuppose that any individual gifted with common sense prefers to know the characteristics of the most important adjunct of the machine he assays to own, drive, or house. Gasoline in its primitive state is one of the component factors forming crude petroleum. By distillation it is purified to a greater or lesser extent, automobiles as a rule demanding the most refined spirit available. It is possessed of no flash point, that is to say if placed in an open vessel it will vaporize at any ordinary temperature, in fact even with the thermometer at zero. The weight of its gas is three and a half times greater than air, which forms an inherent hazard, since unlike ordinary lighting and acetylene gases, which rise and are carried off by a breeze or through any opening which causes a draft, it falls to the floor and will lie and collect unless disturbed. Should the disturbance take the form of a lighted match or candle, a tremendous explosion results and fire follows. But the point is that there is nothing to show that it is collecting in any particular place. It remains dormant and unobserved, like a snake in the grass, and is every inch as dangerous in its effects. Further, unmixed with air, this vapor is comparatively harmless. Its virility depends upon its admixture with the ethereal gases, when one pint of gasoline is sufficient to make two hundred feet of highly explosive mixture. In the liquid state gasoline is innocuous, that is to say so long as it remains an absolute liquid, it can neither ignite, burn, nor explode. Similarly, pure gasoline vapor will neither ignite nor burn. It requires the assistance of the air, and it is precisely for this reason that the carburetor plays such an important part in the mechanism of the motor engine. Its highest point of explosive violence is reached when roughly one part of vapor mixes with eight parts of air, and decreases in combustibility with an increase of either air or gasoline. Another peculiar property in gasoline, to be noted, is that even when vaporized and mixed with air it has a definite temperature of ignition, just as would or any other combustible material. Hence it will be seen that this spirit is often more dangerous than even gunpowder or dynamite, in as much as the latter will stay where they are placed, while the former may vaporize and creeping subtly along a floor or passage may be ignited a hundred feet or so distant from its source. The resultant flash will travel back through the gas strata, thus causing an explosion or fire at the point of its inception. With such ever-present risks attendant upon its use it might be imagined that every possible precaution would be adopted by those handling it, and yet exactly the reverse is the case. Of all careless persons, chauffeurs, and employees of garages may justly claim preeminence. In spite of printed regulations and orders prominently displayed, they will smoke with the utmost insouciance at every possible opportunity, absolutely heedless of the fact that they would be just as well advised to smoke in a powder mill. And if the employees are bad then the owners are not much better. Unless compelled by municipal ordinances they are sublimely indifferent to effective fire protection in their garages, and with the slightest encouragement will press into their service any building, however unsuited to the purpose, either by structure or convenience. An empty stable, a disused church, a ramshackle warehouse built of wood—anything does so long as there is sufficient floor space, and there is any method by which the law can be contravened with impunity. These are some of the difficulties which the modern firefighter must be prepared to encounter, and by some means overcome. Needless to say, drastic laws have been introduced for the proper storage of gasoline in garages, though in this direction a very curious anomaly may be noted. Thus, while the gasoline in the main tank is assiduously protected, no attention is given to the spirit in the tanks of the automobiles themselves, often amounting to thirty or forty gallons per tank and located haphazardly throughout the entire building. It is obvious that if a fire starts, such an arrangement is only too likely to lead to disaster, and that the care displayed over the main gasoline tank is not unlike locking the windows against burglars and leaving the door wide open. Broadly speaking, gasoline should be stored in a well-made tank underground and beneath the floor of the garage, and in this connection it will be apropos to give some excerpts from the regulations governing garages and the storage of gasoline in New York City. The following six sections explain succinctly where garages should under no circumstances be situated. A. No garage must be within fifty feet of the nearest wall of a building occupied as a school, theater, or other place of public amusement or assembly. B. It must not be situated in any building occupied as a tenement house or hotel. This is by no means uncommon in some parts of Europe, though any one conversant with the peril he is running would preferably sleep above a fireworks factory. C. Garages may not be located in buildings not constructed of fire-resisting material throughout. D. They may not be situated in places where paints, varnishes, or lacquers are either manufactured, stored, or kept for sale. E. Or where dry goods and other highly-inflammable materials are manufactured or kept for sale. F. Or where rosin, turpentine, hemp, cotton, gun-cotton, smokeless powder, blasting powder, or any other explosives are stored or kept for sale. Such regulations may sound absurd to the average citizen, who on earth would want to have a garage in a place where explosives are stored, it may be asked. And though this may be extreme, it is a fact that most of the regulations framed for fire-protection are fashioned to guard against the proved thoughtlessness of the individual. The writer is reminded of a genial character he encountered once in his travels in a certain West African port. The gentleman in question casually knocked his pipe-ashes out against the rim of an open keg of blasting powder. The remonstrances of his mates, which were of a physical nature, elicited from him the excuse, while I've often done it before and nothing has ever happened. It was quite useless to argue the point, that he would have been blown to Jericho, or somewhere else, but for the mercy of Providence, weighed with him not a whit. It is persons of this type who make nursery legislation necessary, and their name in the motor-world is Legion. The following sections explain themselves and serve to illustrate how gasoline should be stored having due regard to safety. A. Each storage tank shall be constructed of steel at least a quarter of an inch thick, shall have a capacity of not more than two hundred seventy-five gallons, and shall, under test, stand a hydrostatic pressure of at least one hundred pounds to the square inch. B. Each storage tank shall be coated on the outside with tar or other rust resisting material, shall rest upon a solid foundation, and shall be embedded in and surrounded by at least twelve inches of Portland cement concrete, composed of two parts of cement, three parts of sand, and five parts of stone. C. Each storage tank installed in a garage shall be so set that the top, or highest point thereof, shall be at least two feet below the level of the lowest cellar floor of any building within a radius of ten feet from the tank. Any garages constructed along these lines are unlikely readily to catch a light, and the financial outlay rendered necessary by such structural additions is as nothing to the increased security obtained. The following rules should also be rigidly observed and are applicable to garages attached to private houses, which, be it said, are often carelessly looked after, since both master and man are only too prone to be lax, especially when outside the sphere of city regulations. Incidentally, however, this is precisely one of the occasions demanding the maximum of precaution. All oils spilled on the floors of a garage should be removed at once by sponging or swabbing, and should be poured into the drain leading to the oil separator, which is installed so as to be connected to the house drain, and so arranged as to separate all oils from the drainage of the garage. No system of artificial lighting other than incandescent electric lights should be installed in any garage, unless of a type for which a certificate of approval has been issued by the fire commissioner. Of course, in the country there may be some difficulty over this provision, but common sense applied to the problem will certainly limit the fire risk. It also goes without saying that no stoves or any appliances likely to produce an exposed spark should be installed in a garage, unless placed in a room separated from it by fire-proof walls and floors. As regards the carelessness of the individual, the following excerpt, taken from a speech made at the annual meeting of the National Board of Fire Underwriters, needs no comment. I confess it is astonishing to find that the fire waste is not diminished by the better character of buildings we are getting. We are getting better buildings than we ever did before, but the losses keep up. And this is because fires cost more today than they ever did before, and there are new hazards. We are using higher explosives, we are using higher potentials in electrical practice, we are using more gases like gasoline. Ten years ago the gasoline engine was a clumsy device and there were but few. The development of the gasoline engine has brought a widespread field for it. The farmer uses it for cutting his feed in grain, the merchant uses it, the manufacturer uses it, the automobile has scattered gasoline all over the country. To my desk there come reports of thousands of fires every year from gasoline, cleaning with gasoline, garages stored with gasoline, and the cheerful idiot who smokes cigarettes in the garages and throws matches about, useless unnecessary fires must be checked. If we can place individual responsibility, if we can change the attitude of the people toward the man who has a fire so that they can see that he is not an object of sympathy, but a man who has offended against the common welfare, unless he can prove that he was in no way responsible for that fire, then we will approach the time when we can diminish these hazards. That point of view must be emphasized, and when every man who has a fire will have to step up before the fire-martial's investigation and is exhibited to his fellows as an offender against the common good, as a picker of the pockets of the rest of us, I believe we will correct these habits of carelessness. The writer cordially endorses the above, and as regards fire-controlling garages is inclined to add that for the lax in this respect no condemnation can be too severe. From the latest report of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters it appears that of two hundred six recent fires, thirty-three percent were due to the use of gasoline for cleaning cars, and forty-three percent were due to backfire into the carburetors of automobiles. Amongst the others were five from filling tanks of automobiles with lamps burning, three from smoking, four from gasoline leaks in contact with a hot exhaust pipe, five from defective electrical equipment on cars, and one from spontaneous combustion. These figures point to the fact that the promiscuous use of gasoline in many garages for cleaning purposes, taken in conjunction with the number of fires attributed to this cause, is one of the most serious hazards with which to contend. Although the investigations indicate that thirty-three percent of all fires of known cause were due to this practice, the actual number is probably even greater, as there is reason to believe that an appreciable number of fires reported as caused by backfire into carburetors are due directly or indirectly to cleaning parts of the car with gasoline. In a number of the best-managed garages the prohibition on the use of gasoline for cleaning purposes is strictly enforced, and the use of oils no more volatile than kerosene is insisted upon. In other cases even kerosene is prohibited for such purposes, and the use of caustic soda and water or a similar solution is required. One golden rule for all garages, public or private, is that a number of buckets filled with sand should be kept in readiness for any emergency, while in the way of hand extinguishers those containing carbonate of chloride are amongst the most effectual. Another fruitful source of danger as far as the use of gasoline is concerned is its employment in dry cleaning and sponging establishments. In fact it is an interesting commentary upon the philosophy of life that those elements which are of the greatest general use to society are nearly always fraught with an irreducible minimum of risk if applied without caution. The cleansing properties of gasoline are beyond estimate. Upon this being discovered, though, fools literally stepped in where angels feared to tread, with the result that several lives were lost in consequence of hairdressers using this spirit as a shampoo, while it was not unusual for employees in dry cleaning establishments to wander around gas-lighted rooms with trays full of the liquid. Things have altered since then. The former operation has been forbidden, and the latter is now hedged in with such restrictions that safety is to a considerable extent guaranteed. Usually the method employed consists of revolving drums, each containing thirty or more gallons of gasoline, which being in a constant state of disturbance has a tendency to throw off heavy fumes, hence the drums must be kept closed. When the garments are removed and placed in the rotary dryers or centrificles, more fumes are given off. And finally the function of the drying room is to enable the clothes to throw off such gasoline as still remains in them so that this room is especially thick with vapor. In addition a number of open vessels containing from five to fifty gallons of spirit will be found scattered about the place, their raison d'être being to facilitate the cleaning of gloves, laces, and other light and filmy fabrics. The hazard in places of this description is too apparent to require much elaboration, and it need only be said that the system of storing the main supply of gasoline should be the same as in garages, namely underground. In this connection it is of interest to note that never in the experience of the writer has any fire started from an underground storage system and in no case has fire been increased because of such a system. In fact there is no case on record where the gasoline in a buried tank has been affected by a fire. This proves conclusively that there is no danger in its storage when properly arranged, but only in its handling. Thus the latter should be expedited in every possible way, and so arranged that the gasoline is not exposed to the air, and the ventilation of garages and dry cleaning plants should be so affected that no gases can accumulate on the floors. Hence the safe and sane handling of gasoline is no longer a question of insurmountable or insuperable difficulty. In as much as the automobile has come to stay, in as much as motor traction will be increasingly applied in the near future for all classes of transportation, and in as much as the same familiarity akin to the affection formerly shown to the horse will now be extended to the motor-car, though the affection for the former must not be allowed to develop into contempt for the latter, then it behooves the layman to understand something of the tool with which he will be called upon to deal. Gasoline has been termed man's unseen enemy, but like many other potential adversaries, careful handling may transform it into a useful servant and a trusty friend. In conclusion, in order to emphasize the point once again, that point which is so regularly neglected and which is such a fruitful source of danger to the community at large, the words of the New York Fire Ordinance may be quoted in Extenso, they apply to all places in which gasoline is either used or stored. It shall be unlawful for any person to smoke or to carry a lighted cigar, cigarette, or pipe into any room or compartment in which volatile or inflammable oil is stored or used, and a notice bearing in large letters the words Smoking Forbidden, together with an excerpt of the rules governing the subject in smaller letters, shall be displayed in one or more conspicuous places on each floor where volatile inflammable oil is stored or used. Those breaking the regulation hereon displayed are guilty of a misdemeanor.