Chapter 102 of 137 · 3893 words · ~19 min read

Part 102

|1833|1834|1835|1836|1837|1838|1839 ----------------------|----|----|----|----|----|----|---- Accidents of various | | | | | | | kinds, for the most | | | | | | | part unavoidable | 83| 40| 14| 13| 17| 36| 25 Apparel ignited | | | | | | | on the person | .. | .. | .. | 7| 7| 5| 3 Candles, various | | | | | | | accidents with | 56| 146| 110| 157| 125| 132| 128 Carelessness, palpable| | | | | | | instances of | 28| .. | 19| 18| 7| 17| 14 Children playing | | | | | | | with fire or candles| .. | .. | 5| 6| 18| 5| 12 Drunkenness | .. | 2| 3| .. | 2| 4| 6 Fire-heat, application| | | | | | | of, to various | | | | | | | hazardous | | | | | | | manufacturing | | | | | | | processes | 31| 24| 39| 34| 22| 40| 26 Fire-sparks | .. | .. | .. | 7| 10| 12| 9 Fire-works | .. | .. | 3| .. | 5| 3| 5 Fires kindled on | | | | | | | hearths and other | | | | | | | improper places | 7| .. | 9| 5| 5| 15| 8 Flues, foul, | | | | | | | defective, &c. | 71| 65| 69| 72| 53| 58| 58 Fumigation, incautious| .. | 3| 7| 5| 2| 1| 5 Furnaces, kilns, | | | | | | | &c., defective or | | | | | | | over-heated | .. | 11| 2| 9| 12| 15| 20 Gas | 20| 25| 39| 38| 31| 42| 72 Gunpowder | 3| 3| .. | 1| 3| 1| 2 Hearths, defective, | | | | | | | &c. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. Hot cinders put | | | | | | | away | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. Lamps | .. | .. | .. | 2| 3| 9| 4 Lime, slaking of | .. | 3| 4| 3| .. | 4| 2 Linen, drying, | | | | | | | airing, &c. | .. | .. | 22| 31| 48| 32| 26 Lucifer-matches | .. | .. | .. | .. | 8| 9| 17 Ovens | 6| .. | .. | 6| 3| 11| 4 Reading, working, | | | | | | | or smoking | | | | | | | in bed | .. | 3| .. | .. | .. | 1| 2 Shavings, loose, | | | | | | | ignited | .. | 6| 9| 13| 8| 17| 8 Spontaneous combustion| 7| 2| 5| 4| 4| 5| 13 Stoves, defective, | | | | | | | over-heated, &c. | 18| 20| 11| 28| 36| 31| 24 Tobacco smoking | .. | 6| 4| 1| 3| 4| 11 Suspicious | .. | .. | .. | .. | 7| 8| 6 Wilful | 3| 9| 6| 8| 5| 6| 7 Unknown | 125| 114| 91| 96| 57| 45| 67

|1840|1841|1842|1843|1844|1845|1846 ----------------------|----|----|----|----|----|----|---- Accidents of various | | | | | | | kinds, for the most | | | | | | | part unavoidable | 26| 26| 44| 19| 11| 17| 29 Apparel ignited | | | | | | | on the person | 12| 5| 9| 5| 4| 3| 3 Candles, various | | | | | | | accidents with | 169| 184| 189| 166| 205| 165| 229 Carelessness, palpable| | | | | | | instances of | 24| 25| 19| 27| 15| 14| 15 Children playing | | | | | | | with fire or candles| 21| 18| 16| 20| 23| 19| 25 Drunkenness | 5| 5| 11| 6| 9| 7| 9 Fire-heat, application| | | | | | | of, to various | | | | | | | hazardous | | | | | | | manufacturing | | | | | | | processes | 29| 16| 36| 14| 21| 22| 25 Fire-sparks | 17| 13| 23| 17| 27| 24| 32 Fire-works | 1| 4| 7| 5| 3| 10| 9 Fires kindled on | | | | | | | hearths and other | | | | | | | improper places | 7| 8| 9| 9| 8| 12| 7 Flues, foul, | | | | | | | defective, &c. | 89| 83| 90| 105| 84| 78| 86 Fumigation, incautious| 3| 2| 2| 1| 1| 3| 4 Furnaces, kilns, | | | | | | | &c., defective or | | | | | | | over-heated | 15| 12| 23| 19| 17| 29| 28 Gas | 48| 48| 52| 40| 33| 54| 53 Gunpowder | .. | .. | 3| 1| .. | 1| .. Hearths, defective, | | | | | | | &c. | .. | .. | 3| 5| 2| .. | 4 Hot cinders put | | | | | | | away | .. | .. | 3| 3| 7| 10| 8 Lamps | 3| 5| 2| 2| 6| 11| 7 Lime, slaking of | 2| 5| 4| 2| 3| 9| 7 Linen, drying, | | | | | | | airing, &c. | 25| 27| 41| 33| 45| 30| 39 Lucifer-matches | 18| 16| 17| 14| 19| 12| 14 Ovens | 13| 13| 13| 10| 10| 8| 8 Reading, working, | | | | | | | or smoking | | | | | | | in bed | .. | 5| 2| 3| .. | .. | 3 Shavings, loose, | | | | | | | ignited | 27| 35| 22| 31| 18| 25| 35 Spontaneous combustion| 11| 22| 20| 23| 34| 19| 18 Stoves, defective, | | | | | | | over-heated, &c. | 48| 54| 32| 58| 44| 51| 43 Tobacco smoking | 9| 22| 17| 14| 21| 19| 29 Suspicious | 11| 7| 9| 16| 7| 9| 7 Wilful | 9| 13| 19| 21| 11| 14| 19 Unknown | 39| 23| 32| 60| 74| 32| 39

|1847|1848|1849|Total.|Average ----------------------|----|----|----|------|------- Accidents of various | | | | | kinds, for the most | | | | | part unavoidable | 20| 19| 13| 452 | 27 Apparel ignited | | | | | on the person | 3| 1| 2| 69 | 4 Candles, various | | | | | accidents with | 237| 237| 241| 2876 |169 Carelessness, palpable| | | | | instances of | 20| 23| 24| 309 | 18 Children playing | | | | | with fire or candles| 16| 19| 15| 238 | 14 Drunkenness | 5| 3| 7| 84 | 5 Fire-heat, application| | | | | of, to various | | | | | hazardous | | | | | manufacturing | | | | | processes | 16| 22| 23| 440 | 26 Fire-sparks | 65| 63| 40| 359 | 21 Fire-works | 6| 1| 8| 70 | 4 Fires kindled on | | | | | hearths and other | | | | | improper places | 3| 4| 4| 120 | 7 Flues, foul, | | | | | defective, &c. | 78| 56| 78| 1273 | 75 Fumigation, incautious| 4| 4| 2| 49 | 3 Furnaces, kilns, | | | | | &c., defective or | | | | | over-heated | 14| 16| 21| 263 | 16 Gas | 63| 65| 57| 780 | 46 Gunpowder | 2| .. | 2| 22 | 1-1/5 Hearths, defective, | | | | | &c. | 3| 4| 3| 24 | 1-1/2 Hot cinders put | | | | | away | 9| 5| 11| 56 | 3 Lamps | 2| 3| 17| 76 | 5 Lime, slaking of | 5| 5| 3| 61 | 4 Linen, drying, | | | | | airing, &c. | 34| 36| 40| 509 | 30 Lucifer-matches | 9| 23| 12| 188 | 11 Ovens | 8| 2| 2| 117 | 7 Reading, working, | | | | | or smoking | | | | | in bed | 1| 1| 1| 22 | 1-1/3 Shavings, loose, | | | | | ignited | 37| 27| 21| 339 | 20 Spontaneous combustion| 15| 7| 19| 228 | 13 Stoves, defective, | | | | | over-heated, &c. | 37| 48| 43| 626 | 37 Tobacco smoking | 18| 37| 24| 239 | 14 Suspicious | 17| 11| 10| 125 | 7 Wilful | 17| 25| 19| 211 | 12 Unknown | 72| 38| 76| 1080 | 63

Here, then, we perceive that there are, upon an average of 17 years, no less than 770 “fires” per annum, that is to say, 29 houses in every 10,000 are discovered to be on fire every year; and about one-fourth of these are uninsured. In the year 1833 the total number of fires was only 458, or 20 in every 10,000 inhabited houses, whilst, in 1849, the number had gradually progressed to 838, or 28 in every 10,000 houses.

We have here, however, to deal more particularly with the causes of these fires, of which the following table gives the result of many years’ valuable experience:--

TABULAR EPITOME OF METROPOLITAN FIRES, FROM 1833 to 1849.

BY W. BADDELEY, 29, ALFRED STREET, ISLINGTON.

--------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+---- |1833|1834|1835|1836|1837|1838|1839|1840|1841|1842|1843 --------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+---- Slightly damaged | 292| 338| 315| 397| 357| 383| 402| 451| 438| 521| 489 Seriously damaged | 135| 116| 125| 134| 122| 152| 165| 204| 34| 224| 231 Totally destroyed | 31| 28| 31| 33| 22| 33| 17| 26| 24| 24| 29 Total No. of Fires | 458| 482| 471| 564| 501| 568| 584| 681| 696| 769| 749 False Alarms | 59| 63| 66| 66| 89| 80| 70| 84| 67| 61| 79 Alarms from | | | | | | | | | | | Chimneys on Fire | 75| 106| 106| 126| 127| 107| 101| 98| 92| 82| 83 Total No. of Calls | 592| 651| 643| 756| 717| 755| 755| 863| 855| 912| 911 Insuran. on Building| | | | | | | | | | | and Contents | .. | .. | .. | 169| 173| 161| 169| 237| 343| 321| 276 Insurances on | | | | | | | | | | | Building only | .. | .. | .. | 73| 47| 59| 58| 92| 149| 116| 124 Insurances on | | | | | | | | | | | Contents only | .. | .. | .. | 104| 76| 128| 115| 104| 52| 112| 107 Uninsured | .. | .. | .. | 218| 205| 220| 242| 248| 152| 220| 242 --------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----

--------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+------+------- |1844|1845|1846|1847|1848|1849|Total.|Average --------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+------+------- Slightly damaged | 502| 431| 576| 536| 509| 582| 6,574| 470 Seriously damaged | 237| 244| 238| 273| 269| 228| 2,955| 211 Totally destroyed | 23| 32| 20| 27| 27| 28| 365| 26 Total No. of Fires | 762| 707| 834| 836| 805| 838| 9,894| 770 False Alarms | 70| 81| 119| 88| 120| 76| 1,150| 82 Alarms from | | | | | | | | Chimneys on Fire | 94| 87| 69| 66| 86| 89| 1,307| 94 Total No. of Calls | 926| 875|1022| 990|1011|1003|12,351| 882 Insuran. on Building| | | | | | | | and Contents | 313| 313| 302| 263| 310| 368| 3,718| 266 Insurances on | | | | | | | | Building only | 138| 107| 137| 125| 120| 163| 1,508| 108 Insurances on | | | | | | | | Contents only | 94| 73| 125| 157| 134| 72| 1,453| 104 Uninsured | 217| 214| 270| 291| 241| 235| 3,215| 230 --------------------+----+----+----+-----+---+----+------+-------

Thus we perceive that, out of an average of 665 fires per annum, the information being derived from 17 years’ experience, the following were the number of fires produced by different causes:--

Average No. of Fires per Annum. Candles, various accidents with 169 Flues, foul, defective, &c. 75 Unknown 63 Gas 46 Stoves over-heated 37 Linen, drying, airing, &c. 30 Accidents of various kinds, for the most part unavoidable 27 Fire heat, application of, to various hazardous manufacturing processes 26 Fire sparks 21 Shavings, loose, ignited 20 Carelessness, palpable instances of 18 Furnaces, kilns, &c., defective or over-heated 16 Children playing with fire or candles 14 Tobacco smoking 14 Spontaneous combustion 13 Wilful 12 Lucifer-matches 11 Ovens 7 Fires, kindled on hearths and other improper places 7 Suspicious 7 Lamps 5 Drunkenness 5 Lime, slaking of 4 Apparel, ignited on the person 4 Fireworks 4 Hot cinders put away 3 Incautious fumigation 3 Reading, working, or smoking in bed 1·33 Hearths defective 1·25 ------ 665

Here, then, we find that while the greatest proportion of fires are caused by accidents with candles, about one-ninth of the fires above mentioned arise from foul flues, or 75 out of 665, a circumstance which teaches us the usefulness of the class of labourers of whom we have been lately treating.

It would seem that a much larger proportion of the fires are wilfully produced than appear in the above table.

The Board of Health, in speaking of incendiarism in connection with insurance, report:--

“Inquiries connected with measures for the improvement of the population have developed the operation of insurances, in engendering crimes and calamities; negatively, by weakening natural responsibilities and motives to care and forethought; positively, by temptations held out to the commission of crime in the facility with which insurance money is usually obtainable.

“The _steady increase_ in the number of fires in the metropolis, whilst our advance in the arts gives means for their diminution, is ascribable mainly to the operation of these two causes, and to the division and weakening of administrative authority. From information on which we can rely, we feel assured that the crime of incendiarism for the sake of insurance money exists to a far greater extent than the public are aware of.”

Mr. Braidwood has expressed his opinion that only one-half of the property in the metropolis is insured, not as to numbers of property, but as to value; but the proportion of insured and uninsured houses could not be ascertained.

Mr. Baddeley, the inspector to the Society for the Protection of Life from Fire, who had given attention to the subject for the last 30 years, gave the Board the following account of the increase of fires:--

During this period there has been a great increase in the number of dwellings, but this has been chiefly in suburban places, where fires rarely occur.

“The frequency of fires,” it is further stated, “led Mr. Payne, the coroner of the City of London, to revive the exercise of the coroner’s function of inquiring into the causes of fires; most usefully. Out of 58 inquests held by him (in the City of London and the borough of Southwark, which comprise only one-eighteenth of the houses of the metropolis) since 1845, it appears that, 8 were proved to be wilful; 27 apparently accidental; and 23 from causes unknown, including suspicious causes. The proportion of ascertained wilful fires was, therefore, 23 per cent.; which gives strong confirmation to the indications presented by the statistical returns as to the excess of insured property burnt above uninsured.”

The at once mean and reckless criminality of arson, by which a man exposes his neighbours to the risk of a dreadful death, which he himself takes measures to avoid, has long, and on many occasions, gone unpunished in London. The insurance companies, when a demand is made upon them for a loss through fire, institute an inquiry, carried on quietly by their own people. The claimant is informed, if sufficient reasons for such a step appear, that from suspicious circumstances, which had come to the knowledge of the company, the demand would not be complied with, and that the company would resist any action for the recovery of the money. The criminal becomes alarmed, he is afraid of committing himself, and so the matter drops, and the insurance companies, not being required to pay the indemnification, are satisfied to save their money, and let the incendiarism remain unnoticed or unpunished. Mr. Payne, the coroner, has on some occasions strongly commented on this practice as one which showed the want of a public prosecutor.

* * * * *

A few words as regards the means of extinction and help at fires.

Upwards of two years ago the Commissioners of Police instructed their officers to note the time which elapsed between the earliest alarm of fire and the arrival of the first engine. Seventeen fires were noted, and the average duration of time before the fire-brigade or any parochial or local fire-engine, reached the spot, was 36 minutes. Two or three of these fires were in the suburbs; so that in this crowded city, so densely packed with houses and people, fifteen fires raged unchecked for more than half-an-hour.

There are in the metropolis, not including the more distant suburbs, 150 public fire stations, with engines provided under the management of the parochial authorities. The fire-brigade has but seventeen stations on land, and two on the river, which are, indeed, floating engines, one being usually moored near Southwark-bridge, the other having no stated place, being changed in its locality, as may be considered best. In the course of three years, the term of the official inquiry, the engines of the fire-brigade reached on the average the place where a fire was raging _thirty-five_ times as the earliest means of assistance, when the parochial engines did the same only in the proportion of _two_ to the thirty-five.

Mr. Braidwood, the director of the fire-brigade, stated, when questioned on the subject with a view to a report to be laid before Parliament, that “the average time of an engine turning out with horses was from three to seven minutes.” The engines are driven at the rate of ten miles an hour along the streets, which, in the old coaching days, was considered the “best royal mail pace.” Indeed, there have been frequent complaints of the rapidity with which the fire-engines are driven, and if the drivers were not skilful and alert, it would really amount to recklessness.

“Information of the breaking out of a fire,” it is stated in the report, “will be conveyed to the station of the brigade at the rate of about five miles an hour: thus in the case of the occurrence of a fire within a mile of the station, the intelligence may be conveyed to the station in about twelve minutes; the horses will be put to, and the engine got out into the street in about five minutes on the average; it traverses the mile in about six minutes; and the water has to be got into the engine, which will occupy about five minutes, making, under the most favourable circumstances for such a distance, 28 minutes, or for a half-mile distance, an average of not less than 20 minutes.”

The average distance of the occurring fires from a brigade station were, however, during a period of three years, terminating in 1850, upwards of a mile. One was five miles, several four miles, more were two miles, and a mile and a half, while the most destructive fires were at an average distance of a mile and three quarters. Thus it was impossible for a fire-brigade to give assistance as soon as assistance was needed, and, under other circumstances, might have been rendered. And all this damage may and does very often result from what seems so trifling a neglect as the non-sweeping of a chimney.

Mr. W. Baddeley, an engineer, and a high authority on this subject, has stated that he had attended fires for 30 years in London, and that, of 838 fires which took place in 1849, two-thirds might have been easily extinguished had there been an immediate application of water. In some places, he said, delay originated from the turn-cocks being at wide intervals, and some of the companies objecting to let any but their own servants have the command of the main-cocks.

The Board of Health have recommended the formation of a series of street-water plugs within short distances of each other, the water to be constantly on at high pressure night and day, and the whole to be under the charge of a trained body of men such as compose the present fire-brigade, provided at appointed stations with every necessary appliance in the way of hose, pipes, ladders, &c. “The hose should be within the reach,” it is urged in the report, “fixed, and applied on an average of not more than five minutes from the time of the alarm being given; that is to say, in less than one-fourth of the time within which fire-engines are brought to bear under existing arrangements, and with a still greater proportionate diminution of risks and serious accidents.”

Nor is this mode of extinguishing fires a mere experiment. It is successfully practised in some of the American cities, Philadelphia among the number, and in some of our own manufacturing towns. Mr. Emmott, the engineer and manager of the Oldham Water-works, has described the practice in that town on the occurrence of fires:--

“In five cases out of six, the hose is pushed into a water-plug, and the water thrown upon a building on fire, for the average pressure of water in this town is 146 feet; by this means our fires are generally extinguished even before the heavy engine arrives at the spot. The hose is much preferred to the engine, on account of the speed with which it is applied, and the readiness with which it is used, for one man can manage a hose, and throw as much water on the building on fire as an engine worked by many men. On this account we very rarely indeed use the engines, as they possess no advantage whatever over the hose.”

When the city of Hamburgh was rebuilt two or three years back, after its destruction by fire, it was rebuilt chiefly under the direction of Mr. W. Lindley, the engineer, and, as far as Mr. Lindley could accomplish, on sanitary principles, such as the abolition of cesspools. The arrangements for the surface cleansing of the streets by means of the hose and jet and the water-plugs, are made available for the extinction of fires, and with the following results, as communicated by Mr. Lindley:--

“Have there been fires in buildings in Hamburgh in the portion of the town rebuilt?--Yes, repeatedly. They have all, however, been put out at once. If they had had to wait the usual time for engines and water, say 20 minutes or half an hour, these might all have led to extensive conflagrations.