Fires and Firemen | Page 6

| 1822 | East Smithfield | " | -- | 1840 | Bankside | " | -- | 1814 | Gateshead | England | -- | 1854 ----------+--------------------------------+-------------+-----------+----- September | 46 Buildings | New York | $500,000 | 1839 | 200 Houses, Brooklyn | " | 150,000 | 1848 | Scott, Russell, and Co., Ship | | | | Builders, Mill Wall | London | L80,000 | 1853 | St. Paul's Church, Covent | | | | Garden | " | -- | 1795 | 60 Houses, Rotherhithe | " | -- | 1791 | Astley's Amphitheatre | " | -- | 1794 | Mark Lane | " | 150,000 | 1850 | Covent Garden Theatre | " | -- | 1808 | Store Street and Tottenham | | | | Court Road | " | -- | 1802 | Macfee's | Liverpool | 40,000 | 1846 | Gorees | " | 400,000 | 1802 | Formby Street | " | 380,000 | 1842 | Cowdray House | Sussex | -- | 1793 ----------+--------------------------------+-------------+-----------+----- October | 52 Buildings | Philadelphia| $100,000 | 1839 | Grimsdell's, Builder's Yard | Spitalfields| -- | 1852 | Withwith's Mills | Halifax | ?��35,000 | 1853 | Robert-street | N.Liverpool | 150,000 | 1838 | Lancelot's-hey | Liverpool | 80,000 | 1854 | Memel Great Fire | Prussia | -- | 1854 | London Wall | London | 84,000 | 1849 | 20 Houses, Rotherhithe | " | -- | 1790 | Lancelot's-hey | Liverpool | 30,000 | 1834 | Wapping | London | 100,000 | 1823 | Houses of Parliament | " | -- | 1834 | Pimlico | " | -- | 1834 ----------+--------------------------------+-------------+-----------+----- November | Royal Palace | Lisbon | -- | 1794 | New York | United St. | -- | 1835 | 20 Houses, Shadwell | London | -- | 1796 | Aldersgate-street | " | ?��100,000 | 1783 | Cornhill | " | -- | 1765 | Liver-street | Liverpool | 6,000 | 1829 | Wright and Aspinall, | | | | Oxford-street | London | 50,000 | 1826 | Hill's Rice Mills | " | 5,000 | 1848 ----------+--------------------------------+-------------+-----------+----- December | Dock Yard | Portsmouth | -- | 1776 | Patent Office and Post Office | Washington | -- | 1836 | 600 Warehouses | New York |$4,000,000 | 1835 | Fenwick-street | Liverpool | ?��36,000 | 1831 | Brancker's Sugar-house | " | 34,000 | 1843 ----------+--------------------------------+-------------+-----------+----- (Extracted from the Royal Insurance Company's Almanac, 1854.)
One reason, perhaps, why there is such a general average in the number of conflagrations throughout the year, is, that the vast majority occur in factories and workshops where fire is used in summer as well as winter. This supposition appears at first sight to be contradicted by the fact, that nearly as many fires occur on Sunday as on any other day of the week. But when it is remembered that in numerous establishments it is necessary to keep in the fires throughout that day, and as in the majority of cases a very inadequate watch is kept, it is at once apparent why there is no immunity from the scourge. Indeed, some of the most destructive fires have broken out on a Sunday night or on a Monday morning--no doubt because a large body of fire had formed before it was detected. A certain number of accidents occur in summer in private houses from persons on hot nights opening the window behind the toilet glass in their bedrooms, when the draught blows the blind against the candle. Swallows do not more certainly appear in June, than such mishaps are found reported at the sultry season.
If we watch still more narrowly the habits of fires, we find that they are active or dormant according to the time of the day. Thus, during a period of nine years, the percentage regularly increased from 1.96 at 9 o'clock A.M., the hour at which all households might be considered to be about, to 3.34 at 1 P.M., 3.55 at 5 P.M., and 8.15 per cent at 10 P.M., which is just the time at which a fire left to itself by the departure of the workmen, would have had swing enough to become visible.
The origin of fires is now so narrowly inquired into by the officers of the Brigade, an by means of inquests, that we have been made acquainted with a vast number of curious causes, which would never have been suspected. From an analysis of fires which have occurred since the establishment of the Brigade, we have constructed the following Tables:--
Curtains 2,511 Candle 1,178 Flues 1,555 Stoves 494 Gas 932 Light dropped down Area 13 Lighted Tobacco falling down do. 7 Dust falling on horizontal Flue 1 Doubtful 76 Incendiarism 89 Carelessness 100