Fire Prevention in New York City
FIRE is the most dreaded word in our language. The greatest disasters recorded in history began with a fire. Nero and the burning of Rome, Fire ravaged London for four days in 1666. Chicago suffered from it in 1871, and 100,000 people were made homeless. San Francisco had a terrible experience—an earthquake and fire—the worst in American cities. The City Hall was completely wrecked. The Grand Opera House and other theatres fell to pieces or were consumed by flames. Loss of life reached 1,000 and the property was damaged 250 million dollars' worth. The earthquake destroyed the water supply and left the city at the mercy of the flames. Earthquakes caused the fire on Tokyo in 1923. The houses were constructed of wood with paper walls and a heavy thatch of straw. From 60,000 to 70,000 people were killed; 25 square miles were burned and over 100,000 persons were driven away.
In England the fire losses are over £12,000,000 annually. In the United States, because wooden and frame houses are more common than in Europe, the losses are over half a billion dollars annually, or approximately five dollars per person.
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