PITHY PARAGRAPHS
INCENDIARI8M IN TURKEY.
That the Turks are still given to incendiarism is shown by a communication issued by the Turkish Embassy in London, which says that the “assertion made recently by an evening paper in London that some Ottoman police officials are forbidding owners of poor dwellings or lodgers therein to have their premises insured against fire, under the pretext that many conflagrations are due to insurance companies, is absolutely unfounded. It is true that, as houses and effects in Constantinople are often insured for an amount far superior to their real value, the hope of receiving large sums prompts many holders of insurance policies to commit arson. There is evidence also to show that fires, which were already so freuuent at Constantinople and in the Ottoman provinces, arc becoming more numerous still, sinqe many insurance companies, which have their head offices abroad, have been established in the empire. In fact, it can safely be said that one-half at least of the fires are caused by criminals, and that such a state of things constitutes a serious danger which it is necessary to put a stop to. But, between this and charging the Ottoman authorities with purposely boycotting foreign insurance companies in Constantinople, there is an immense difference, which all impartial persons will readily admit.”
FIRES ON BOARD SHIPS.
The worst fire-risks in ships are to be found in those which carry cotton and oil. As the London Fireman points out, the methods of preventing fires and of fighting them are so modern and so much better than those pursued on the ordinary ocean-going steamers that they can hardly be improved upon. It adds that “it is more particularly upon ocean tramps, small steamers, and some liners that the means and methods of extinguishing fire need revision. In this respect some of the German lines set a good example; in fact, upon their ships the frequency of the fire-drills sometimes becomes a source of nervous annoyance to the passengers. Better this, however, than neglect of due precaution. It is a very bad lire indeed which cannot be kept under for a day or two, while the ship makes for the nearest port. The unfortunate thing is that, when the vessel reaches port, it is only to find, as a rule, that the means available are totally inadequate to extinguish the tlames. Very many harbors of importance do not possess a fireboat of any description, although its usefulness not only for the purpose indicated, but, also, for waterside fires, must be evident to the most casual observer.”
FIREMEN AND NITRIC ACID FUMES.
英格兰曼彻斯特的首席官哈迪斯（Hadiss），他能够检测到硝酸引起的火灾以及他对他的士兵受到影响时该怎么做的进一步了解，最近挽救了密尔沃基的悲剧。当弗利酋长和他的许多消防员屈服于吸入这种烟雾的影响时。他的六个人在船上起火，显然淹没了装有十二瓶过于盎司的硝酸的包装中的初期火焰。其中一个瓶子破裂了，木屑的吸收液体被挤满了液体，使温度升高至一定程度，从而引起燃烧。当时我是一个坚不可摧的雾气，其密度阻止了消防员的小队，他们降落到搁置中，注意到了从案件中逃脱的烟雾。当他们将吊索固定在上面时，第二次爆发了，从盒子的缝隙中散发出火花的阵阵阵阵阵阵阵阵，好像它是多面的鱿鱼。首席官贝利斯（Bayliss）是一位实践化学家，并且在甲板上，认识到硝酸的存在，并立即回忆起他的士兵。一些码头消防员也被搁置了，酋长知道可能导致致命的结果吸入这些有毒烟雾的可能性，建议他们将苏打水和牛奶的碳酸盐和牛奶混合在一起。当他的士兵回到车站时，以这种方式给他们撒了下来。六个小时后，六个人之一必须带到他的宿舍，几个小时后他们都被俯卧。 Their pulse became weak: sickness ensued; the surface of the bodv and the extremities became cold; the heart’s action was weak; and the bronchial tubes were choked. The danger lay in the development of sudden pneumonia. The only’ man who came into contact with the fumes and who escaped was the second officer. All finally recovered.
旧的消防队。
Perhaps, the first real fire brigade established in London was the one started in 1791, by the Royal Exchange, the Sun, and the Phoenix. It was carried on at the joint expense of these companies, with the support of other offices a little later on, although it appears from several old announcements that the outward appearance of individual action was kept up. We have a record of this old brigade in “Rejected Addresses,” where reference is made to the destruction of Drury Lane theatre in 1809:—
引擎thund是通过the street, Fire-hook, pipe, bucket, all complete;
And torches glared and clattering feet Along the pavement paced . . .
The Hand-in-hand the race begun,
Then came the Phoenix and the Sun,
The Exchange, where old insurers run,
The Eagle, where the new.
Doubtless the efficiency of these early fire brigades, more or less owned by individual companies, was impaired by the desire of the employes of each office to protect the property insured by their own company. The old fire marks, which were so familiar a few years back, indicated the office in which the property was insured. Many complaints are to be found of competition between the firemen of different companies for the limited supply of water available, with the occasional result that scarcely a single engine could be worked effectively. This system of the fire offices keeping up fire brigades, either individually or jointly, was continued in London until i86f>, when the brigade was taken over by the Metropolitan board of works, with the arrangement that the companies should pay $175 a year for each $5,000,000 insured.—The Standard, London.
UNDERGROUND BLACK COUNTRY FIRES.
Says the Midland Evening News, of Wednesbury, Staffordshire, England; “Men may come, and men may go; but, like Tennyson’s brook, the subterranean fires peculiar to Wednesbury and district, seemingly go on for ever. For years and years—for certainly more than three centuries—these fires have smouldered under the very hearths and homes of the good citizens of ‘ye ancient town,’ and have occasioned no small measure of anxiety to those who have undertaken the ‘safety, comfort, and well-being’ of these same citizens. Whilst these men were musing, the fire burned, occasionally breaking through the surface to strike awe in the hearts of those who saw the red glow of the ‘wild fire.’ Viewed from a safe distance, however, the wildfire presents a peculiarly picturesque sight as we learn from Dr. Wilkes, who, writing on May 31, 1739, said: ‘This evening, as I rode over part of the field where this fire was burning, many acres together, the air being calm, and the weather having been dry for about a fortnight, I saw on the surface of the ground, where the smoke issued out of the earth, as fine fires of brimstone as could be made by art. They seemed to lie a handful in a place; but there was no possibility of going to them.’ These subterranean fires mainly originate from two causes—the one being spontaneous ignition among the vast heaps of slack or coal left behind in the coal pits, in which is a great quantity of sulphur, and the other, the effects of an accumulation of live fuel from furnaces on the surface. The great heat of underground fires act upon the several strata above, according to their peculiar natures; some parts are reduced to cinders; others, hardened to a very great degree. Clay thus hardened is locally known as ‘pock stone,’ of which the roads of Wednesbury were originally almost entirely composed, and. according to Dr. Wilkes, the foundation of the church is laid with the same material. This goes to show, therefore, that subterranean fires occurred in this locality several ages prior to the doctor having written regarding the subject in 1739.”
PROTECTING NELSON’S SHIP,
作为预防措施。纳尔逊（Nelson）著名的旗舰店《胜利》（The Victory）已配备了强大的消防电器，由Steam Powers操作，因此可以在很短的时间内设置泵。一段时间以来，装有消防发动机的拖船一直驻扎在胜利中。但是人们认为，除非迅速处理大火，否则几乎不可能拯救著名的旧船。爱德华国王（King Edward）前一段时间命令，应采取一切可能的一切来维护胜利，而海军部则遵守他的命令。
