THE ATLANTIC CITY FIRE.

THE ATLANTIC CITY FIRE.

For many reasons Atlantic City. N. J., may bless its stars that it was not wiped out on last Thursday week. The wind was blowing in a favorable direction; the fire occurred in daylight: and it broke out in an unoccupied hotel. Had it taken place at night, during the crowded season, there is no estimating what the loss of life and destruction of property would have been. As it is, a considerable lane was cut through the two blocks of hotels and wooden buildings, as shown in a diagram elsewhere, and luck alone saved the remainder of the property adjacent to the scene of the fire from effacement from the city map. It was generally conceded by the residents of the city that, if a fire once started, it might prove a formidable one, but, strange to say, little or no action was taken by the authorities to avert such a disaster. The proprietor of an hotel in Atlantic City once told a representative of FIRE AND WATER that, if a fire broke out on his premises, he and his assistants would turn in and work in extinguishing the fire: in fact, the hotel help provided its own firemen. This confidence was indulged in by the hotel men in the city; each individual constituted himself a special fireman to save his property, and little reliance was placed upon the efforts of the fire department. Under such conditions it was only natural that in time such a foolish policy would be tested and found wanting.

For many reasons Atlantic City. N. J., may bless its stars that it was not wiped out on last Thursday week. The wind was blowing in a favorable direction; the fire occurred in daylight: and it broke out in an unoccupied hotel. Had it taken place at night, during the crowded season, there is no estimating what the loss of life and destruction of property would have been. As it is, a considerable lane was cut through the two blocks of hotels and wooden buildings, as shown in a diagram elsewhere, and luck alone saved the remainder of the property adjacent to the scene of the fire from effacement from the city map. It was generally conceded by the residents of the city that, if a fire once started, it might prove a formidable one, but, strange to say, little or no action was taken by the authorities to avert such a disaster. The proprietor of an hotel in Atlantic City once told a representative of FIRE AND WATER that, if a fire broke out on his premises, he and his assistants would turn in and work in extinguishing the fire: in fact, the hotel help provided its own firemen. This confidence was indulged in by the hotel men in the city; each individual constituted himself a special fireman to save his property, and little reliance was placed upon the efforts of the fire department. Under such conditions it was only natural that in time such a foolish policy would be tested and found wanting.