Fires are multiplying quite as fast as the
population, despite the fact that fire-proof
construction of buildings is more adopted than ever.
London heads the list with fourteen hundred
fires annually; Liverpool follows with three
hundred, Manchester with about two hundred
and fifty, and Glasgow with over two hundred.
In America, New York and Philadelphia both
range between three and four hundred; Paris
about equals Liverpool; Berlin and Hamburg
each about equals Manchester. The difference
between any one year and the next is never
very considerable; for a sort of law of human
carelessness prevails, leading us to a pretty
steady aggregate of mishaps. Captain Shaw
will not include " chimneys" or " false alarms"
among his fourteen hundred. In one of the
recent years there were sixteen days with no
fire, one day with nine fires; but the average
is between three and four fires per day. The
late Mr. Braidwood tried to ascertain whether
the social and industrial habits of the people
lead to a predominance of fires at particular
seasons, days, and hours. In one year, August
was most disastrous, October least; Tuesday
the most disastrous day, Wednesday the least.
There is no reason traceable for this; and as
the disastrous months and days differed in
other years, we may pass the matter by. There
are reasons, however, connected with the social
habits of Londoners in respect to fire and light,
which render intelligible the statement that more
fires break out about ten or eleven in the evening,
and fewer at six or seven in the morning, than
at any other periods of the day. As to the
causes of fire, one out of every six or seven is
set down either as " wilful," " suspicious," or
"unknown." The known causes, besides the
more obvious connected with flues, ovens,
boilers, gas explosions, include " cinders laid
by hot," " poker left in the fire," " reading
in bed," " playing with lucifers," " cigar-ends
and pipe-lights thrown down carelessly," "sun
set fire to fusees," " cat upset linen-horse,"
"cat ignite lucifers," in fact, we are inclined to
think that puss is made responsible for more
sins than she really commits, in this as in other
kinds of wickedness. The terrible crime of
arson—terrible in relation to the peril to
innocent life it brings with it—we say nothing of
here; the insurance companies suspect more
than they openly accuse.

In France, the system is military; the sappers
and miners, or sapeurs-pompiers, are the firemen
when on home-duty, in whatever town it may
be. The fire-engines are small, but very numerous;
and as Paris houses have more complete
and lofty party walls than those of London,
rendering the spread of fire from house to house
less likely, the engines and the sapeurs suffice.
In Germany, many of the larger towns empower
the police to demand the assistance of the
inhabitants in case of fire. A night-watchman
is perched upon some high place; when he
sees a fire he fires a gun, and telegraphs with
lanterns; the inhabitants then drag the fire-
engines in the direction shown by him. In
America, the volunteer system is adopted. New
York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit,
Pittsburg, San Francisco, and most of the large
towns, have their respective volunteer fire-brigades.
At New York there are no less than two
thousand of these volunteers, grouped into eight
brigades; and a dashing sight it seems to be
when they have their annual procession through
the city. Captain Lennard says that San
Francisco is divided into a number of wards, each of
which has its quota of engines, firemen, and
hook-and-ladder men. A tocsin bell at the station of
each ward gives the sound of alarm to the
neighbouring wards, and the alarm of fire is thus
speedily disseminated through the city. The
firemen are a fine body of young men, in a smart
yet suitable working dress, consisting of a red
shirt and trousers, a belt, and a helmet, the
latter indicating which corps the fireman belongs
to, such as the First or Second Tigers. The
fire-engines are generally beautiful models of
their kind, very light, and in some cases
decorated with silver ornaments. The larger engines
are worked by steam, and send forth an immense
body of water. By the rules of the several
corps, a volunteer fireman, however engaged,
is bound when the fire tocsin rings to don his
helmet and red shirt and appear at his post.
The hook-and-ladder men attend the firemen,
and render service like that rendered by our
admirable fire-escape brigade. The example
of America is not wholly lost upon us here in
England. The dock companies mostly possess
private engines; so do many of our large public
establishments, and many large mansions. But
the voluntary system, properly so called, is that
which is intended to serve others as much as
ourselves. Hodges's Distillery certainly takes
the lead among such, so far as London is
concerned. Well-appointed fire-engines, for steam
as well as manual power, firemen clothed and
accoutred at all points, an observatory whence a
look-out is maintained all night, fire bells at the
residence and the distillery, half a mile of hose or
leathern water-pipe, horses and harness kept in
such readiness that an engine can be sent off to
the scene of a fire within three minutes after the
fire-bell is heard, a lieutenant to command the
men under the proprietor as captain—there is
something very gallant about this, and we touch
hat to Mr. Hodges. This brigade has gone out
to attend more than a hundred fires in twelve
months, and not simply on the Lambeth side of
the water. The example is spreading. Early
in the present year it was stated that there were
at that time forty-three Volunteer Fire Brigades
in Great Britain, possessing seventy manual and
steam fire-engines.

There is something catching, not only in fire,
but in the exciting enthusiasm connected with
a large conflagration in London. One of our
noble dukes has had a telegraphic wire laid
from the nearest engine-station to his own
bedroom, in order that he may jump up and go
out to a house on fire, if so disposed; and,
not many weeks ago, the same nobleman gave
an afternoon fête to all the firemen, on the