|1833|1834|1835|1836|1837|1838|1839
----------------------|----|----|----|----|----|----|----
Accidents of various | | | | | | |
kinds, for the most | | | | | | |
part unavoidable | 83| 40| 14| 13| 17| 36| 25
Apparel ignited | | | | | | |
on the person | .. | .. | .. | 7| 7| 5| 3
Candles, various | | | | | | |
accidents with | 56| 146| 110| 157| 125| 132| 128
Carelessness, palpable| | | | | | |
instances of | 28| .. | 19| 18| 7| 17| 14
Children playing | | | | | | |
with fire or candles| .. | .. | 5| 6| 18| 5| 12
Drunkenness | .. | 2| 3| .. | 2| 4| 6
Fire-heat, application| | | | | | |
of, to various | | | | | | |
hazardous | | | | | | |
manufacturing | | | | | | |
processes | 31| 24| 39| 34| 22| 40| 26
Fire-sparks | .. | .. | .. | 7| 10| 12| 9
Fire-works | .. | .. | 3| .. | 5| 3| 5
Fires kindled on | | | | | | |
hearths and other | | | | | | |
improper places | 7| .. | 9| 5| 5| 15| 8
Flues, foul, | | | | | | |
defective, &c. | 71| 65| 69| 72| 53| 58| 58
Fumigation, incautious| .. | 3| 7| 5| 2| 1| 5
Furnaces, kilns, | | | | | | |
&c., defective or | | | | | | |
over-heated | .. | 11| 2| 9| 12| 15| 20
Gas | 20| 25| 39| 38| 31| 42| 72
Gunpowder | 3| 3| .. | 1| 3| 1| 2
Hearths, defective, | | | | | | |
&c. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | ..
Hot cinders put | | | | | | |
away | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | ..
Lamps | .. | .. | .. | 2| 3| 9| 4
Lime, slaking of | .. | 3| 4| 3| .. | 4| 2
Linen, drying, | | | | | | |
airing, &c. | .. | .. | 22| 31| 48| 32| 26
Lucifer-matches | .. | .. | .. | .. | 8| 9| 17
Ovens | 6| .. | .. | 6| 3| 11| 4
Reading, working, | | | | | | |
or smoking | | | | | | |
in bed | .. | 3| .. | .. | .. | 1| 2
Shavings, loose, | | | | | | |
ignited | .. | 6| 9| 13| 8| 17| 8
Spontaneous combustion| 7| 2| 5| 4| 4| 5| 13
Stoves, defective, | | | | | | |
over-heated, &c. | 18| 20| 11| 28| 36| 31| 24
Tobacco smoking | .. | 6| 4| 1| 3| 4| 11
Suspicious | .. | .. | .. | .. | 7| 8| 6
Wilful | 3| 9| 6| 8| 5| 6| 7
Unknown | 125| 114| 91| 96| 57| 45| 67
|1840|1841|1842|1843|1844|1845|1846
----------------------|----|----|----|----|----|----|----
Accidents of various | | | | | | |
kinds, for the most | | | | | | |
part unavoidable | 26| 26| 44| 19| 11| 17| 29
Apparel ignited | | | | | | |
on the person | 12| 5| 9| 5| 4| 3| 3
Candles, various | | | | | | |
accidents with | 169| 184| 189| 166| 205| 165| 229
Carelessness, palpable| | | | | | |
instances of | 24| 25| 19| 27| 15| 14| 15
Children playing | | | | | | |
with fire or candles| 21| 18| 16| 20| 23| 19| 25
Drunkenness | 5| 5| 11| 6| 9| 7| 9
Fire-heat, application| | | | | | |
of, to various | | | | | | |
hazardous | | | | | | |
manufacturing | | | | | | |
processes | 29| 16| 36| 14| 21| 22| 25
Fire-sparks | 17| 13| 23| 17| 27| 24| 32
Fire-works | 1| 4| 7| 5| 3| 10| 9
Fires kindled on | | | | | | |
hearths and other | | | | | | |
improper places | 7| 8| 9| 9| 8| 12| 7
Flues, foul, | | | | | | |
defective, &c. | 89| 83| 90| 105| 84| 78| 86
Fumigation, incautious| 3| 2| 2| 1| 1| 3| 4
Furnaces, kilns, | | | | | | |
&c., defective or | | | | | | |
over-heated | 15| 12| 23| 19| 17| 29| 28
Gas | 48| 48| 52| 40| 33| 54| 53
Gunpowder | .. | .. | 3| 1| .. | 1| ..
Hearths, defective, | | | | | | |
&c. | .. | .. | 3| 5| 2| .. | 4
Hot cinders put | | | | | | |
away | .. | .. | 3| 3| 7| 10| 8
Lamps | 3| 5| 2| 2| 6| 11| 7
Lime, slaking of | 2| 5| 4| 2| 3| 9| 7
Linen, drying, | | | | | | |
airing, &c. | 25| 27| 41| 33| 45| 30| 39
Lucifer-matches | 18| 16| 17| 14| 19| 12| 14
Ovens | 13| 13| 13| 10| 10| 8| 8
Reading, working, | | | | | | |
or smoking | | | | | | |
in bed | .. | 5| 2| 3| .. | .. | 3
Shavings, loose, | | | | | | |
ignited | 27| 35| 22| 31| 18| 25| 35
Spontaneous combustion| 11| 22| 20| 23| 34| 19| 18
Stoves, defective, | | | | | | |
over-heated, &c. | 48| 54| 32| 58| 44| 51| 43
Tobacco smoking | 9| 22| 17| 14| 21| 19| 29
Suspicious | 11| 7| 9| 16| 7| 9| 7
Wilful | 9| 13| 19| 21| 11| 14| 19
Unknown | 39| 23| 32| 60| 74| 32| 39
|1847|1848|1849|Total.|Average
----------------------|----|----|----|------|-------
Accidents of various | | | | |
kinds, for the most | | | | |
part unavoidable | 20| 19| 13| 452 | 27
Apparel ignited | | | | |
on the person | 3| 1| 2| 69 | 4
Candles, various | | | | |
accidents with | 237| 237| 241| 2876 |169
Carelessness, palpable| | | | |
instances of | 20| 23| 24| 309 | 18
Children playing | | | | |
with fire or candles| 16| 19| 15| 238 | 14
Drunkenness | 5| 3| 7| 84 | 5
Fire-heat, application| | | | |
of, to various | | | | |
hazardous | | | | |
manufacturing | | | | |
processes | 16| 22| 23| 440 | 26
Fire-sparks | 65| 63| 40| 359 | 21
Fire-works | 6| 1| 8| 70 | 4
Fires kindled on | | | | |
hearths and other | | | | |
improper places | 3| 4| 4| 120 | 7
Flues, foul, | | | | |
defective, &c. | 78| 56| 78| 1273 | 75
Fumigation, incautious| 4| 4| 2| 49 | 3
Furnaces, kilns, | | | | |
&c., defective or | | | | |
over-heated | 14| 16| 21| 263 | 16
Gas | 63| 65| 57| 780 | 46
Gunpowder | 2| .. | 2| 22 | 1-1/5
Hearths, defective, | | | | |
&c. | 3| 4| 3| 24 | 1-1/2
Hot cinders put | | | | |
away | 9| 5| 11| 56 | 3
Lamps | 2| 3| 17| 76 | 5
Lime, slaking of | 5| 5| 3| 61 | 4
Linen, drying, | | | | |
airing, &c. | 34| 36| 40| 509 | 30
Lucifer-matches | 9| 23| 12| 188 | 11
Ovens | 8| 2| 2| 117 | 7
Reading, working, | | | | |
or smoking | | | | |
in bed | 1| 1| 1| 22 | 1-1/3
Shavings, loose, | | | | |
ignited | 37| 27| 21| 339 | 20
Spontaneous combustion| 15| 7| 19| 228 | 13
Stoves, defective, | | | | |
over-heated, &c. | 37| 48| 43| 626 | 37
Tobacco smoking | 18| 37| 24| 239 | 14
Suspicious | 17| 11| 10| 125 | 7
Wilful | 17| 25| 19| 211 | 12
Unknown | 72| 38| 76| 1080 | 63
Here, then, we perceive that there are, upon an average of 17 years,
no less than 770 “fires” per annum, that is to say, 29 houses in every
10,000 are discovered to be on fire every year; and about one-fourth
of these are uninsured. In the year 1833 the total number of fires was
only 458, or 20 in every 10,000 inhabited houses, whilst, in 1849, the
number had gradually progressed to 838, or 28 in every 10,000 houses.
We have here, however, to deal more particularly with the causes of
these fires, of which the following table gives the result of many
years’ valuable experience:--
TABULAR EPITOME OF METROPOLITAN FIRES, FROM 1833 to 1849.