A PERILOUS SITUATION. CAPTAIN SHAW. IMPROVEMENTS OF THE METROPOLITAN
BOARD AND OF THE LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL.
"The dock is on fire!"
On New Year's Day, 1866, some hours after St. Katherine's Dock had been
opened for work, several persons came running to the gates from the
adjoining streets, crying loudly, "The dock is on fire!"
At first the policemen would not believe the report. "We can see
nothing," said they.
"But flames are bursting from the roof! Look! look!"
And before long the policemen were convinced that a serious fire was,
indeed, in progress. It was in the upper floors of a division of a block
of warehouses named F, six stories high, and by eleven o'clock they
were blazing fast.
"Fire! Fire!"
The alarming cry rang through the dock, and superintendents, dock
managers, and policemen hurried to the spot; while gangs of dock
labourers were taken off their work, and set to quench the fire with
buckets.
The conditions were somewhat similar to those of the great Tooley Street
fire of five years or so before. The fire broke out on a floor where
bales of jute and coir fibre were stored; and a huge heap of these goods
was seen to be burning, and sending forth such a suffocating and
blinding smoke, that the men were compelled to retreat.
"Shut the iron doors!" shouted the officers; and one after another the
iron doors between the different warehouses were closed, though with one
exception. This was the door connecting the fifth floor of F Warehouse
with the fifth floor of H Warehouse. It was open wide, and one man after
another endeavoured to close it by crawling towards it on the floor. But
the smoke was so suffocating that the men had to be dragged back almost
unconscious before they could reach the door.
Meantime, the dock fire-engines and hydrants had been got to work, and
the dock engineer was able to turn on full pressure, so that soon
powerful jets of water were thrown on the flames. A hydrant is, briefly,
an elbow-shaped metal pipe, permanently fixed to a main water-pipe; and
when the fireman attaches his hose to it, he can get at once a stream of
water through the hose at about the same pressure as the water in the
main.
The flames were spreading furiously, and the two upper floors of F
Warehouse were blazing fast, throwing out such dense clouds of smoke,
that the neighbourhood was darkened as by a thick fog.
The block of warehouses on fire towered up six stories high, and
occupied half of the northern side of the dock next to East Smithfield.
They formed a huge pile about 440 feet long by about 140 feet deep, the
import part of the dock lying on the south side with its ships.
The block was built in a number of divisions or bays, each measuring
about 90 by 50 feet, and separated by strong walls, which rose from
basement to roof. Happily, the communication between these divisions was
afforded by double folding-doors of iron, a space of about three feet
existing between the double doors; they were believed to be fireproof;
and with the one exception they were closed.
But, like the Tooley Street buildings, these warehouses were chiefly
stored with very combustible materials. Tallow was here, which played
such a bad part in 1861; spirits were here also, palm oil, tons of
dyewood, flax, jute, and cotton. Labourers had been at work for some
hours when the alarm was given, and men were busy on every floor. They
were receiving the goods from the quays, and wheeling them along through
the building, when the fire was discovered.
And now Captain Shaw, the chief who succeeded Braidwood as the head of
the fire-brigade, dashed up with a steamer from Watling Street, which
was then the headquarters of the brigade. He had received the alarm at
about twenty minutes to twelve o'clock, and had telegraphed to all
subsidiary stations.
Captain Shaw, who afterwards became Sir Eyre Massey Shaw, K.C.B., was
born the same year as the steam fire-engine was first used--_viz._, in
1830. He was the son of Mr. B. R Shaw, of Monkstown, County Cork, and in
due time entered the army. Retiring in 1860, he became chief of the
Belfast Borough Forces, including police and fire-brigade, being
appointed in the next year the chief of the London Fire-Brigade.
[Illustration: THE FIRST COMPLETE FLOATING STEAM FIRE-ENGINE, 1855.]
Not only did he telegraph for land steam fire-engines to the
conflagration; but a large steam-float, usually kept off Southwark
Bridge, was also quickly under way. Soon he had eight land steamers and
from seventy to eighty men on the spot, while he himself directed in
person.
Mr. Collett, one of the Dock Company's secretaries, worked hard, and
often at great peril; Mr. Graves and Mr. Stephens, also officials of the
company, were busily engaged in directing removal of valuable materials;
while about seventy men employed by Cubitt & Co. in rebuilding a
warehouse, destroyed by fire in the previous October, rendered
assistance.
The little army found themselves face to face with a difficult task. The
fire was now burning furiously, and the smoke was well-nigh
overpowering. The flames had reached the fourth, fifth, and sixth
floors, and seemed working downward; while the burning jute sent forth
such dense volumes of smoke, that the men were forced back again and
again. But bravely they returned to their task; and taking advantage of
the moments when the clouds cleared, they directed the hose to the most
needful points.
For six hours the fire raged, until all the three upper floors were
destroyed, and the third floor seriously damaged. The scene in the
waning winter afternoon was sufficiently striking as the smoke gradually
cleared and the blackened ruins became dimly visible. They were very
dangerous, for the walls appeared likely to topple over at the slightest
provocation.
About five o'clock, the firemen seemed to have gained the mastery, and
Captain Shaw returned home; but later in the evening he was summoned
again. Most mysteriously the flames had burst forth once more in fresh
places, the upper parts of two adjacent warehouses of the same block had
caught, and were in flames. By eleven o'clock the fire was blazing as
furiously as ever.
Captain Shaw returned with new relays of men to assist those on the
spot; and during the night and all the next day the force was busily at
work. On the Monday night two firemen were so overcome by the smoke that
they had to be removed, being nearly suffocated; but happily they
recovered, and no life was lost during the fire. The streams of melted
grease flowed from the burning warehouse into the quay, and thence to
the dock basin, where by-and-by they cooled and solidified, looking
something like snow on a frozen lake. Thirteen steam fire-engines and
one float continued to throw immense quantities of water on the burning
building; but the fire was not really subdued until the morning of
January 3rd.
A few engines remained on the Wednesday and the Thursday, and threw
water on the heated ruins, to cool them down and quench any latent fire;
while on January 4th, men were busy skimming the dock basin,--which was
thickly covered with the solid tallow and oil,--and loading the mass
into barges.
After the conflagration, engines were employed in pumping water out of
the vaults where it had collected, and as much jute was found injured by
water as destroyed by fire. No doubt, it was the jute and the tallow and
oil which rendered the conflagration so obstinate; but it was also found
that while water collected to a great extent in some parts, yet it did
not penetrate to other parts of even the same floor--a result which,
perhaps, was due to the method of packing the jute.
In the end, about three-parts of the block of warehouses was burned. The
amount of tallow in the four burning buildings was calculated to range
between two and three thousand casks, some of which appear to have been
saved; but several hundred barrels of cocoanut oil and palm oil were
lost as well, and the coir fibre, flax, and jute burnt reached to a very
large quantity, the total pecuniary loss being estimated at over
£200,000.
This great fire proved a terrible object-lesson. For about two days and
nights the engines and appliances of the brigade, with some two-thirds
of the men, were engaged at this one conflagration. What if another
great fire had broken out in those dark January days? The situation was
fraught with the gravest peril.
No doubt, voluntary aid at fires used often to be relied upon, and in
1861 payment was given to assistants. But the Metropolitan Board now had
the means of strengthening the brigade, and they proceeded to use it. In
marked contrast to the 130 men and 20 stations of the Fire Establishment
of 1863, were the 591 firemen and 55 land fire-engine stations of the
brigade in 1889, when it passed over to the London County
Council--figures which show a notable development.
[Illustration: SIR EYRE M. SHAW, K.C.B.]
Further, there were also 83 coachmen and pilots, 131 horses, 150
engines (55 being worked by steam), 155 fire-escapes, and other ladders,
with 33 miles of hose. By this time (1889) many provincial towns had
established a fire-brigade on the London plan.
The London County Council, having no restriction as to powers of rating,
adopted Captain Shaw's recommendations--made in April, 1889--of a large
increase in the brigade, and resolved to add 138 firemen, 4 new
stations, with steamers and manuals, and 50 fire-escapes, and to raise
the number of electrical fire-alarms to over 600.
Since then, the increase has still continued, until in 1898 the brigade
had an authorized fire-staff of nearly 1,100 men, with a certain number
of store-keepers, etc.; while the telegraphic arrangements and
distribution of stations were rendered so complete, that 100 men could
be concentrated within fifteen minutes at any dangerous area for large
fires.
Furthermore, out of the authorized staff, 134 men are on watch by day,
and 369 at night, giving a total of 503 constantly on duty during the
twenty-four hours--a force that compares wonderfully with the total
strength of about 130 men at Braidwood's death in 1861.
This brigade strength of 1,048 included about 80 officers, 824 firemen,
96 coachmen, 17 pilots, and 32 men under instruction. To these must be
added seventeen licensed watermen for navigating tug-boats,
river-engines, etc., and also stores and office clerks. But twenty-four
additional firemen, however, have been sanctioned, so that the complete
staff would reach to about 1,080 men--a remarkable development of the
staff of 80 men of the London Fire-Engine Establishment of 1832.
These figures are only given to show how greatly the brigade has grown;
for in the course of a few years, it is not improbable that the numbers
may be still further increased.
The number of stations has also been remarkably augmented. The 19
stations of 1832 have grown into nearly 200 for divers uses. Thus, there
are 189 fire-escape stations, 59 stations with engines, 57 with
hose-carts, 9 with hose- and ladder-trucks, 16 permanently established
in centres of wide streets with fire-extinguishing and life-saving
appliances, and 4 river stations.
The appliances of the brigade have also greatly increased. There are 230
fire-escapes and police-ladders, 59 land steam fire-engines, 57 six-inch
manuals, 7 small manuals called curricles, 175 horses which we may rank
as most useful appliances, and 24,284 hydrants.
These last-named are very important. They not only afford a ready and
efficient means of throwing water on conflagrations, a means which is
fast rendering the manual-engines of less and less importance; but they
also yield a quick and ready method of water supply. Thus, in the year
1897 there were only three cases of unsatisfactory water supply.
In addition to 24,284 hydrants of the London County Council, the
corporation of the City have 800 hydrants, which are used for watering
the streets as well as for extinguishing fires. In the year 1897, no
fewer than 466 fires were put out by hydrants and stand-pipes.
The increase of hydrants has been very conspicuous under the County
Council. Thus, in March, 1889, the number was but 8,881, showing that no
fewer than 15,403 were added during the first eight years of the
Council's existence. No doubt, still more will follow. On March 31st,
1898, hydrants had been fixed or ordered in 97½ square miles of the
county area, leaving a comparatively small space unprovided with these
appliances. This space will doubtless be shortly supplied, and it is not
unreasonable to suppose that, with the 800 in the City, the metropolis
will ere long be sown with a total of about 30,000 hydrants, which, as
the twentieth century dawns, may be regarded as among the most effectual
means of fighting the fire at the disposal of the brigade.
[Illustration: FIRE-HYDRANT PLACED UNDER THE PAVEMENT.]
The establishment of these excellent appliances dates from 1871, and is
bound up with the system of constant water supply. By the Metropolis
Water Act of that year, it was provided that a water company, after
giving a constant supply, must notify the fact to the local
authority--now the County Council--which must then specify the
fire-plugs or hydrants required, and the Council has the power under the
Act of requiring water companies to provide a constant supply within
parts of their districts. Hydrants are fully charged from the main, and
have a commanding cock or tap attached, so that a supply of water can be
obtained at once.
The use of these appliances is very important. Planted at convenient and
commanding spots,--often at the corners of streets or roadways, and at
varying distances apart, ranging from fifty to about four hundred feet,
according to the circumstances of the locality, and marked also, not
only by the plate in the pavement, but by the letter H, placed in a
conspicuous position near,--the fireman can now, at almost a moment's
notice, find the hydrant, and obtain an ample supply of water for his
engine, or even a jet of water for the fire, before an engine is on the
spot. Very different from the troublesome and hindering work of
floundering about, possibly in fog or rain or snow, to find the
fire-plug, and then to find the turncock which governed the plug. On
snowy or foggy nights, the difficulty and delay were sometimes very
great; and the substitution of an extensive system of hydrants, with
their quickly-obtained water-jets for the old fire-plugs, may rank as
one of the most efficient means of fire extinction in the closing years
of the nineteenth century.
Firemen being thus interested in the pressure of water in the mains, an
apparatus for recording the pressure automatically was fixed up at the
fire-brigade headquarters at Southwark Bridge Road in November, 1898. A
clock stands at the top of the instrument, and under the clock is a
roll of paper, having the hours of day and night marked upon it, and
divided into sections. A small pipe connected with the main runs under
the big engine-room, and acts upon mechanism beneath the paper roll, and
the clock and the column of water, and its pressure per inch, are marked
in red ink upon the sheet, varying perhaps from forty up to seventy-five
or even eighty pounds per square inch.
At noon each day the sheet can be removed, and forms a permanent record
of the variation in water pressure in the mains of the neighbourhood.
But if the number of hydrants is large, the area to be protected by the
brigade is also very large. Including the ancient city of London, which
is estimated to cover about a square mile, the area measures about 118
square miles. Of these, twelve are estimated by the fire-brigade
committee to be covered by parks and open spaces, where fire-hydrants
will probably never be needed. This leaves, however, a net area of 106
square miles, extending from Sydenham to Highgate, and from Plumstead to
Roehampton, to be efficiently protected by the brigade.
Another means of water supply has been suggested. In his evidence at the
Cripplegate Fire Enquiry, Mr. John F. Dane, an ex-officer of the
Metropolitan Fire-Brigade, suggested that at the centre of the junction
of the most important streets surrounded by large buildings underground
tanks should be placed, and supplied by the main water-pipes. The tanks
would be empty until required, and would be under the control of the
brigade, while the hydrants should still be maintained for service. Such
tanks were in use at Leeds and at Salford.
The objection is raised, however, that the streets of the City are
already too crowded with pipes, while advantage of the pressure from the
water-main is lost, and also the vacuum caused by the engine.
Noticing other improvements, we observe that the number of fire-alarm
posts has also been greatly increased. The alarm consists of a red post
in the street, with a glass face at the top front. The glass is readily
broken, and the handle within it pulled, when a loud electric bell rings
at the nearest fire-station. The Post-Office provides and maintains the
fire-alarms; and Commander Wells, chief officer of the brigade, has
devised a portable telephone, which can be plugged into a fire-alarm
post, and a message sent by it from a fire to the station. Arrangements
have been made with the Post-Office to supply the telephones and make
the plug-holes. Over 2,380 fire-alarms were raised in 1897, of which 363
were maliciously-given false alarms. Practical jokes of this kind have
been heavily punished, as they richly deserve.
Many false alarms are also given which cannot be regarded as malicious,
but are genuine mistakes, such as of supposed chimney fires. Over 500 of
these were recorded in one year. In 1898, the number of malicious false
alarms was happily less--_viz._, 270; while the full record of false
alarms reached 830.
The total number of fires in the metropolis in that year was 3,585--an
average of nearly ten per day. This total gives an increase of 571 above
the average; but only 205 out of the whole 3,585 were serious. There
seems no doubt but that the public are learning to use the fire-alarms
more readily and to give earlier intimation of fires. But, as the chief
officer points out, while everybody knows the nearest letter-box, very
few comparatively even now seem to know the nearest fire-alarm.
Lamp-posts near the alarms are now painted red, and are fitted with a
red pane of glass in order to attract attention; and we imagine the
probability is that the alarms will be increasingly used at even the
slightest appearance of fire.
Not only is each fire-station connected with a dozen or more fire-alarms
in its neighbourhood, but it is also in electric communication with
other fire-stations. There are 114 lines of telephone between the
stations, and sixteen between brigade- and police-stations; while
electric communication exists between stations and ninety-eight public
or other buildings. In fact, the whole fire-brigade establishment is
bound together by a web of electric wire, the centre being the
headquarters at Southwark.
The remarkable organization of the brigade, famous for its leaders,
famous for the bravery and skill of its men, and famous for the number
and variety of its efficient appliances, has been a growth of
comparatively few years. Starting in 1825 with the union of a few
fire-office companies, it grew in seventy-three years to a remarkably
strong and increasing force, with a multitude of hydrants, stations,
horsed escapes, fire-alarms, and other appliances.
The development attained in these seventy-odd years, as compared with
the hundreds of years before, is surely marvellous, though doubtless
some seeds of the development--as in the introduction of the modern
fire-engine--were sown before. But step by step it has proceeded,
utilizing now the discoveries of science and now the work of the
engineer, until it has reached its great position of usefulness and of
high esteem.
It would be tedious to mark every detail of development. The work begun
by his predecessors was carried still further by Captain Shaw, and under
him the London Brigade became one of the most efficient in the world.
[Illustration: COMMANDER WELLS.]
He retired with a well-deserved pension in 1891, after about thirty
years of service, and was succeeded by Mr. J. Sexton Simonds. Five years
later Mr. Simonds retired; and in November, 1896, Commander Lionel
Wells, R.N., was appointed chief officer. The brigade has also a second
officer--Mr. Sidney G. Gamble; and in January, 1899, a third officer was
appointed--Lieutenant Sampson Sladen, R.N.
A few months after his accession, and in answer to the request of the
fire-brigade committee of the County Council, the chief officer
submitted a scheme for additional protection, including certain
regulations of brigade management.
Of this scheme, the more prominent features were the introduction of
horsed fire-escapes, and the distribution of the men in small stations,
with horses, whence they can be speedily concentrated wherever required.
In short, the chief officer's object is that, at any call, the firemen
may be able, if the machine leave the station at once, to arrive at the
fire within five minutes' time; while the principle of station-work
should be that each station is responsible for a certain area in its
neighbourhood.
The committee agreed with the opinions of the chief officer, and on
February 8th, 1898, the full Council adopted the committee's proposals.
Steps were forthwith taken to carry out the scheme, which thus marks
another stage of development.
But let us visit the headquarters, and see for ourselves something of
this great organization actually at work.