Fighting the Flames, by R.M. Ballantyne.
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This is one of the books by Ballantyne in which he describes one of the
main institutions of British life--the Fire Brigade. Of course he wraps
a good story into this description, but you come away with a good idea
of how the Fire Brigade functioned in those days. Bear in mind that
there were no motors--the fire-engines were drawn by galloping horses.
There were no telephones, and the alarm was raised by someone running to
the fire station. More than that, there was a system for alerting any
adjacent fire stations, so that better cover could be given to the
district as a whole. The power for the pumps was from men, and to
rescue anyone the fireman had to ascend a ladder, hunt for the person,
and carry him or her back down the ladder, all done with unsophisticated
gear. Injuries to firemen, or even their death, were frequent.
We are also introduced to the floating fire engine, that could attend a
fire by the river-side, usually in one of the very vulnerable ware-
houses.
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FIGHTING THE FLAMES, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE.