Fighting a Fire
Charles T. Hill
language
(, Jan. 17, 2009)
This volume was originally published in 1894 and tells the story of what it was like to fight fires in New York in the19th century.From the book's Foreword:This little volume, revised and brought thor- oughly up-to-date, in text and pictures, is offered as a modest appreciation of the work of the New York firemen. The task of these men, though modified somewhat by improved appliances, re- mains just as heroic and picturesque as it did when the first edition of this book was issued in 1897. In fact, this original edition, in text, if not in pictures, could have stood as a fairly correct description of the physical workings of the New York Fire Department to-day, for though equip- ment and apparatus have changed considerably in the past few years, there has been no material change in the actual work of extinguishing fires. No better substitute than water as a medium for stopping fire has yet been discovered. New systems for supplying it in greater volume and devices for directing it more accurately at the heart of a fire have done much to aid the fire- fighter in his work; but his calling remains just as perilous and as full of dangerous uncertainties as it was twenty-five years ago. And it was to tell of these dangers and hardships, as well as to describe the exact way in which a modern fire department was managed, that the first edition of "Fighting a Fire' was issued nearly twenty years ago. The favor with which this little book was received by the general public, and by the American boy in particular, proved beyond ques- tion that just such an appreciation of the firemen and their work was wanted. And if the present volume should meet with an equally cordial re- ception the time devoted to gathering the new ma- terial has been well spent indeed. In conclusion the author wishes to offer to Mr. Walter Harris, Mr. Charles G. Kiehl, Mr. Samuel Newman, the Outlook company, and several other friendly helpers, his grateful acknowledgment for the use of drawings and photographs, which have aided largely in furnishing the pictorial effect that, better than any words, conveys to the reader a realistic comprehension of a fire- man's life and his unfailing heroism.