Fire Prevention and Fire Extinction

Fire Prevention and Fire Extinction is by James Braidwood, and its title page lists fire-proof structures, fire-proof safes, public fire brigades, fire-engines and portable fire-escapes among its subjects. The title page calls James Braidwood the first superintendent of the London fire-brigade and an associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

The text describes the Great Fire of Edinburgh, in which many of the old and lofty houses in the High Street were destroyed and between four and five hundred families were made houseless. Mr. Braidwood's recommendations are said to have led the authorities and insurance companies to consent to bear in common the expenses necessary to organize and maintain an efficient brigade. The rules for the brigade say a book is kept in each engine-house, in which are entered all fires or alarms of fires. A clause of an Act says every insurance company that insures from fire any property in the metropolis shall pay annually to the Metropolitan Board of Works a contribution toward the expenses.