Page:Fires and Fire-fighters (1913).djvu/29

 CHAPTER II

the earliest times the Romans well recognized the ever present menace of fire and as a matter of precaution a law was passed compelling the erection of separate houses, each standing in its own plot of ground. But as the size of the city increased this regulation became more honored in the breach than in the observance, with the result that serious conflagrations occurred frequently and thus the subject of effective "fire-fighting" was forced upon the attention of the authorities. Indeed, there is nothing surprising in Rome having been constantly visited by such calamities. The houses in the poorer and more populous quarter of the city were usually constructed of wood, sanctuary fires were continually kept burning in every household in honour of the domestic deities and it does not require the imagination of a Jules Verne to conjure up visions of the dire results caused by an act of carelessness or a moment's thoughtlessness. The streets being narrow and tortuous, the smallest blaze would quickly develop into a veritable conflagration, the magnitude of which would depend solely upon the natural barriers which might stand in the way of the flames. In addition, intermingled with the dwelling houses, were vast warehouses and granaries which offered an easy prey to fire.

Furthermore, human nature in Ancient Rome was much the same as human nature in modern New York and enterprising miscreants were not lacking, who realized that by starting a fire and availing themselves of the ensuing confusion, they could enrich themselves comfortably 7