A tradesman was about
to light his gas, when, finding the cock stiff, he took a candle to
see what was the matter; whilst attempting to turn it the screw came
out, and with it a jet of gas, which was instantly fired by the
candle. The blaze igniting the shop, a passer-by seized a wooden pail
and threw its contents upon the flames, which flared up immediately
with tenfold power. It is scarcely necessary to state that the water
was whiskey, and that the country was Old Ireland.
Spontaneous combustion is at present very little understood, though
chemists have of late turned their attention to the subject. It
forms, however, no inconsiderable item in the list of causes of fires.
There can be no question that many of those that occur at
railway-stations, and buildings, are due to the fermentation which
arises among oiled rags. Over-heating of waste, which includes
shoddy, sawdust, cotton, &c., is a fearful source of conflagrations.
The cause of most fires which have arisen from spontaneous combustion
is lost in the consequence.
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