CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



wrap it round you ; and if a woman, her shawl 

 will answer the same purpose. 



[For remedial applications, in the event of 

 injuries from fire as burns, scalds, &c. see 

 SURGERY, Vol. I., page 781.] 



House on Fire. In making way through a 

 burning house, we ought not, if it be full of smoke, 

 to walk upright, for then we shall run the risk of 

 suffocation. It is best to creep along on hands 

 and knees, the freest air being to be had close to 

 the floor. On being awakened by an alarm of 

 fire during the night, it is particularly important 

 to preserve presence of mind, and not to act till 

 a moment has been taken for reflection. Preser- 

 vation may depend on the choice we make of 

 going up or down stairs, or on some selection of 

 movement equally unimportant in ordinary cir- 

 cumstances of non-alarm. Phillips's fire-annihil- 

 ator, a portable apparatus shaped somewhat like 

 a large coal-scuttle, and the more recently intro- 

 duced Extincteur, have been found of signal 

 service in extinguishing flames upon their first 

 outburst ; they are charged with water and a sub- 

 stance which gives out carbonic acid gas ; and 

 this gas, together with steam generated by the 

 intense heat of the charge, rush out at a funnel, 

 and may be directed against the burning mass. 



Fire-escapes. The escape from a house which 

 is on fire is sometimes prevented by the stairs 

 being of wood, and either burning or already 

 destroyed. In such an emergency, there are only 

 two means of escape issuing by the sky-light, 

 and so reaching the next house, or going over the 

 window. ' On this account, every house with 

 wooden stairs should have a trap-door opening 

 on the roof, accessible from the upper floors, 

 and also some kind of apparatus for getting 

 safely from the windows to the ground. The 

 apparatus which meets with most general appro- 

 bation is a rope-ladder, and this may be 

 made in different forms. Captain Manby re- 

 commends ' a rope with nooses, distended by 

 flat rests for the feet at convenient distances 

 for stepping from one to another. In cases of 

 danger, this might be instantly fastened by one 

 end to a table or bed-post, while the other 

 is thrown out of the window, thus furnishing a 

 ready escape when perhaps there is no other pos- 

 sible means near those who are in momentary 

 dread of being burned to death.' Such a ladder 

 may be serviceably kept by private persons ; and 

 we should advise that, at all events, every house 

 with wooden stairs ought to be provided with one 

 or more pieces of knotted rope, and these be 

 deposited in the bedrooms, for use when suddenly 

 required. Where, from carelessness, no fire-escape 

 of this kind has been provided, two or more sheets 

 or blankets taken from the bed may be tied to 

 each other by the corners, and thus a rope of 

 sheet be formed. In most large towns, fire-escapes, 

 by which the most timid persons and mere children 

 can be lowered from windows, are kept in readi- 

 ness at the police-stations. 



Disinfectants and Deodorisers. Many sub- 

 stances possess this valuable property, but the 

 following are those most generally used : chlo- 

 rine, including the hypochlorites of lime and 

 soda, the chlorides of zinc and aluminium, proto- 

 sulphate of iron, permanganate of potass, carbolic 

 and sulphurous acids, charcoal, and heat. The 

 last is the most efficient and easily applied. 



792 



The clothing, bedding, &c. of patients labouring 

 under contagious diseases may be effectually 

 disinfected by exposure to a temperature a 

 little higher than that of boiling water for about 

 an hour. Neither the texture nor colour of 

 textile fabrics is injured by a heat of even 250 

 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a practice at some of 

 the workhouses to bake the clothes of the paupers 

 who have the itch, or who are infested with ver- 

 min. Quicklime rapidly absorbs carbonic acid, 

 sulphuretted hydrogen, and several other noxious 

 gases, and is therefore commonly used as a 

 wash for the walls of buildings. Acetic acid, 

 camphor, fragrant pastilles, cascarilla, brown 

 paper, and other similar substances, are frequently 

 burned or volatilised by heat, for the purpose of 

 disguising unpleasant odours. The sulphate of 

 iron has the property of rapidly destroying noxious 

 effluvia. A quantity thrown into a cesspool, for 

 instance, will in a few hours render the matter 

 therein quite scentless. Of gaseous disinfectants, 

 ' sulphurous acid gas (obtained by burning sul- 

 phur) is preferable, on theoretical grounds, to chlo- 

 rine. No agent checks so effectually the first 

 development of animal and vegetable life. All 

 animal odours and emanations are immediately 

 and most effectually destroyed by it.' (Graham.) 



Carbolic acid is now much trusted as a dis- 

 infectant. The crude acid should be diluted with 

 twenty times its volume of water, and a little of 

 the solution poured into all vessels containing 

 excrements from the sick-room. It may also be 

 poured with much advantage down water-closets, 

 drains, &c. 



Alarms in Churches and Theatres. Alarms, 

 whether with reference to fire or the falling of 

 galleries, often take place in these and similar 

 places of resort. In general, they are raised with- 

 out due cause, often from a circumstance of the 

 most trifling nature, and perhaps occasionally 

 from a deliberate spirit of mischief. However 

 originating, they almost invariably generate a 

 panic, and occasion much damage, which a little 

 reflection would have enabled those present to 

 avoid. The newspapers teem with accounts of 

 incidents of this nature. In most instances, the 

 whole mischief is caused \>y yielding too easily to 

 alarm. We anxiously recommend every one to 

 cultivate the power of suppressing such idle 

 emotions. When a cry of fire, or of the falling of 

 galleries, is raised in church, sit still, and remain 

 tranquil till the assemblage is allowed to disperse 

 in the usual way. On no account yield to alarm. 

 Granting that there is a real cause of danger, you 

 are infinitely more safe sitting still than trying to 

 rush wildly to the door. 



Attacks of Madmen. A person in a house may 

 become suddenly insane, and make a violent and 

 deadly attack on those within reach. The best 

 way to avert any serious calamity in cases of such 

 attack is to remain calm and collected, and, if 

 necessary, humour the madman till assistance be 

 procured, or invent some pretext by which he will 

 be induced to allow you to leave the room. 



Coach-accidents. Should the horses run off, in 

 defiance of all restraint, while you are in a coach, 

 sit perfectly still ; and in anticipation of the 

 possible overturn, keep your legs and arms from 

 straggling. Sit easily and compactly, so that, 

 when upset, you will gently roll over in the direc- 

 tion you are thrown. We have seen ladies in 



