2i6 SUGGESTIONS I^OR REDUCING THE I.OSS BY EIRE ON VESSEI^. 



Any suggestion toward making steamers safer from destruction should be 

 gladly received and considered by the Members of this Society, but we should care- 

 fully avoid being alarmists. 



Criticisms are often made of the United States Steamboat Inspection Service, 

 for like other human endeavors their efforts are sometimes imperfect; but it must 

 be remembered, to their credit, and to the credit of the officers and crews, that com- 

 parative records of many years clearly show a remarkable degree of safety for the 

 passengers and crews on our steam vessels. 



Crossing the streets of our city is more dangerous thantraveUng on our steamers. 



Mr. Samuel D. McComb, Member (Communicated) : — President Taylor has 

 made a mistake which I should like to correct. He states that the four passenger 

 steamers I named as burning in the past season were all laid up when they burned. 

 This is incorrect, the fact being that all four were in commission, and they were 

 all running and carrying passengers when the fires started. No lives were lost, as 

 the steamers were promptly run into docks and everyone taken off in time. It is 

 fortunate that in most cases where a vessel catches fire, it is possible to make some 

 nearby dock and allow everyone to escape — or when at a distance from land, that 

 there is usually time to get in the boats, which accounts for the small loss of life 

 by fire in comparison with the loss caused by marine disasters. 



The writer has dealt with over six hundred losses on vessels and finds that the 

 majority of fires start while vessels are in commission — the most notable exception 

 being small tugs which usually burn while locked up for the night with fires banked. 



The following figures are taken from the records of the Bureau of Navigation, 

 Department of Commerce and Labor. 



It will be noted that the loss of life given in this table is only that which occurred 

 on vessels which were totally destroyed, and it is probable that the loss of life on 

 vessels which were only partially destroyed is equally as large. Figures are not 



