DURING the last quarter of a century it is a perfect mercy that London has not been burned to the ground. On more than one occasion recently, a single fire has drawn all the available resources to its centre, to the terrible danger of the remainder of the metropolis. According to the report of the Chief Officer who has taken the place of my gallant but retired friend, Captain Sir Eyre Shaw, it has been a perfect mercy, not to say a miracle, that the Great Fire of London has found no parallel in modern times. Over and over again we have been within an ace of seeing the great city reduced to ashes. Under these circumstances it may not be entirely out of place to devote a chapter to fires and how to extinguish them. It is certainly a matter that, for the safety of the public at large and Londoners in particular, should be carefully considered. The method should be acquired-the thing should be done.