There was a disquieting gas fire explosion in Buffalo, last Thursday. It destroyed the St.Pauls Episcopal Cathedral .this created a rage in the city. The city journals “chronicles” and “insurance times “had published warnings of a blast, previously, which went unnoticed.

Gas fires are a heater or a fireplace whose blaze is fuelled with flammable gases. Fuel gas is used in many dwellings, factories, public places, which increases the risk of explosions, and thereby loss of public property and life. The insurance companies have taken this to notice and are revising their policies.

The Chronicle has very recently published an article where they have given tables, showing losses due to ten leading causes of fire in the state of Pennsylvania for last three years. due to the cause there has been  an annual loss of $ 550,000.in 1885,natural gas was lowest in the list and suffered a loss of $ 72,700.the very next year it rose to the third position, with a loss of $ 30 8,028.in 1887 it was in the fifth position, facing loss of $ 246,033. In the last mentioned year 4% of the total fire in the state was caused by natural gas. This happened in the region where the percentage of natural gas user is the highest in the state. For these three consecutive years, the loss of property figured around $ 900,152 and insurance loss of $700,439.it is also said that the use of this gas tends to lessen the fire loss by “eliminating many of the hazards incident to the use of other fuel”.

The chronicle finds no evidence of truth of this statement.

The Insurance times reminds us of the experience the underwriters had to face, due to the use of machines, which help in making of this gas using crude petroleum. Such gases are heavier than air and when it is allowed to escape, it sinks to the extreme level and fills in the room. This normally happens due to leakage or an unstoppable burner. If a flame ignites, the whole building will explode. So, the insurance times adds that, natural gas is a menace to the society, possessing every inflammable quality.
 There are many other form of fire and in today’s fast world there are some innovative fireplaces as well.

These papers do not insist on discontinuing the use of natural gas, but they try to make common people alert and take precautionary measures while using it.