Testimony before the Commissioners appointed to investigate the cause and management of the Great Fire in Boston.

In Board of Aldermen, Nov. 15, 1872

Ordered, That His Honor the Mayor be requested to appoint a scientific commission, consisting of five persons, to investigate the cause of the recent fire and the efforts made for its suppression, and report to the City Council in print; the expense attending such investigation to be charged to the appropriation for Incidentals.

Passed in Common Council. Came up for concurrence. Read and concurred. Approved by the Mayor, November 15, 1872.

A true copy.

Attest: S. F. McCLEARY, City Clerk

WILLIAM E. DELANO, sworn

Q. (By Mr. Russell) Where do you reside?

A. In Charlestown. I am Chief Engineer there.

Q. How long have you been connected with the Fire Department?

A. Some twenty years. It is my first year as Chief.

Q. What was the first you knew of the Boston fire?

A. I reported to Chief Damrell, I think, at about five minutes of eight, on Otis street. I got the alarm over in Charlestown, and came over and reported to him, and asked if he wanted assistance. He said that he wished that I would send him all the assistance that I could, immediately.

Q. What was the condition of the fire then?

A. I did not go over into Summer street. But as near as I could judge, it was on all four corners of Otis, Summer, and Kingston, and in the front of Beebe's block, on Summer street.

Q. How did the Chief appear at that time?

A. He was very cool and collected.

Q. What did you do?

A. I went right back to our city and struck Box 21 in the Square, and sent over a steamer and three hose companies, and stationed my engine at the corner of Franklin and Devonshire streets, and reported with streams at Beebe’s block; and the Chief told me to stop the fire from crossing Devonshire street if I could. That is on the left-hand side of Beebe's block. We worked there as long as we could, and then shifted on to the other side of the Square. We were there in Winthrop square from half to three-quarters of an hour, before we were driven out by the heat.

Q. Was there any falling of granite there?

A. Yes, sir, Beebe’s block; and before we left that position I had a stream up in the upper story on the left-hand side of Franklin street, and worked there some fifteen minutes in the upper story, and seemed to be doing a good deal of execution; but the fire worked in underneath them so that we had to take the men out very lively.

Q. Did you have plenty of water?

A. Yes, sir, we had a reservoir there.

Q. Could you reach the top of Beebe’s block?

A. We could on the side fronting the Square, but there was such a draft of wind that it was almost impossible to get a stream up on the narrow streets. There was a wide space in front there. There were three or four streams with us.

Q. Did you see the fire cross Franklin street?

A. No, sir, I mean on the left-hand side of Franklin, coming towards Washington. One of our men was hurt in that building coming down. I attended to him. In the mean time, our engine was moved to the Old South. We stayed there until they blew up Currier & Trott’s building. Then we moved to Court Square. We stayed there until everything was all safe. We worked on top of the "Transcript" building for an hour, or very near it.

Q. Were you on top of the "Transcript" building?

A. Yes, sir. We had hose carried up right through the building. There was only one of our streams there. There was some other out-of-town stream there. I don’t know what stream it was.

Q. Where did you next go?

A. From there we got notice that the were going to blow up Currier & Trott’s building. We went into Williams' Court first, and attempted to attach to a hydrant. It was of a small pattern, and we could not make the connections. It was in the centre of the court. We then went up into Court Square and took a station at the reservoir back of the Court House. Then we ran our stream down to the "Daily Post" building.

Q. Where next?

A. We next went from there to the corner of Broad and Custom-House streets I think, and ran a stream through to the corner of Milk and Oliver streets, and were stationed in where the fire was stopped that afternoon at three and a half or quarter to four o'clock.

Q. Did you have sufficient water there at the fire?

A. When at the Old South church, we were bothered some in getting water. There were three engines stationed at the reservoir, and I should judge that the supply pipe was not full, but finally we had plenty of water.

Q. Was there any want of fuel that night?

A. We did want fuel when we were in Winthrop Square. We burned boxes, counters, and shutters.

Q. Did you at any time stop for want of fuel?

A. No, sir, the fuel that I obtained sufficed to keep up steam. We worked right straight along.

Q. How did the men of the Fire Department behave that night, all told?

A. I never saw them behave any better, or work any better.

Q. Was there any flinching from the fire?

A. Not to my knowledge.

Q. Any intoxication?

A. I did not see any among the firemen.

Q. Was there any stealing from the stores?

A. Not by the firemen, to my knowledge. I saw a good deal done by outsiders. Our stream was stationed immediately opposite Weeks & Potter’s. When the wall fell and caught those men there and the two firemen, our men went in to save them. It was my idea that the two Boston firemen were in there, but in conversation with the company they seemed to think that they were somewhere else, and I supposed that they knew more about it than I did. I had the impression that all the firemen that went in to save those outsiders did not come out, and so it proved.

Q. In your opinion, was that fire managed well or badly?

A. The general management, in my opinion, was admirable. I saw the Chief several times. We were there, and reported somewhere from eight, to ten or fifteen minutes past eight. He was with us in the different positions I have stated, and seemed cool and collected, and gave his orders in that way.

Q. Can you now think of anything that could have been done to have prevented the fire from becoming so large?

A. No, sir; I cannot.

Q. Should you know how to manage that fire better than it was managed then?

A. No, sir.

Q. What were the principal causes of the fire becoming so uncontrollable?

A. The narrow streets and high buildings, and, as I said before, in the positions where we were in Winthrop square, the draft was so strong that we could hardly get a stream anywhere. We could hardly hold our hats on, and we could hardly live there; but the men held out. On Washington street we were more fortunate.

Q. (By Mr. Cobb.) When you first reached the fire-ground, you say that there was fire on all four corners of those streets. Did you see any effort made to attack the fire at the corner of Otis and Summer streets?

A. No, sir. I went to Chief Damrell directly, and I did not notice. At the time I got back, the fire had got out all over Beebe’s block. It was coming out at all parts of the block.

Q. (By Mr. Firth) For how long was there a force here from Charlestown?

A. We left at about half-past three or quarter to four, Sunday after- noon. We were there from about eight o’clock with four hose companies. We reported Monday with steamers, Tuesday with two companies, and Wednesday with one.

Adjourned to Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 11th.