When a motor-car fire is being put out with water it is bad enough, but when the amateur fire-fighter chooses gasoline to extinguish the flames it is just too bad, as the chauffeur of a truck who found his vehicle alight shortly after 5 p.m. on afternoon is quite willing to substantiate.
Tt appears that the driver parked his tuck, bearing licence No, 23138, at the corner of Avenue Edward VII and Hupeh Road in order to attend to some business in one of the hongs. When he came out, he found that two coolies had installed themselves on the driver's seat and had lighted a candle preparatory to consuming some opium. The chauf-four objected and a short discussion followed, with the result that the two narcotic smoking men became rather annoyed, "so annoyed that acci they mocked over the candle the result that the cushion o which they were sitting caught fire.
The flames could have probably Ween e&timguished by throwing an overcoat on the burning material. The chauffeur evidently intended to make a good job of it however and; presumably not having heard that water jot be used in putting out fire when there is a possibility of petrol being ignited, took a cam which he thought contained water anā poured the whole contents on the cushion.
The results materialized immediately and had it not been for the arrival of two machines from Central fire-station, the blaze could have become threatening for, as soon as the Ni gasoline toft the tin, it caught fire and flames, several feet high, shot up from the driver's seat. the joint auspices of the Japanese Army Press Section and the Japanese uses Association of Shanghai
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.