The Japanese Naval Landing Party turned out its fire engines and laid on hose to assist the Shanghai Fire Brigade. This display included a large naval flag, a huge inscribed paper lantern on a long pole, and a megaphone measuring well over three feet, Besides the naval fire brigade, manned by steel-helmeted bluejackets, scores of sailors, likewise in steel helmets and carrying rifles with fixed bayonets, threw a cordon about the block concerned and kept all passers-by at a proper distance. In addition to this there were many members of the Japanese military police on Whangpoo and Woosung Roads, some of them carrying rifles, and a profusion of officers and men of the Japanese Consular Police. There was a ubiquity of uniforms as perhaps had never been witnessed at any other fire in the history of Shanghai.
It was possible to withdraw some of the fire engines at about 7 p.m. While others remained till after 8 o'clock.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.