From The Luther Register, Jan. 4, 1907:

Dangers of Fire
In all towns where most of the business buildings are frame, the dangers of property loss by fire are great. The merchant, when he locks up up his store for the night and goes home to the bosom of his family, unconsciously utters a prayer that all will be well till morning, and then banishes the half worked out thought of fire from his mind as one unpleasant and too disagreeable to entertain.
And in case an alarm of fire is given, every man in town, old and young, if he can possibly hobble, is there with a pail, willing to carry water and fight the demon as long as possible, for he knows that when fire does get started under half way favorable circumstances, a large amount of property is doomed. The alarm of fire last Saturday, which, by the way, did not develop into seriousness, brought a hundred people to the scene within three minutes.
We dwellers of small cities do not fear a day fire so much as a fire at night. In the case of the latter there is more of a probability of a good start, and when a fire gets a good start under existing conditions, our name is "mud".
Luther, however, is better equipped to fight fire than most of her contemporaries. All along Second Street, in front of each store, is a barrel of water. There are perhaps fifty of them strung along the street, and every one is kept full of water, or, at least, is supposed to be. This is a regulation of the city council, and it is indeed a wise provision on the part of our city dads -- one that they may be sincerely thanked for.
In addition to this, however, there should be an ordinance prohibiting sheet iron flues passing through roofs or walls in the business section.  We notice one or two of such instances.
All around us, our neighboring towns have been visited by fire -- Wellston, Meridian and Fallis, and thousands of dollars' worth of property destroyed.
Luther has escaped so far, but we are not immune. Therefore have a care and use all precautions possible.

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