The Wasp — 1891 — page 393: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents humorous safety guidelines for firefighters during building fires. Each numbered panel illustrates a specific danger or practice: 1. Warns against overcrowding ladders (750 people risk collapse/death) 2. Advises fighting with fellow firefighters about where the boss should go 3. Suggests standing on burning roofs to direct crowds below 4. Recommends using a cupola to reach fires, claiming it "will work wonders" 5. Warns that very headway can block progress so thoroughly that "nothing can pull it out except the rooms at the cafe on the corner" The satire mocks what appears to be ineffective or absurd firefighting practices of the era. The cartoon uses exaggeration and dark humor to critique either actual dangerous methods or organizational incompetence in fire departments, presenting deliberately bad advice as "pointers."