If I’ve learned anything from your elaboration, it’s that I should vote for an arsonist, but only if they burn things for insurance money rather than murder.
On a more serious note, the first fire alarm boxes weren’t invented until Barnum was 42, and still took some time to spread from Boston. Places weren’t super-well equipped to deal with normal fires, much less ones that started in places filled with hay, dust, paint, paper, and dyed cloth.
If I’ve learned anything from your elaboration, it’s that I should vote for an arsonist, but only if they burn things for insurance money rather than murder.
On a more serious note, the first fire alarm boxes weren’t invented until Barnum was 42, and still took some time to spread from Boston. Places weren’t super-well equipped to deal with normal fires, much less ones that started in places filled with hay, dust, paint, paper, and dyed cloth.