There were pepper fires, loading the surrounding air heavily with stinging particles so that when a fireman took a deep breath it felt like breathing fire itself.
There were rum fires, with torrents of blazing liquid pouring from the warehouse door and barrels exploding like bombs themselves.
There was a paint fire, another cascade of white hot flame, coating the pump with varnish that could not be cleaned off for weeks. A rubber fire gave forth black clouds of smoke that could only be fought from a distance, always threatening to choke the attackers.
