那是1884年的一个星期一的早晨，贝利·布拉德福德的商店发生了一场大火，里面有一捆捆的黄麻和大量的废物，勇敢的消防队员急忙跑去扑灭。那天早晨，他们毫无畏惧地离开了自己的妻子，万万没有想到，在燃烧的火堆旁，他们会被摇摇欲坠、不牢靠的墙壁砸死;善良的基督徒啊，每当我想到这一点，我的心就感到震惊!因为这使寡妇和她们的家属流泪，因为许多年没有这样的大火了;四个勇敢的消防员在大火中丧生，没有哪个家庭能找到更好的父亲或丈夫。“大约在早晨五点钟的时候，火灾真的发生了，当时一个工人正在检查周围的房屋——幸运的是，那天还没有人开始工作——所以他立即毫不拖延地发出了警报。当时现场只聚集了几个人，但几分钟后就聚集了几百人，他们惊慌失措地向四面八方飞来;因此，他们立即帮助扑灭了大火。但是，在第二层公寓里，火焰很快就开始蔓延，这使观众的心中充满了同情和恐惧，唯恐有人会在无情的大火中丧生，当他们看到它爆发出来，越升越高。邓迪消防队的队长拉姆齐是第一个到达的，在他的指挥下，人们似乎都还活着，因为他们英勇地完成了他们的工作，在令人眼花缭乱的烟雾和燃烧的火焰中，他们竭尽全力。 As soon as the catastrophe came to be known, The words, Fire! Fire! from every mouth were blown; And a cry of despair rang out on the morning air, When they saw the burning pile with its red fiery glare. While a dense cloud of smoke seemed to darken the sky, And the red glaring flame ascended up on high, Which made the scene appear weird-like around; While from the spectators was heard a murmuring sound. But the brave firemen did their duty manfully to the last, And plied the water on the burning pile, copiously and fast; But in a moment, without warning, the front wall gave way, Which filled the people's hearts with horror and dismay: Because four brave firemen were killed instantaneously on the spot, Which by the spectators will never be forgot; While the Fire Fiend laughingly did hiss and roar, As he viewed their mangled bodies. with the debris covered o'er. But in the midst of dust and fire they did their duty well, Aye! in the midst of a shower of bricks falling on them pell-mell, Until they were compelled to let the water-hose go; While the blood from their bruised heads and arms did flow. But brave James Fyffe held on to the hose until the last, And when found in the debris, the people stood aghast. When they saw him lying dead, with the hose in his hand, Their tears for him they couldn't check nor yet command. Oh, heaven! I must confess it was no joke To see them struggling in the midst of suffocating smoke, Each man struggling hard, no doubt, to save his life, When he thought of his dear children and his wife. But still the merciless flame shot up higher and higher; Oh, God! it is terrible and cruel to perish by fire; Alas! it was saddening and fearful to behold, When I think of it, kind Christians, it makes my blood run cold. What makes the death of Fyffe the more distressing, He was going to be the groomsman at his sister's bridal dressing, Who was going to be married the next day; But, alas! the brave hero's life was taken away. But accidents will happen by land and by sea, Therefore, to save ourselves from accidents, we needn't try to flee, For whatsoever God has ordained will come to pass; For instance, ye may be killed by a stone or a piece of glass. I hope the Lord will provide for the widows in their distress, For they are to be pitied, I really must confess; And I hope the public of Dundee will lend them a helping hand; To help the widows and the fatherless is God's command.