The bacon frizzles; the corn parches and chars; the flour mixes with the water, then dries and smoulders in the great heat, and smells like burning bread; the preserved tongues diffuse an offensive odour of burning flesh; while the commingling of cinnamon and salt, mustard and macaroni, jams and figs and liquorice, unite to make a hideous combination of coloured flames, sickening smells, and thick and lurid smoke. The huge warehouses built in this district since the closing years of the eighteenth century are filled with all kinds of goods from various parts of the world; but of all the disastrous fires which have ravaged the district, the great Tooley Street fire of 1861 has been the worst. Moreover, it will always be memorable for the death of Braidwood. Even now you may hear men in the London Fire-Brigade speak of Braidwood or Braidwood's time, and his memory has become a noble tradition in the service. So great an authority had he become on the subject of fire extinction, and so highly was he held in public esteem, that his terrible death in the performance of his duty was regarded as a national calamity. But the conflagration also revealed with startling clearness the inadequacy of the Companies' Fire Establishment. More appliances and more men were wanted. The companies were asked, "Will you increase your organization?" And their answer, put briefly, was, "No." Thereupon, in 1862, a Parliamentary Commission was instituted to enquire into the matter, and in due time the commission reported. It recommended that a brigade should be established; the companies consulted with the Home Secretary and the Metropolitan Board of Works; and in 1865 an Act was passed placing the brigade under the Metropolitan Board, the change to take place as, and from January 1st, 1866. This was practically the establishment of a Municipal Fire-Brigade, though it was also provided that every company insuring property for loss by fire in London should contribute to the cost of the brigade at the rate of £35 for every million pounds of the gross amounts insured, except by way of reassurance; the Government were also to pay £10,000 a year for the protection of public buildings; while the Metropolitan Board itself was empowered to levy a rate not exceeding a halfpenny in the pound in support of the organization. In 1863, the Fire-Engine Establishment had increased to a hundred and thirty men with twenty stations; but the Metropolitan Board were given power to construct further engines and stations, to act in conjunction with a salvage corps, to obtain the services of the men, and to divide the metropolis into suitable districts. Such powers would enable the Board greatly to strengthen the brigade.