Question

With the help of onlookers, Anderson began to reposition his hose. He hadn't gotten it very far when water pressure suddenly dropped and only a trickle of liquid came from the hose. A powerful steam engine had arrived at the fire and had simply removed Anderson's hose from its water plug. This was routine procedure, done under the assumption that a steamer would always be more effective than a simple hose cart. Sadly, the steamer did not drag its hose to Anderson's position and he had to watch as four or five houses across the street caught fire. At the same moment that Anderson's hose stopped, another steamer malfunctioned and its water also gave out. A well-aimed rap of a hammer got the engine working again, but then, at about 10:30, an old section of hose burst and the flow of water stopped again. Two valuable links in the chain of defense were gone, and there was nothing to stop the fire in these locations. Which detail from the excerpt best supports the idea that the firefighters’ equipment was not strong enough to handle the fire? Anderson was forced to reposition his hose. One of the steamers was fixed with a hammer. The firefighters followed a specific routine. A steamer malfunctioned and a hose burst.
Which detail from the excerpt best supports the idea that the firefighters’ equipment was not strong enough to handle the fire?

Anderson was forced to reposition his hose.
One of the steamers was fixed with a hammer.
The firefighters followed a specific routine.
A steamer malfunctioned and a hose burst.

Answer 1

A steamer malfunctioned and a hose burst.

Explanation:

From the excerpt from "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy, it is evident that the equipment that the fire fighters had wasn't up to the mark for the complete extinguishing of the fire involved.

The passage gave a description of the conditions of the hoses and the steamers that were used for the extinguishing process. Fireman Anderson had tried to extinguish the fire but due to the incompetence of the fire fighting equipment, the fire couldn't be extinguished completely sooner. The malfunctioning of the steamer and the bursting of the hose shows that the firefighters' equipment wasn't strong enough to handle the fire.

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