Read this excerpt from The Great Fire. Despite this, Chief Marshal Williams had managed to get a thin circle of engines around t
he fire. He had five steamers at the scene now, plus three hose carts and a hook-and-ladder wagon, all of them pumping water into the fire at various locations. Spectators were asked to help and many responded by chopping up fences and sidewalks, hoping to deprive the fire of fuel. What caused firefighters to ask spectators to help? A. Firefighters wanted to go home to check on their own families.
B. There were not enough firefighters to do all of the necessary tasks.
C. Firefighters wanted more people to control the engines and steamers.
D. There were too many people standing around and watching the fire.
B. There were not enough firefighters to do all the necessary tasks.
Explanation:
We can tell from the first sentence that there was not enough help. Even without knowing any background on the story, we know there was just a thin circle of engines around the fire. In order to deprive the fuel of fire, the firefighters asked spectators to help by chopping up fences and sidewalks. This way the fire fighters could focus on the engines.
