How we know what we (think we) know
The Committee found, however, that there were various "gaps" and inconsistencies in the reports. It turned out that the annual summaries were not, as one might have assumed, simply compilations of the information reported every other week over the course of the year. In the case of cause and value of lost property, the annual reports were more reliable (as that information was not always easy to establish within days of the fire), while the interval reports could be relied on for the sheer number of fires (in large part because that number could be corroborated through police reports). It was universally unclear whether the tally of burned buildings listed in any given report described complete losses only or included damaged property as well.