White, Fred Merrick: A Broken Memory. V1. 11 May 2012
 

Frederick Merrick White (1859-?) wrote a number of novels and short stories under the name Fred M. White, including the six 'Doom of London' science-fiction stories, in which various catastrophes beset London. These include The Four Days' Night (1903), in which London is beset by a massive killer smog; The Dust of Death (1903), in which diphtheria infects the city, spreading from refuse tips and sewers; and The Four White Days (1903), in which a sudden and deep winter paralyses the city under snow and ice. These six stories all first appeared in Pearson's Magazine, and were illustrated by Warwick Globe.
Wikipedia

Excerpt

The crowd seemed frozen into silence, There was no sound but the roar of the flames. Doubled in a sheet the unconscious body hung perilously, then dropped straight into the outstretched tarpaulin below. Then the man climbed through the window and came steadily and slowly down the ladder. His grip relaxed on the scalding hot wood, and he fell crashing to the ground.