This study deals with causes of fires in the Ottoman cities and organization of fire services during the Tanzimat era. The main topics are examined from the perspectives of public administration discipline, public policy analysis, organization and management of municipal services. Fires and fire services are generally examined by engineers, city planners and historians. There is not enough studies analyzing the issue from the viewpoint of public administration.This study consists of two main parts. Administrative and political organization of municipal fire services are examined in the first part. The factors causing fire and the main difficulties in fire-fighting are explained systematically in the second part. These factors include shortcomings in fire-fighting organization and lack of proper equipment, water distribution problems and inadequacy of water, construction of buildings as attached to each other and by easily flammable materials like wood, narrow and dead-end streets, fire-raising and arson, and some social, economical and demographic reasons.