The municipal government of Hangzhou enacted policies and programs that aided in the maintenance of the city and ensured the well-being of its inhabitants. In order to maintain order in such a large city, four or five guards were quartered in the city at intervals of about . Their main duties were to prevent brawls and thievery, patrol the streets at night, and quickly warn the public when fires broke out. The government assigned 2,000 soldiers to 14 fire stations built to combat the spread of fire within the city, and stationed 1,200 soldiers in fire stations outside the city's ramparts. These stations were placed apart, with watchtowers that were permanently manned by 100 men each. Like earlier cities, the Song capitals featured wide, open avenues to create fire breaks. However, widespread fires remained a constant threat. When a fire broke out in 1137, the government suspended the requirement of rent payments, alms of 108,840 kg (120 tons) of rice were distributed to the poor, and items such as bamboo, planks, and rush-matting were exempt from government taxation. Fires were not the only problem facing the residents of Hangzhou and other crowded cities. Far more than in the rural countryside, poverty was widespread and became a major topic of debate at the central court and in local governments. To mitigate its effects, the Song government enacted many initiatives, including the distribution of alms to the poor; the establishment of public clinics, pharmacies, and retirement homes; and the creation of paupers' graveyards. In fact, each administrative prefecture had public hospitals managed by the state, where the poor, aged, sick, and incurable could be cared for, free of charge.