New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-02-11

est companies are compensated in proportion 70 the
duties required Of them. The eagaes and hoe reeis
Of compsnis. m full service are arswn by horsee be-
longing TO the Department. There are q few hand
companies, however situated IN remote d...net winch
use no horses, and the members Of which, instead Of
RECEIVING full saaries OF $50 Der year get one dollar
for each Ere they attend. these comp.ne. one hsd
only been called out thirteen times. Que seven times
ole three mes, and two twice each during the year
ending April L. The total paid for salaries 10
the officers snd members of the d,feren. eompanies
durir the year was SOL SOS - of which 49, Os 50
wen, to the engine companies, and ss56 70 to
the hand companies. The force attached TO a inst
c'sss steam engine consists of csptair Lieutenant
engineer, fireman, six pipe-men, two drivers aod
watct nau-thirteen in all. No steam company has
more than this number, and Of these only portion
give and receive pay for, their whole time Four
horses will drag the largest steam eDgins. Two hose
reels, each carrying one thousand feet of hose and
drawn BY q single horse, are included in the equip
mett of frstclass engine. The horses are stabbed i'll
the engine houses, and stand with their harness on
night and day.
The first public experiment with steam tre-eogine
in Cincinnati took place March 1852. A steam gen
orator. which had been manufactured for the purpose
u
der OF wenty -four inches stroke, and pump of
CINE belonging TO the city, the whole mounted upon
suitable wheels and frame. From report made by a
Committee appointed by the City Council to watch the
experiment it appears that raised from cold
water the engine started, and water discharged from
the nozzle TO the distance Of 100 feet through inch
pipe after passing through $50 feet of hose in four
minutes ard ten seconds from the time that smoke was
49, L. $50,
successful resul; of this experiment the City Council
contracted for CINE TO be built on the same
plan This engine, the " Uncle Joe Ross, when
ptted was placed service under the charge of
pany organized and put under pay by the city.
The other six steam-eDgines alluded TO as hav-
ing been in service on the lst of April last, built
on substantially the same plan, and are known
as Latta engines from the of the constructor.
few months after the Joe Ross" was finished,
the new organization of the Department went into
effect. The project had been previously discussed,
and was doubtless facilitated by the successful opera
ton of the steam mscbine. The "Latta engines
have been frequently described, and their perform
ances have been witnessed in nearly all the principal
cities of the country During the third year of the
rev organization Of the department, the Joe Ross,'
during trial before a Committee sent from the City
Council of Chicago, exploded, throwing the engineer
sixty or seventy feet in the air, and OF course killing
I'M. The accident was beyond doubt caused, in
great measure, by extreme recklessness and not I'M
natural desire to make good display of the powers OF
the engine. The Joe Ross was subsequently re-
paired and has since done efficient service.
Since the last report of the Chief Engineer the city
has purchased two of these engines and put them into
service. No new companies have been formed, a
couple of Lsttas engines having been laid aside to make
room for them. The former machines, however, are
kept as reserve, and can be brought into immediate
use in case of accident TO any the engines in service
or on the occasion of an unusually large fire.
II an exciting spectacle to witness the starting out
of stean fire engine, especially at night. The fuel TO
start the fire is always arranged in the fire chamber
ready for instant ignition aud generally consists sugar
hogsheads finely split and laid crossways, mixed with
bituminous coal. torch, saturated with turpenne,
is always kept in readiness for USE and gas light is
continually burning by the engine At the first stroke
of the alarm bell the horses OF their accord start
from their stalls and take their place the remen light
their lamps, the Engineer gnaes his torch and stands
ready to apply it to the kndng, and in an nconceiva-
bly, short space Of time the horses, which, with the
exception OF slipping off their headstas, are never I'M
hanessed are geared to the engines and hose-reels,
ara the drivers III tnelr 10 ny
this time on the lookout" the locality Of the fire
has been discovered second signal given the torch
is applied the hose carriages dash into the street, and
the pOnderous engine thunders after them-from one
to two minutes having elapsed since the stroke Of the
alarm bell. A few minutes and sufficient head
of steam is on for working the machinery and it very
seldom that engine is not throwing from one
to six streams upon the flames in less time than il
would have taken of the old volunteer companies
to have reached the scene Of the fire.
The entire Corporation of Cincinnati, covering an
area of about four miles east and west by about two
miles north and south, dependent upon this organize
ton for protection against fire. Within these limits there
were, on the Let of April last in addition to liberal
supply of repugs 1879 csterns, containing from 600 to
800 barrels of water each These cisterns have been
found very useful especially in cold weather They
serve to economic the power of the engines at all
times and are of mmense benefit in preventing the
wear and tear of hose In the latter respect alone it
is considered that they very repay the cost Of
construction, which has been fro $l25 to $500 EACH
according to capacity and workmanship.
In speaking Of the present Fire Department Of Gin
cinpati most significant fact should not be over
looked. Not only better service is obtained than
under the old organization but while the city has been
rapidly and steadily growing, fires are much Le"
frequent than formerly. II u.s. perhaps, unnecessaryto
add that no consideration would induce the citizens OF
Cincinnati to return to the old system and that the
r,esant accumulation in the most universally popular