The Portland daily press., 1867-04-02
CITY AFFAIRS.

Annual Meetng-M l.. A.
CITY AFFAIRS.
The regular monthly meeting of the City
Council was held last evening.
IN BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN.
The following memorial from the Board of
Engineers of the Fire Department was pre-
sented:
CHIEF ENGINEERS OFEICE,
PORTLAND, March %, 1867.
TO the Mayor, Aldermen and Council of the
City OF Portland:
GENTLEMEN,.The undersigned Board of
Engineers of the Portland Fire Department
avail themselves of the earliest opportunity to
present to you through the Committee on Fire
Department. with whom we have conferred,
and advised in perfect harmony, such sugges-
tions as we deem most important to promote
the efficiency of the department.
Immediately after our election we PERSONAL
ly examined all the apparatus and houses be-
longing to the department, with view to OBJ
tain knowledge OF what was needed to make
it thoroughly and at all times reliable; and
the recommendations we now make in relation
to it have been determined upon only after a
full consideration of its necessities and the ex-
penditure it will involve.
The conference with the Committee on Fire
Department was held before presenting these
matters Tor your CONSIDERATION, IN OrQef lnat
| what we deem to be absolutely needed might
| be procured with as little delay as possible.
1st The engine houses, with the exception
of the one at Libby's Corner, are all in good
| ORDER the latter house needing some slight re-
| pairs.
The arrangement of dwelling house in the
new building occupied by steamer Casco No.
| 5, is one of great convenience and utility
As there is room enough in all the other houses
for the same purpose, we recommend that they
TOD 20 Ia iaHh vf ba ay,OinQ
the steamers, they paying such rent as the
proper committee may determine upon.
Sd. In an examination of the hose now in SER
vice, we found 1000 feet of good reliable hose; 2,
900 feet fair but not to be depended upon, and
1000 feet ofno use for steam engines, and in our
Judgment ought never again to be put upon
their hose carriages.
When it is understood that each steamers
complement ofhose is 1000 feet, and such is the
fact it will be seen that we have no hose with
which to supply its place after that on their
carriages has been used, until it has been clean
ed and dried, o time SO long, we feel that
the City Council would not justify the Board
a moment in taking the risk of fire that might
occur during that time. We therefore recon-
mend the immediate purchase of 1000 feet, first
quality of leather hosefor the use of the
steamers.
81. The present arrangement of depending
upon the horses of the street department to take
the engines to a fire, is such as we cannot APP
pioNCs dhu uOshO eide ~ AAAoy 10 Sh"ASOo az
once.
While there is no difficulty in the arrange
ment, SO far as the service they render in the
night is concerned in the day time with the ex-
ception of the hour at noon, when they are in
the stables they are not to be depended upon at
at the time they are most needed which is at the
gerry moment an alarm is given. From the nature
of thei: employment they are liable to be long
distance from the engine to which they are as
signed. When they receive the alarm they
tn fhair pnOinpS and nffan whom fbau a
rive, are in better condition Tor the stall than
the engine, and the delay which is unavoidable
Is such that we deem it unsafe to longer de-
pend upon this arrangement. The united tes-
Gimony of the enginemen of the steamers in re-
iatiOn to these matters is that there is a delay
in the daytime from ten to twenty minutes
from the time of their receiving the alarm I'M
til their horses arrive.
Horses should be ala0ays readyto he attached
to the engine the moment the alarm is re-
ceived.
We recommend that such arrangements be
made at once as shall secure three horses for
each engine, day and night. This arrangement
will bring with it the necessity of the constant
service of drivers, one for each engine, neither
Of which can be dispensed with.
4th. The system of Telegraph Fire Alarms
introduced by the last City Council, and COM
pleted by your Board, has received attention
and consideration, and we deem it to be of in
calculable service to the Department. The
Importance and value of an early knowledge
of a fire and its certain location is apparent,
and needs no argument to establish it. The
danger when fire occurs is in delay. A mo
Laent when fire begins is of more worth than
an hour after it has got under way. By this sys-
TEN the engine-ma at the house, and the po-
lice at their office arc at once informed of fire
and its location, but as yet what we feel quite
as important in this connection remains un--
OF w. - ~.---..s tne public of the l0cd-
ton has been made, and this, which is seri-
Gus diffiulty, in our judgment, can only be
remedied by attaching the alarm to two or
more of the church bells. The additional ex-
pense would be only the cost of the machines
necessary to be placed in the bell tower; the
electrical power now in use being sufficient to
operate these or more additional alarms. We
recommend that at the earliest day practicable
the alarm be attached to tacO of the church
bells.
9th. There is a considerable quantity of ap-
paratus and material belonging to the Depart
ment, which is not in use, some of which can
and ought to be put In condition to be made
available at fires.
There are two hand engines, two hook and
ladder carriages, one steamer, 1.-THE Falmouth)
and one four wheeled hose carriage, 1.-THE
America) that are out of service. As the De-
partment is now organized, we have fou1
steamers in service, one hand engine with
company attached which only renders service
at fires when specially sent for, and one hook
and ladder company.
We do not regard this amount of apparatus
as sufficient to constitute reliable fire depart
ment such as is needed for city of the popu-
uation and territory OF Portland. The men
and the material now in the department are,
we believe, as god as the best in any other
city; but we also believe that there is not
enough of either. An accident which may at
any time occur, and which we ought always to
be ready to provide against, may disable one of
the steamers, thus depriving the department.
OF one quarter of ats force in this particular.
To add to the department what we believe is
needed in this direction, we further recon-
mend that hand engines Ellsworth" and
Atlantic" be put in working order, and that
volunteer companies" be formed therefor
(having the assurance that such companies can
easily be procured for this purpose) that the
hand engine at Libby's Corner be retained as
at present arranged, that one of the hook and
ladder carriages be fitted up with ladders,
hooks &C., for use, to be taken to and from
fires by horses; that our other apparatus and
material out Of service, including the steamer
Falmouth be sold, and new light steam en-
therefor.
9th. With the best apparatus and the larg-
est number of men, we are still subjected to the
inconvenience and danger entailed by the lack
of a good supply of water. Until the danger from
this source is more fully realized and provided
for, we shall have to depend as heretofore, up
on such supply as our reservoirs afford-nearly
all that we have are in good condition; such as
are not can be made SO with very little ex-
pense. Two new ones At least, should be con-
structed this present season, and those needing
repairs should receive them Immediately The
two reservoirs constructed some years since on
Commercial street, have long since ceased to
be of service; either they shonld be put in Or
der, or some arrangement be made by which
water from the docks can be reached from
Commercial street at all times of tide.
From the consideration we have given this
particular subject We are confident that ar
rangements can be made at no very great ex-
pense, by which an abundant supply OF water
can be had at low as well as high tide, from
this point.
AS we have already said, we have given
these matters careful consideration, and what
We have recommended we consider absolutely
necessary and indispensable.
Respectfully submitted,
FRANKLIN G. MOODY,
JOHN T. SHAW,
HENRY Fox,
VIM. H. STEWART,
Do, LEWIS B. SMITH