Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1868-04-16
the tire Question,
Rtu.ANn, April lllh, ls6s

uasfs, kdlttrs In reading tho re-
ports of trea IN cur Village, nntsee that
great credit i given 70 our fire depart
meut, and il i, generally said that they
were "prmptly on the spot aud worked
Nov, this is probably uur
but, nrrer,hele,s,wc haze suffered terribly
within the last twa yeae from hrrs,
The old udage that IAN uup,r d prc-
yeution i, worth pound Of emc," is
truthful think il may apply g. our
village, In the first place, We seelu :"
lack the necessary supply VI water, and,
in the second place, those Nha build of
brick do NOT take sufficient pro- autiou
against the spread oi tire. Had this heen
done, aud the buildings been arc Iroaf,
Cramtau's hlark and the large block that
was burned in front Of your office would
probably have been standing to-day. The
latter fire was ocua,iouod hy the Ignition
4 kerosene oil in the cellar, iltl a
barrel or two of mortar been used when
the block was'pur mp, in filling thn space
between the wall, aud loorings - as %
completely cut off tho communication
between the several stories, il would No,
only have guarded agains, rats and mice,
hut probably would have held the fire in
check till the fir department, could have
got the better Of il whom confined 10 tho
cellar. But what could all the tircmcnlu
Rutland do with fire that filled the space
between the furrings from cellar 10
garrett This space should I've filled
between the stories even in wood build
ings. Hiram Powers remarked to a
friend Of ours that, during the twenty
five year, he had resided in Florence, h,
had not known Of building being
burned. When asked why this was 50
he remarked, " In America, they put NJ
buildings TO burn, and usually furnish
several spaces for draught Of air TO far
the flame with; but here, they build o
brick or stone and are very careful TO stol
all the spaces that will furnish draugh
. or suffer fire to 20 from one apartment !
p another. Our fires are generally condne'
to the rooms in which they originate.
The same precaution is observed i
: most Of the cities in Europe. In Paris
; fires are Of rare occurrence. One ma,
! spend six months in that city, which ha
/ a population about eight timos.as treat
. the State Of Vermont, and he will no
1 be likely 10 see or hear Of a fire, lnstea
of Hook and Ladder and Engine con
- panics, they have paid fremcn who al
e., uniformed $50 rs TO be readily reeos
q nized who act in the double capacity
!. watchmen and firemeh.
4 When fire is discovered they go in
j mediately with a fire ertingRister, fill Il
! room with the gas that it contains, clio
I, the door and leave the fire to subdu
&. knowing full well that it cannot Ion
burn in earbonic acid gas, slut oft troi
the air. Were open spaces left to alio
al the fire to 20 from the lower to the upp'
Ell story by which draught of freaS Il
: could be obtained. this probably wouI
le not be safe way TO proceed; but tho
be spaces are all filled and the FIRE is gene
nc ally extin9uished without alarming t
n nearest neighbor or drcnching the low
II stories of the building or their coutcr
with water
Now, by way OF prevention, lwou
ne suggest that we have a reservoir sui
y. GENTLY elevated to carry water over o
t. highest buildings, say on Pine Hill
O. some other point equally elevated. I
n the aid OF hose attached to hydrant
H. single man would be able, in maj
10 instances, to check a fire before a compaI
re could reach the spot. Then again,
would have buildings, wood as well
brick, so constructed that no open spa
AZ should be left from cellar to garnet ;
l. and last, though not least, | would ha
." fire extinguishers distributed through t
different parts Of the village, and 9
MT trusted to men of steady nerves to i
D. them Very few fires have occurred he
an that could not have been checked h
he half dozen fire extinguishers be
e brought to bear upon them within five
h. ten minutes from the time of their d
or covery. And even one extmguisf
I'd, would have saved thousands Of dollars
rs our citizens They can be kept ready
use and quito work in less than a minu
he They cost but $50 or 500 each. Is it W
til for us to do without them any longer
m SuEX