The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-05-11


election farce on the 18th inst.
Chief Fire Engineer HOllingbWOrth's
Report.
We arc indebted to Colonel Hol-
liDgsworth, Chief Engineer Of the
Fire Department, for the year ending
April 14tH, 1870, for "a copy of his re-
port of the operations of his depart
ment during the year. This is the
first report Of the kind that has aver
been made in our city, add for that
reason is deserving of notice.
The report makes a contrast be-
tween the efficiency of the present
system for extinguishing fires, and
what was known as the old volunteer
system, with hand engines. 1t details
many of the. difficulties with which
the department had to contend, such
as muddy streets, worn out and de-
fcient hose, and difference in the
necessary couplings; and also the
Wholesale incendiarism, which was in
augurated the latter part of Septem-
Der, when as many as four and FIVE
fires occurred in a single night.
One of the most remarkable fires
which occurred during the year, was
thai il the large furniture establish
ment Of Meyer & Bros, on Main
Street. We copy the EOgineers ao-
count of this fire:
No accident Of a serious character
has occurred to any member Of the
Department the past year. The
same cannot be said, however, of two
of our citizens. On the 18th day of
January last, the fourth story of
Messrs. Meyer q Bros. furniture
store. No. AZ Main Street, used as q
painting-room, was accidentally set
fire to, which quickly communicated
with the benzine. ~turpentine, varnish.'
and other infammable material
made use of In finishing chairs
and furniture, and set the whole
of the fourth story on FIRE, to-
gether with the contents, consisting
of bedsteads, chairs, etc, all newly
painted. The explosion was so sud.
den, that two of the men, at work in
the room at the time, were so blinded
and scorched that, in ~endeavoring to
make their way down, one ofthem ms
took the hatchway for,the stairs, and
fell to the first floor, iniuring him so
severely that ne died In a short time.
The other, in the confusion and ex.
element of the moment, ran to the
rear window and sat outside on the
window-sill, until the arrival of the
Eclipse Hook and Ladder Com
pany," who rescued him, amid the
applause of the crowd of citizens be-
low. He also died 10 q few days af
ter the accident. But for the timely
arrival Of the Hook and Ladder Com
pany, he must have persisted in the
flames, or else have met death In al
most as h~orrifyipg a fern. by throw
ing himself headlong to the pave
ment.
The report also contains a very val
liable tabular statement, giving the
date and hour 0 fevery fire, the owner
of the property, the occupant, the
location, the business carried on in it,
description of building, the loss. the
amount insured and the supposed or
igin of the fire. BY this table it
seems that forty-two of the fires aud
fire alarms during the year arc as
cribed to incendiaries. The total
loss by fire during the year was $780,
100. In contrasting this loss with
that incurred during the previous
year, the Chief Engineer uses the fol-
lowing language:
BY the foregoing table. it will be
discovered that the amount of loss by
nte Is much less than the year prece-
dlrg. Although there was no report
or the Chief Engineer for that year,
IL VIII be remembered, that the loss at
one nre Chat Of Messrs. G.. IS. Som
Tag q 20, hardware stock and build
ihgl on flrst Street, was about seven
fy thousand dollars. while the entire
loss Tor the year just closed. is only
tnlrty SIX Shousand seven hundred and
ninety dollars. This fact Is brongbf
forward to show the improved condi-
ton of the present system over The
old. 1t may be said that the fire abovo
referred to occurred at night W6ile
this is true, the alarm was given ~ q
o'clock P. NJ. before the time when
persons usuallyretire from the streets
and quite a large number of oitizens
aud firemen assembled and worked
hard. but IN spite of heir efforts. the
FIRE destroyed the contents of the first
floor where it originated, and subse-
quently the second, third and fourth
floors. The fire in the painting room
of the Messrs. Meyer & Bro. on Main
Street, which occurred on the 18th
day of January last, at 5.05 p. M..
may be cited as a parallel case with
the Sonntag fire.
The one at Meyer & Bros oriei
mated 10 an explosion of inhammable
oils. &C., quickly spreading to all