, 1874-06-14

LOCAL LETTERS.
OCH FLEE DEPARTMENT.
To tht Editor Of 1hs Ch1caoo Is7tun<:
SIR: notice that Flre-Marshal Benner has
asked the Board Of Fire and Police Commission
e1s to appoint new officer, whose duty it shall
be to examine all the large buildings in Chicago,
now, and hereafter to be constructed, and TO
make +. careful diagram Of each, and furnish the
same to him, to the end tha: he and his assist
ants may know how to get into building to
put ont q fire that may be hndlins therein.
This application is made as an excuse for the
utter destruction OF u. D. Wells d Co.'s great
building, with its entire contents, short time
ago. involving loss OF more than quarter Of
q million dollars, the Marshals very strange
reason being that he could not ind the stair
ways leading to the upper story, in which the
fire originated. Now, With your permission. I
would like to make some comments touching
this application, and upon the conduct and mall
agement OF our Fire Department. under its
present organization. As stockhol3e1 in in
surauce companies, and taxpayer, I deem it
my right and duty to do 30.
As part OF our Fire Department. there is IN
organization called the hoee-elevator, which
consists Of ladders capable OF being extended IN
leugth SO Is to reach the highest buildings.
Of the Fire Department, and ind that it has 3
foreman who is paid 81 200 per year, and fya as-
sistauts who are paid 81, QUO year each. CIR
riaSes aud horses ara provided for the quick
transportation OF these appliances whenever
fire alarm Is sounded. Now, at the time Of the
burning Of the Wells building In question, when
the second alarm Was sounded, and 1t being. as
knew, alrnos, in the heart OF our new hueiness
rebuilt city, hAstened to the locality indicated
and watched the measures taken to put OUT the
hen hf1r4i1,fy in the four I'll and fifth
stories, and no: single stream OF water was be-
ing th1own into the building. No hose had been
taken into the building. nor had any been earned
up to any window Into which stream was
thrown.
The hose-eleyator Was there and some feeble
efforts were maize to carry hose up on the Market
street slde, but failing. it was carried aEouud
to the Madison Etreet side. But 1t WAS not made
to work, not available to elevate any hose, It be-
ing out Of repair, or tho men who had 1t IN
charge incompetent to handle it. 1t was utterly
useless. and might as well haya been out OF ex-
isrence. Tue Fire-Narshal says he could not
find any stAirxays leading to the upper stones,
though they certainly were there, 6nd SO the
building was allowed to burn from story to story.
from top to bottom, with the feebIesr efforts 10
e1iing,lish the fire tha: ever Witnessed Seeing
40 little effective effort, ard that the Uater could
not be thrown high enough to reach the fire,
vent to seyeral different engines to inquire the
cause. One was near the river, and Obtained It's
water from it, b. Has SO far away that
ths water bad to be forced through
$50 feet Of hose before it could be thrown upon
the tulding. ascertalued that the same en-
CINE could have been placed where half that dis
tauce could have been saved The engine WAS
not Of sufficient power to force water 20 far, and
afterwards throw It to any required height An
other engine had only one man managing II, and
be was acting as engineer and stoEet, saving his
stoke1 had not come Where Was be, and why
WAS he not On duty
Now, while the Insurance Patrol, under Bull.
wink1e, we're covering the goods in tae lower
stories with taEpaullus, 10 prevent their injury
bv wa:er, why was not Marshal Banner and his
assistants tearing down partiuons, if necessary,l IN
order to get to the stai1 way. which he knew must
be on the same floor, les ling directly to the upper
stories where the nre Was raging He hsd am
plo time to have torn out any partition which OBJ
structed Ills reaching such stairway, whether IN
the rear, middle, or front Of the building and
vet he eays he could not find stairway, aau
now wants new officer to take diagrams OF
buildings, 80 that be nar know whether they
have sta1rways, and where they E-e located
How could be refer to such dleg1am
If he had it, in the emergency OF , great IRE,
and how can he expect to relaln IN MS NINA tue
disgrAm OF each building. 80 - 10 k0oW now 20
proceed to get into and through it, from recol-
lection of the diagram Of each large building IN
tie city The loea is preposieEous aud the
recommendation for the appointment OF such an
officer for such purpose absurd ana naicu.ous.
night be we'll employed in 3 personal inspection
OF I'll such buildings. and it would % well II ne
spent his leisure hours in that way, as he would
be much better enabled to remember the con-
st1uction OF each.
few months ago there wns . disastrous tire
On State street, near Van Buren,. where tdree
new and costly marhlo-froat bnlldi1gs we're
totally destroyed, with most Of their contents
I vas present also at that hre.
and I nm Satisfied that the same
mismanagement and inefdclency prevailed 1t
that time also. Prompt; vigorous, We!l-1Hecteo
efforts of the Marshal would have saved two OF
those buildings. if not all OF them, and others
were Of the same opinion at the time. -.
enormous. and the me3 employed ought to be
of the very best, and as msster-1nacnsn1ss ls
employed with nse1st1nts, at q large ealkr!, 10
keep everything in complete repair, no report
that ANYTHING is out OF repair ought TO De ao-
m;ss1b!e The loss entsiled BY the bad manage
ment OF the Fre-Marshal and the bad working
OF the engines and hose elevator. and the con
building aud stock, would supply the city VAIN q
new outfit Of the means for e1t.ngo1so1ng
fires. and pay the salaries OF a competent and
effective force to manage them
/ respectfully, but urgently, cau 1oF 3
thorough investigation into the caEses ~hlen
permitted II. D. Wells l. Co.'s building and con-
tents to be totally destroyed, and It It vas
through the incompetency and lnethe!ency o. sde
Fue-Ma1Hhal or sny OF his assistants that then
men. Yours, ACTUAL OBsERyER-
CHICAGO, June Is, 1874
LOCOMOTIVE SPARES
II the Editor Of The C:4'eaoo TRIBUNE:
SrE: Some months ago part OF the West Side
WIS set on fire BIZ spark from . locomotive get
t;n1 into car of hay q: Halsted street. In
resain1 from the West Side to-day On the Chi