The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1875-03-11

ENGINE TRIED AND FOUND NOT
WANTING--SHR WINS THE PLACDIrs
OF EvERYBoDY AND Is PU RcHAsED
BY THE COUNCIL WITHOUT DIS
sESrING voIcE.-The preparations on
the part of the town for the proposed
test Of the FIRE engine being completed,
long before the time appointed people
began to gather at the scene of opera
tons near the depot, and by two
o'clock everybody was there. The
town was full of people from the
country, who joined our interested
townspeople in making crowd of
hundreds of spectators.
The main s'test" building was of
the size given last week. l2x16 and
IL feet high, and the inside of it was
a sight to behold. Barrels with
heads out were piled on three sides
clear to the caves, and each barrel,
as well as the interstices between
them was filed with loosely laid
kindlings split from both hard and
soft dry wood-barrel slaves for the
most part. Straw enough was scat
tered through and around to afford
good means Of communication for the
FIRE, and the entire pile was saturated
with ten gallons of kerosene oil.
Beside this main building, there was
directly in its rear and only three
feet distant second story"--or .
shanty about ten feet square elevat-
ed on poles eight or ten feet from the
ground and so placed that the dry
lumber Of which it was made came
directly in front of the open gable
Of the kindling house just described.
This also contained barrels and kind
lings the same as the main building.
Lastly, board wall, or tight fence,
was builded six feet high on the
south and west of first described
structure.
The test proposed By the Council
included separate trials on both
structures. and in the absence Of the
General Manager, Capt. Mitchell,
Agent Willoughby hesitated about
taking the responsibility Of accepting
trial which he conceived to be far
beyond the terms of the contract,
calling for practical test, such as
/" would be likely to occur a. real
fire. This caused some delay,
and in the meantime the handsome
machine had arrived on the ground
escorted by Capt. Josh. Taylor's new
made Fire Company, the crowd be-
gan to grow impatient and it was
finally agreed to light The fire and
give an exhibition of the engine
without making the result effective
on the contra 4 between the city and
the company. Accordingly all WAS
made ready and at eighteen minutes
after two the torch was applied. All
know how fercely kerosene burns
and in three minutes when Council
man Hammond gave the word to
play, the whole structure was
wrapped in seething flame. The two
nozzles were held respectively by
J. B. Poirier and J. ID. Miller, en-
ployes Of the company. Miller went
to the rear of the building, while the
former with the larger stream at
tackled the fire in front. One half
minute and the flames no longer
poured out of the door: one minute
more and Poirier was inside, and the
flames we're giving way to smoke
and steam; FIVE minutes and the fire
was SO near out that it took nursing
to get it started again while the
walls Of the house were hardly
scorched. The streams were here
shut off and the fire rekin-
died. At thirty-sx minutes
past two it was again burn
ing rapidly, and nine minutes more
we're giving during which the fire OBJ
tanned all the Roadway the materials
could furnish. The order to play
was again given; PORTER again at
tackled the door and was again inside
in less than two minutes, and in sew
en- minutes the fire was so evidently
under control of the firemen that they
were ordered to cease playing. Here
the Upton fremen distinguished
themselves by reGlling and recharg
ing one of the tanks, which was done
in about four and one half minutes.
The fire was then allowed to take it's
course, the only effort of the fremen
being directed to saving the stilted
structure in the rear and the adjacent
board fence. But when the building
was again wrapped in flames, in fac,
almost ready to fall down, Hammond
could not resist the temptation TO
try it again. and so called to the noz-
zlemen. Poirier again ran to the
front door and when the chemically
charged stream struck the blazing
roof it seemed to sweep off the fire
as broom would sweep cobwebs
from the ceiling. Three minutes suf-
feed to show that the structure could
yet be left standing, when the
streams were again put on guard OF
the other structures and the kindling
box left to burn down, which it did
totally while both the fence and the
two-story concern were absolutely
saved from ignition. Tn the mean
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