The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1876-09-01

We notice that it is proposed to buy
fire engine at Somerset. The same thing
was proposed here after our big fire; bnt
nothing came of it-not even a supply
Of hooks, ladders, pike-poles &c. These
latter ought TO be provided, and every
closely built block should be provided,
Mt the rear, with three or four good
strong ladders, so that the roofs of the
buildings can be mounted at a moments
warning. Thisi in our judgement, is
the best provision that can be made to
extinguish or stop the spread of fires in
villages like New Lexington and Som
erset. Our amateur fremen, like Glib
Porter, Joe Lane, Jack Colborn, and
scores Of others equally brave and eff
cient, II provided with proper impie-
ments, are worth any two fire engines.
The people will always be on hand with
the bucket brigade" to assist. A fire
engine is costly piece Of furniture in
villages where the occasion for its use
comes but once in five or ten years. 1t
is.of no value without skill in the using;
and in order TO acquire and utilize that
skill, three or four men must be almost
constantly on duty. And thea when
there is an engine the people rely upon
u, and frequently rely upon bro
ken reed. IL New Lexington had
owned fire engine at the time of our
late fire, the whole east end of the town
would have been consumed, in all proba-
bility. No engine in christendom with
the water supply on handy could have
saved the planning mill and factory or
the adjoining buildings at Somerset; and
IL the people had relied upon il (which
they always do) the loss would more
than likely have been doubled.
The interest on the cost of FIRE en-.
gine. and the expense Of maintaining il
m efficient condition, would keep a rea-
sonable insurance on all the property in
town; or it would pay all uninsured loss
es IN any period Of Eve years, for the
last quarter Of q century, New Lex.
ington Tribune.
How = sane person, knowing the truth
about our "water facilities" could write
such stuff as the above, in apparent
earnesiness, il rather more than we are
able to understand. The supply Of wa
ter was abundant, but the means fol-
throwing IL where itwould "do the mos
good" were totally inadequate to tn,
requirements OF the occasion. One O
the public cisterns is opposite the seen
Of the ERE, and two others are distan
from IL not to exceed FIVE hundred fee
1.-The poorest, to say nothing of tn
"best engine in christendom" can thro,
water through that length Of hose) an,
these three cisterns contained on tn
night of the FIRE, at least nine hundre
barrels Of trater-enough to have deluge
the entire east end of Main Street, Be
sides, there were numerous private els
terms, and wells, in the vicinity, file
with water-so that the available waite
supply within n radius Of five hundre
feet Of the fire, could not have been lie,
than two thousand or twenty-five hur
drsd barrelsl And yet the "best engin
In christendom," with this amount {
water at hand, would have caused tn
destruction Of the entire east end {
iownl Poohl the Tribune writer ougi
o"pull down his vest" Ifit was nc
the abundant water supply that enable
our citizens to prevent the fire spreadin
farther than il did, what was il? Or
salvation on that occasion, depended a
most entirely upon the admirable pr,
visions that had been made only fe
months before in the way Of wellfilled ar
easily accessible cisterns. And II a goc
engine had been on the ground by Il
time there were enough people there
lay the hose, there is no doubt but tn
all the buildings destroyed, except Il
planning mill. could have been saved, al
we believe that much Of the latter cou
have been saved.