National Republican., 1879-10-22
The FIRE DEPARTMENT.
Annual Report Of the Board Of Com
missioners.
Chief Engineer Cronin's Summary OF the
Operations OF the Year-A Lack of
Water and Fire-Plugs in the Bust
ness Portion of the City--The
Fire Telegraph Service
Wire Interference.
whnt It Costs to pnt ont Fires.

The report Of the operations Of the Fire
Commissioners for tho fiscal year end
ing June 80, 1879, was submitted to tho
District Commissioners yesterday. The ex-
penscs during this period are shown to have
been $l32, ,17045, inclusive Of purchase of sites
and erection of buildings for the new steam
Are engines, repairs TO engine houses, &c. The
estimated amount needed for next year is
stated to be S146070. All apparatus now in
use is In good condition. Attention is called to
the fact however, that the Amoskeag engines,
which have been in service long time, re-
quiro constant attention aud repairs and as an
economical measure it is recommended that
they be exchanged for new ones. An item Of
81 900 for repairing the old truck is embodied
in the report. with q favorable recommended
ton. The report approves the recommends
tion of the chief engineer and superintendent
of the Fire-Alarm Telegraph regarding the
erection of additional fre.boIcs and other
points. The necessity for changing the nine.inch
outlets on the old plugs to the standard of
ten inches is suggested. The report reviews
the recommendation Of past years regarding
provisions being made for disabled fremen,"
aud concludes with the usual thanks to the
officers and members of the department
THE CHIEF ESGINEER's REPORT.
The report of Chief Engineer Cronin which
accompanies that of the board, states that
there were 133 alarms of fire during the year,
of which la wero for actual fires, involving
an alleged loss Of $50, 800, with an insurance
of S62,275. This is about the same as during
the preceding year, whom there were 131
alarms, with a loss of $70,350. and
with an insurance of 800. He rec
ommends that all the engines be fitted with
the improved roief valve, the same as that on
engine No g. The report mentions tho COM
pletion of the two new truck-houses and the
improvements ut the old truck -houso aud of
enginc-house No. q lie recommends that as
soon rs possible steps be taken to have a new
and proper house erected on an eligible site
for No. engine company in Georgetown, and
that q new house be erected and q new COM
pany equipped for the northern section of the
city. Ifthis is done no additional fOrco win
be necessary for years to come. or the "a
horses In the department, % are in good con-
dtion, and the others should bo replaced with
new ones. The report continues:
! beg leave to call your attention to the compare.
lively unknown fact that in the business portions
OF the city the present supply of water or water
fixtures are inadequate TO properly work the full
force of the department in the event of large fire.
This is q most important subject, and the proper
and permanent remedy would be either In larger
water mains or III reupening the old aud construct
ing new cisterns in seveJal sections Of the city,
This can be done at a comparatively small cost,
aud the advantages to be derived will be great 1t
il useless to ask the erection OF additional fire.
plugs along the line of or finch mains for those
now up cannot supply sufficient water for our
engines working ut high pressure, and for this
reason | urge either cisteriis or larger mains,
or both. In addition to this the old plugs
with nine.inch outlet should be at once al
tered to ten.inch, as this will secure uniformity
and IN many cases insure larger flow of water. A
special point in the city TO which beg leave to call
your attention is the Government Printing Office,
building which, in addition TO the host of persons
who are employed there day and night, contains
so much valuable property. This building is old,
| lily constructed and, although crowded with in.
| tlammable material, was constructed without any
regard to safety from fire In its vicinity there are
| b1 fpIy fra NIL hero ar maj
beg that the number be increased and that at least
| two cisterns be dug, for, in addition to the Office
| there several hundred dwellings in that i'm
| mediate section, built In rows many Of them with
| out even brick partition walls, and all liable tC
rapid destruction in the event Of fire, without
| full water supply.
He calls the attention to the necessity of fire
escapes in all large buildings and to the bad
practice among merchants of erecting huge
wooden sign-boards oil the tops of their
buildings.
! SUPERINTENDENT MILES REPORT.
The report of Superintendent Miles, of the
| Firc-Alarm Telegraph office, also accompanies
that of the board. The total expenditures OF
the service for the fiscal year ending June 80
| 1879, are stated at So 1891. He suggests that
regular fre.alarm signalbox ought to be
| placed at or near each police station. The fire
telegraph in all its details continues to work
| in the most satisfactory manner, and with the
exception of some needed repairs, specified in
the last annual report, the lines are in very good
condition, except that many Of them are in
too close proximity to the numerous telephone
| wires, which run in all directions. He esti-
| mates the expenses of the service for the next
fiscal year at $500. He suggests that some
provision must be made for the protection OF
the flre-telegraph wires from the network OF
telephone wires, crossing and rccrossng the
city, and recommends that telephones be placed
| on the talking circuits between the engine
4 ....F al
| additional operator and one repair man be
| employed. He renews his recommendation
for the purchase and erection Of forty-sever
additional signal-boxes in various localities o
the city, which are in need Of better protection
from fires.