The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-02-17
LOCAL MATTERS.

"a FIRE ON BROAD STREET AND 1Ts CoNsE-
ouESCEs. The firemen hada lively time sure
enough on Saturday. Every piece Of appa-
ratus was called out, and the men were very
unjustly condemned for mistake for which
they were in no way responsible. This is the
way in which 1t happened: About O'Clock
chimney sparks set fire to the roof of No.
zoos Broad street, y brick building ON the
north side OF the street, owned by Tkeo-
dore Frick, and occupied by Charles A.
Lonhert, as q restaurant, saloon, &c. The
fire was discovered by passers-by, who gave
notice OF the fact to the inmates. Mr.. John
4. Netherland, purchasing agent Of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company,
whose supply-depot .adjoined the burning
building, gathered force OF ra;lroad-ruen
and with buckets kept the fire from
spreading fully fifteen or twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, Policeman Jetcr, discovering
The fire, turned in an alarm at Station 42,
corner Broad street and Jail alley. Almost
simultaneously another policeman turned in
an alarm Mt Station %, corner Seventeenth
and Marshall streets, and later alarms were
turned in at both of these stations. The
"4" OF Station AZ recorded on some OF the
eneine-house gongs, and so did the "3" OF
Station %, which, of course, read 43. The
uptown apparatus therefore went away out
TO the corner Of Spring and Pine streets to
see what was the matter in the neighbor-
hood OF 43. Elsewhere the situation was
different. At headquarters, for instance, 81
was recorded, and away went the CHIEF En-
gineer and No. 6 Hose company to the cor
ner OF Fourteenth and Main streets. At the
Church-Hill cngine-house tNo. y So was
recorded, and that engine went to the sta
ton in Rockets. This was q singular
state Of affairs indeed. Finding no fire
| anywhere near 81, corner Fourteenth
and Main, the Chief Engineer drove rapidly
to the Broad-Street engine-house to see
what was really the matter. Discovering
the fire, he drove down to the Chesapeake
and Ohio depot, aud Immediately after
wards another alarm was turned in at Sta
tion %. corner OF Seventeenth and Marshall
streets, and the other fre-alarm stations
having recorded their numbers the last
named box was clearly recorded, and Steam
fire-engine company No. 2, from Main
street near TwentIetb, came upon the
ground in three or four minutes, power
full plug-stream from the dep0t-plug was at
once put upon the fire. and III ten minutes
it was all out. Loss, $3.50. Now, see
the result Of the confusion in the alarms:
Steamer No. went to Rockets; Steamer
companies Nos. 8, 4, and 5, and the Hook
auQ-lLuuuci lIuCh SuupdHy No. USHO "
| the corner OF Spring and Pine streets; Hose
company No. went to the corner OF Four
| teenth and Main streets, and subsequently
| to the corner of Broad and Mayo streets. In
| case OF such an accident the tiremen Of
course are in no way censurable. -;
To give an alarm is very simple matter.
| Open the box and listen for a few seconds
to ascertain whether an alarm has been
turned in at an adjacent station. II the
tiny little gong which is inside of every box
does not strike, put your finger on the brass
hook and pull it down to the end OF the slot,
and then let the hook go. Don't attempt to
pull it up and down two or three times; do
so but once; that's all. The city fre-alarm
boxes are always in order. They are watched
day and night. 1t is not the fault OF box
is it fails to record when another box has
| been used at the same moment. -. .",ts
| 1t is said that there will be thorough In
| yestigation into the causes OF the delay o1
the fire apparatus in reaching the fire on
| Saturday. n 1..' &...+ .E".i. .'fe 5''-'