Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-09-28
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
OUR FIRE DEPART
MENT.

Wonder the Department Lacks Efficiency
with its Present Numbers and Equip
meut.
yesterday the following resolution offered by
Gen. Sibley was adopted:
Resolyed, That the chamber will earnestly
cooperate with the Minneapolis board of trade
in measures for the completion of railway
connection from the two cities with tho lines
in contemplation or process of construction
to the Sault Ste Marie, to junction
with the Canadian system at that
point, it being of vast i'm
portance to st. Paul. Minneapolis and to the
State at large that there should be completed
an all rail line from these points to Montreal
at the earliest practicable period.
hesolved, That the committee heretofore ap-
pointed by this chamber for the purpose of
con ferring with the committee of the board of
trade of Minneapolis, upon the subject referred
to in the first resolution be, and they are here
by authorized to act in concert with said COM
mittee in maturing plan which they may
deem feasible to expedite the object aimed
| at and report it to the chamber.
OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT..
D: r. Noyes submitted the following reports:
ST.. PAUL, Sept. 81, 1880.
Your committee, in the matter of q building
ordinance. would respectfully report that. in
their opinion, such ordinance is Imperative
ly demanded by the rapid growth and develop
| ment Of the city, and they recommend that as
soon SIS the required legislation can be secured,
and board of five to seven supervisors or cem-
missioners be appointed (say by the judges of
the district court), who shall have charge, not
only of matters pertaining to erection, change
or removal of buildings within our city limits
but also of our city fire department. This
board to have power to employ a supervisor,
Inspector of buildings, and also the chief en-
gineer Of the fire department. The city coun-
Gil to retain its power of voting funds
| After careful examination of the building
ordinances of many of our largest cities, your
committee unhesitatingly commend those of
the city of Chicago of 1878 as recent, full and
complete, and, for the most part, well adapted
| to our needs.
| If it is your wish your committee will pre-
pare an ordinance, but it seems to them best
! to urge the adoption by the city authorities of
soma carefully prepared ordinance at the ear
| Hest practicable moment, and to commend to
| them the consideration Of those ordinances be-
fore referred to. Respectfully,
DANIEL e. MOVES, Chairman.
| Mr.. Neyes, from the committee of COM
| MERGE, also presented the following report in
| regard to the fire department:
Your committee would respectfully report
| that in the matter of the city fire department,
very careful examination has been made. and
| a conference with the fire department COM
| mittee of the common council held.
AS the result of this conference and inves-
| tigation, your committee would further report
that, in their opinion, there is need of imme-
diate i'm provement in the department, both to
| an increased force under full pay, and in
| creased facilities in case of large fires. No
| improvements have been made in the matter of
apparatus since 1S72-eight years ago-except
one sixty-fve foot ladder, and recently 1900
SaaS ~ hnco mud afn horn yuoJ
not yet in use. As steamer No. l is fourteen
| years old, No. 2 eleven years, and both are
| liable to give out at any time, your COM
mitteee recommend that beside steamer
which the city council have decided to order
| for St. Anthony hill another frst-class steamer
| be purchased, also immediate purchase of
new ladder truck, fully equipped with ex-
tension ladders; or q hose hoist on tower,
| which will elevate and hose at once, to the
| top of the highest building. (The department
has now only one 65- foot ladder.) The hose
company should be provided with shut-of roz-
zies and q 'siamese," "a brass attachment by
| which the power of four steamers is coneentra-
ted into one hose.) There should be eight or
ten more fire alarm boxes, (this would necessl-
| tate circuit reporter a5 city hall;) and the
| hydrants should be changed from 3-inch to 4
| inch outlets. New cisterns should be con-
structed on st. Anthony hill, in the Sixth
ward (none there now and Dayton's bluff.
necessary housing, an outlay Of $4,000 or
| $50, 900 and an annual expense Of say 1922, 900
| to $25 GOO, cannot now be had, there should
| at least be furnished, at once, new ladder
truck and equipments, or the hose hoist on
tower four new alarm boxes the shut-oh noz-
zle for each company, and the "siamese.
| The better and more complete our department
| and apparatus the more favorable our chances
| for reduction in insurance rates..
| The department has only five men to each
cart. There should at least be ten, as five men
cannot carry up hose into tall building as
rapidly as it should be done. The entire force
of the department. officers and men, is only
forty eight, only twenty-eight OF whom are
working men at fire, the other twenty being
engineers, drivers and firemen. OF the TWEEN
| ty-eight So called working men at q fire only
| five are on full pay, and always on duty.
| Twenty-three of these most important, indis-
pensible men at fire are on partial pay and
are stationed at the engine house from 9 o. clock
| ct night to IN the morning, The rest OF the
time they are scattered in ali parts of the city,
| How they have ever been called together by
| our present alarm call we do not quite under
stand, and even with the new whistle the utter
inadequacy of the force under full pay and al
| ways at their post, must be evident. We rec
| ommeud therefore, that the whole force be
employed on full time, at full pay, and al
| ways on duty. We learn with surprise that
| the assistant engineer is not a full pay man,
but is only called by an alarm from any part
of the city where his personal affairs may haYe
taken him. This, of coarse, is wrong. The
chief or his assistant should always be on du-
| ty at the central Office of the department..
| Your committee find that the steamers are
prompt in getting to the fires, but when once
| there deficiencies become apparent. The great
defect seems want of ladders or other facili-
ties for elevating the hose to lofty buildings
and reaching the fire with water sufficiently
early. Stairways cannot be depended upon for
| this purpose. Access even with long ladders
must be from the exterior, and not only are
| the lives of firemen endangered by the vibra-
ton of the hose when held by them on lofty
ladders, but also the full force of the stream
cannot be used. We ought to have here, and
at once, the latest and best hose hoist, such as
the Portable Water Tower" is said to be. Our
attention has been called to what are called
| 'Respirators," sort of mask with attach
| ments supplying air to the wearer, enabling
| fireman to live long enough in the most dense
| and acrid smeke to discover the exact point of
| the fire. As the cost is only fifteen dollars
| each, we recommend trial.
We commend to the proper authorities the
careful consideration of the weight of hose
purchased, or to be purchased, and also whether
| a four-wheeled hose cart carrying 1900 feet of
hose) double the present amount carried by
single hose carts) would not be desirable.
We recommend that some steps should be
at once taken to secure tarpaulins and other
| covering to Drotect goods from damage by