The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-12-18
ys,r,r,sccnecs ef an Old Now York
Fireman.

fIisrpxrs Mon h'y,1
"The pride and ambition o. cacn nre com.
oanv.n saws Mr.. Zopbsr Mills. |" we're 10 ne
he erst 10 reach a IRE, and the most en-
o,ent IN nui,iuy tout. We had rs mucn
80 for that as we possibly could have for
n,,hine else, We would leave our busi-
sess our dinner, our anything. and rush
."r tho engine. The night I was getting
.' w. there was a lire. could see II,
md I wanted 10 go immediately. hut the
80, morniny early before breakfast there
Us another ore, and went 10 that. Soyou
80 iudce how We liked il. III we had
,sr,d.. we paid the expenses ourselves. We
slxays paid for zoe painting, repairing,
"a decorating OF our engines. Eu-
Inc No. IS, 10 which belonged, was silver
,,Is,ed-tbe trst that was scat cost OF
,,"rhaps =. 900. We didn't ask the corpo-
r,,,on 10 foot The bill. kept an account OF
,~s expeuses in connection with the Fire
nenarimen;, and found that in seven years
had paid IN charity, ir clothing. and IN
incidentsls, $4,000. Mr.. w. L.. jenkins,
.rsJdent OF the Bank OF America, was
number OF Engine Company No. IL Many
~ is other members were Qnakers. There
were few 'roughs' then, rs IN modern
,,mcs. Nor were there any salaries, except
n
,,orsrilv az the assistant engineets. Fire.
men now are literally compensated; they
90, Il 300 ven each, and are retired on
half nav. N infrm. after ten years service.
Many and many time have | worked my
breath out while pumping old Thirteen,
and lain in the street, and jumped up again
and seized the breaks because there was no
one 10 take nv place. The city was
NOT then divided into districts. l once
went from this very building Tin Front
street near WalD TO Astoria, IN lSii. and
saycd four framed buildings whose roofs
,vere already burned of. When the alarm
sounded thought the fire was somewhere
nm the Bowery. I ran nearly all the way
IN The Iiell-Gate ferry at Eighiy-siXth
street. and then crossed the riyer.
AT a fire IA Haydock's drugstore, in
Pearl street near Fulton, on the LIST OF July,
1894 had narrow escape. The building
was high. and all Of II above the second
tory was consumed, leaving only the ga.
hle.wslIs standing. Several firemen, after
tho flames had been eyilnguished, were or
dered TO take their hose up TO the second
story and PLAY upon the dfbriS, in order TO
preyent sparks from flying about and fire
from smondering. As l stood there, at 6
O'Clock in the morning, with two or three
of my men. suddenly saw one OF the high
gable-wall. spread out IKE blanket and
coming down upon us. My only chance was
10 turn my back and take it; there was
no time 10 run. | was Knocked nat, OF
coursr. by the falling mass OF brick. and was
forced through the second-story floor, and
also through the firs,-siory floor. into the
cellar. remember raising myself on nv
elbows. and then getting up and walking
out, after having gone through two floors
with that wall on top II me. Why didn't
il kill mey | don't know. 1t was Proyi-
dence-a miracle Eugene Underhill and
Frederick A. Ward, who stood few
feet from me, and were holding the
bose.piDe, were instantly killed. John
r. Hall aud William Phillips, two
other fremen on the same floor. jump
ed out OF a window, and one OF them
landed upon fence. and was badly in
iured. | wore Tin trumpet swung across
nv back, and NV flesh ia consequence was
black and blue for six months. Ny cap
was not dug out Of the cellar until evening.
The former foreman OF ThirteeD, who was
on the second story advising us, was
buried standing up 10 his neck in hot
bricks-so hot a 10 burn off some OF his toes
and bricks length off The calf OF his leg In
consideration OF bis misfortune he was
made the first fire-bell ringer OF the City
Hall. lie lived for thirty years after that.
Cbief-Englneer GuIick displayed great pres
ence OF mind In The emergency. His first
order was 10 Engine No. II, which was
working near the IRE, 10 take off the
tai-screw, let the water out OF the box,
and then pump air into the ruins. The
men were digging all day for their buried
comrades and for the bodies OF poor Un-
derhil and Ward, who stood not fiji
teen feet away from me when the wall fell
without warning. We were playing wash
ing down." as we called it, the object being
thoroughly to put ont the IRE that fingered
in the straw, cotton, and so on. We con-
sidered that the fire was pretty much out,
and were only giving few finishing
touches. Thirteen afterward erected a
marble monument to Underhil and Ward
in the cemetery in Carmine street opposite
Narick.