Morning journal and courier., 1880-05-26
What They Carry to a Fire in New Tor

What They Carry to a Fire in New York. NEW YORK, May 24.-Hook and Ladder 1 Truck No. 1 has been supplied with a con- plete set of burglars tools, and similar sets are to be furnished the other trucks that work down town. The builder of to-day ex- pends as much ingenuity in providing means | to keep out burglars as to keep out fire. l Heavy iron shutters close every door and | window, and even the hatchways are built as l if each was intended to cover the companion I way on a monitor. Until furnished with l burglars tools the fremen depended entirely upon old fashioned instruments Now, Mo- 1 Company has set of tools fashioned after 1 the ''kit'' that used in the robbery. of the Manhattan bank, the most complete and cost 1 ly set ever captured in this country. For l the firemen the tools are well made as the | originals, but they are considerably larger 1 than those the burglars used. Only seven of l the burglars tools are given to the fremen. The largest of the implements is an octagonal 1 bar of fine steel 1-2 feet long. It terminates in a sharp edged bent claw, and its upper end is fitted with pocket into which another bar for greater leverage can be inserted. This jimmy" as it is called, is warranted, &C., count of it's size and strength to break the
 way through any door into or under which
 it can be inserted. Another Jimmy" is of the same shape, but much shorter. A third implement is called "dog jimmy" On one end it has hook with which to tear out sta pies and wrench of locks, and on the other l two diverging jaws like the magnified end of l tack litter for the same uses. Then there are rivet cutter, steel wedge for bursting 1 iron doors, and two sledges with which to hammer the cutter and the wedges. The l sledges upon which they were modelled were l made of copper, presumably because that l metal is less noisy. With these tools | the firemen can effect an entrance l into almost any building in a minutes l time. There is very little room left | on the hook and ladder truck to-day for 1 further improvements and additions. Strap ped on the body of the machine two fire l extinguishers, calcium light burner and 1 Hector, and the two cylinders, one of oxygen l and one of hydrogen, that constitute fuel for that brilliant light. Then there are lanterns, | and lately there have been added red signal 1 lights for stopping elevated railroad trains at 1 night, and flags for the same use in daytime. There are also pitchforks wherewith to handle hay or the material used in mattresses, l shovels to remove rubbish and to throw sand I on burning gas, great knives at the end of poles with which the tin roof of a building 1 can be cut, and hooks with which to roll up l the tin when it has been loosened. There are peculiar hose nozzles also, one of which | is bent and strapped to pole for use In I vaults another ends in four revolving jets,
 and when let down into an inaccessible cellar 1 or between the decks of vessel will saturate 1 everything above below and around it within l & distance of 25 feet from its center. Anoth- l nozzle IS called a Ola1n6Se, D6cduS6 1C i combines the streams of two engines; and 1 still another, recently introduced, joins four streams into one. There also extension | ladders and the old fashioned hook, the latter i still frequently used on tottering walls and
 stubborn ceilings Finally, there is the pat ent smoke bag that the intrepid fremen
 wear when entering building too full of
 smoke to permit of breathing except by arti- 1 ficial means. The bag-a rubber vessel
 holding air enough for thirty minutes
 breathing--is strapped on the fireman's back,
 and the pipes lead to joint that fits his
 mouth. With gloves on, tight fitting spectacle
 like boxes on his eyes, and clasp like a clothespin on the end of his nose, he feels
 his way in dark and suffocating atmosphere
 holding in one hand a rope (which is also
 tied to his belt, with which to signal the
 men outside, and having fastened to button
 on his coat a whistle on the end of rubber
 bag, with which he can call for help without 1 taking his mouth from the oriice of the air
 bag.