Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-10-12
ABOUT THAT FIRE.

Concerning the management Of the fire at
Mr.. Ruhstaller's house, Sunday night, some
errors have been put afoat which justice to
the Fire Department of this community de.
mands shall be corrected. The statements
made in Mondays RECORD UNION concern
ing the management of the fire, in the light
of subsequent close inquiry and Investigation,
are fully sustained. The men of the depart
nent, small as the force is, accomplished a
work Of which q very much larger depart
ment might well feel proud, and have been
complimented for it by the old members Of
the old volunteer department They labored
like heroes, and the universal testimony is
that more than one took his life in his hand,
in the effort to stay the flames, and rescue
the bodies Of the children within, for it is
now certain that the children were suffo-
Gated, and past all human help, long before
the FIRE department was summoned. Had
the Holly pumps been ever SO effective, no
stream led from their MIGRANTS could have
possibly been so used as to save the little
ones. The testimony shows that the whole
upper part Of tie house was filed with dense
smoke and fame before there was even op.
portunity to give an alarm, and the father OF
the children, after bringing down one child,
was beaten back by the flames in the effort 20
return for the others. A Holly stream, how
ever, was put on before the engines got to
work, but the pressure was so weak that the
stream would not rise more than four or i've
feet above the nozzle, and was go useless that
il was taken down from the ladder where the
pipe-men took it. The incident was wit
messed by hundreds, and al agree as to the
facts. Firemen allege that frequently the
Holly pressure is inadequate, and especially
on Sunday nights, when there is less demand
for pressure for domestic and street purposes.
In about eight minutes after the Holly stream
was put on sufficient pressure was bad to
make it Of some service. When the truck COM
pany arrived, and placed its ladders against
the walls Of the burning building, two or
three men, not belonging to the department.
sctuated no doubt by worthy impulses
attempted to 90 up the ladders, but We're
ordered down by the fremen, and one,
ref,sizg. VS. dragged down, and pushed
OF strGck, Inquiry develops that the chill
drsn's room was 10 the middle of the
house, and the window at which the lad
der was placed opened into the nurses room,
and not iato the nursery. It is well known,
also, that the regulations prevent interference
with the men of the department., and that
citizens have no right to occupy or use any
Of the apparatus Of the department. Fire
men very justly hold that if other than men
or the departInSnG run up the Iadderss tne
latter are, Of course, prevented from using
them and cannot work to advantage; that
they are placed thera to work TO the best ad-
vaxtage under proper officers, and must be
presumed to be acting to the best advantage
They add, that in the absence of large po-
lice force or FIRE brigade 80 keep back crowds
at fires, they have to act Is best they can.
and if they pull intruders from ladders they
do hight. One of the men who attempted 60
go up the ladder Sunday, and was pulled
down, was bare-headed, in his shirt sleeves,
and could not possibly have rendered any aid,
but would himself have been burned. The
places of the men pulled from the ladders
were Immediately filed by fremen, who car
RED up hose, although the tops Of the ladders
wers then on fire aud partly hidden in
smoke and fame. The men of the depart
meIt feel that they cannot be justly censured
for any Of their acts at Sunday nights fire.