Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-05-11

A Matter of Interest-ImprOVem
that Have Been Made IN APPh-
ances for Exttnguishing Fires.


As there is at present manifest DISPOSE
ton on the part of the authorities to bring
our fire service to the highest degree OF ell
cheney, the following article Ia reference to
fire department tools and Improvements that
have been made in appliances for extin-
gushing fires will be OF general interest
We clip it from the New York S't's Oh the
7th:
'There is a great variety OF tools used to
aid in extingushing fires, and tue appn-
ances now used by the New YORK FIRE De-
partment are in striking contrast 10 tne
primitive methods of the old volunteer hre
department. The objective points OF all
the improvements has been to get at ire
quickly and stamp it out before 1t has had
a chance to make Roadway. The first great
advance was made in this direction by the
adoption of Geographic signals, Dy means OF
which the fire department may De instantly
cept in the sparsely settled districts there Is
no part of the city that cannot now be
reached by fire engine within from three
to five minutes from the time OF sounding
an alarm. The next great Improvement
was the substitution Of steam for hand en-
gines. Instead OF the two or three nunored
volunteers who formerly dragged dozen
hand engines to fire, we now have trained
men with steam engines, hook and ladder
trucks, and hose carriages, who go to work
coollY and effectively. Instead OF the
cumbersome, stiff, old-fashioned leather
hose. they have pliable, durable, and strong
rubber and combination hose, that is less
liable to burst. Instead OF the oio weak
squirt of the hand engine, that would hardly
reach to the top of a four-story house, and
certainly could only be kept there q short
time, we have now a powerful, steady
stream, throwing through Slamese nozzle
an immense volume of water, that can be
kept up for hours. Ii necessary, the streams
of four engines can be concentrated IN one
pipe, and solid stream OF two inches d.
ameter sent over the top of the highest
tenement.
1.-THE sappers and miners are always on
hand and they can make way through
stone wall or the strongest doors In litfy.
They have huge battering ram, and one
of their latest tools is lever jimmy that
will burst open any ordinary store door IN
about one second. With a nozzle, called
the spiral water distributor, stream may
be spread over thirty feet square If only
| hole big enough to get the hose IN can be
made In a roof or cellar. This often enables
the tremen to extinguish fires when the
| smoke is too dense to admit OF their en-
trance. For such cases the fremen also
| carry what is called a life preserver. 1t is
man thirty minutes in room tlled with
smoke. By that time the fireman can cut
| hole in window or floor to let out the
moke and let in the air.
"There has been much improvement in
street hydrants. More than hundred have
been placed, with two outlets, so that water
may be plenty. To insure this, in many
cases special mains have been laid In the
| streets, connecting with the fire hYdrants
only. Care has also been taken to secure
hydrants from freezing-a mishap that has
often caused confagrations.
1.-THE gradual introduction Of very high
| buildings has presented an obstacle with
which the Volunteer Fire Department had
not to contend. The modern ladders are
much larger than ever known In the Oh
| department. Extension ladders have been
introduced, and the latest improvement has
shown a method of expeditiouslY raising
ladders that must prove of great assistance
in reaching upper story fires. 1t consists OF
a platform, turn table, and lever attach
ment. By its use three or four men can
raise a seventy-three foot ladder In Few
minutes. Fire Commissioners King, Cor
man and Van Colt viewed the operation OF
this continuance with great interest at the
recent fire in White street, where big
building was saved by prompt access to the
upper stories. The old fashioned ladders
were never more than forty five feet long.
"Amopg the modern appliances is the use
of hydrogen lights at large fires. They not
| only illuminate the outside of building,
but penetrate the smoke within for con-
siderable distance so as to materially aid the
fireman. Another modern tool is the fire
extinguisher, which is carried by all compa-
MES, and is often used to extingutsh small
fires, thus saving the damage to property by
water. Another continuance to effect the
same object where water is used is what Is
called the controlling nozzle. This device
enables the fireman, when the fire is out, to
turn the water back into the engine without
bursting the hose by simply turning stop
cock. In this way any unnecessary damage
to stock by water is prevented.
''The modern practice of keeping all but
tiremen away from the vicinity of a fire is
great aid in expediting the work OF the fire.
men, besides preventing much loss OF prop
erty by theft. A fireman's duty is onerous.
He must be in the engine house twenty-one
| hours out of the twenty four, except seven
ty-two hours leave Of absence each month.
Any other leave of absence is called extra
ordinary. He must be ready to go to all
fires, no matter how frequently they occur,
in his district, or in other districts when
there are second, third or general alarms.
| When the present system was started, in
1865, eight engines were sent to fire. The
efficiency Of the force has improved SO much
that the number has been gradually de-
creased to three. That number has been
| n3nfo 20 oil Ara