Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-03-24
A sL1egr BLAZE.
unwarranted Aspersions Of the Fire De-
partment

Shortly before o'clock yesterday morning
an alarm of fire was sounded from the Water
Works. The department responded with
its usual promptness, and the fire was soor
extinguished with very slight loss. The
fire occurred in China Joss house, the prop
erty CT J. D. Tate, Second and 1 streets
and originated in the upper story Of the build
| ing. The less is some $3.50, and Is covered
! by insurance in the Union Company OF San
Francisco, of which Cadwalader Parsons,
of this city, are agents. The above is full,
complets and truthful statement of the entire
/ affair. Our evening contemporary, however,
gave very different statement. 1t said,
IAN alarm was sounded from box y. There
! is no box %. 1t was the alarm from the
| Water Works. It stated that the fire
| originated in the basement" The fire origin
ated in the upper story. 1t said, mo. l
was slow in reaching the scene" No. was
playing q stream on the FIRE in just three min
utes after the first alarm, and made the run in
| just two minutes and half. Henry Guthrie,
foreman of No. l, ii a card, says:
1 desire to state to the public that steamer and
| hose. cat No. responded as promptly TO the fire
alarm Yesterday as they have ever to any call, not
| wlthstanGiBg the statement made In last evening
Bee but it must be remembered that IN run OF
only two blocks steam Garnet be got In sufficient
quantity to work the steamer But 1t got to Work IN
very short space of time, and in the meantime the
stream taken from the plug sufficient, the best
| evidence Of this, and that good work was done,
| being that the fire confined to the room where
| it orr. mated.
It stated that the "Hsyes truck did
not respond promptly, and that when 1t
did arrive tbs many men who rode down
on its side-plau1s did but little good,
comparatively. There was an incessant
hrilabaloo all the while the fire was in pro-
gees, ard it was generally asserted that the
department proved itself on this occasion to
| be thoroughly incompetent" One of the
heaviest underwriters in this city was present
during the entire fire, and states that this
assertion is entirely untrue. The Hayes
truck arrived at the fire in exactly three and
half minutes, and went quietly to work.
There was no noise or unusual hooting, but,
on the contrary, it was one Of the quietest
and best-managed fires he had ever wit
messed. The paper was not satisfied with
condemning the fremen, engines aud hos :,
but also attacked the horse of hose-cart
No. l. Tbs horse is new one, a
| little green, but is considered by all
competent Judges to be the best animal
in the department. It also goes further,
and insinuates that Engine No. was
at the time the alarm was given at Brighton
or some other remote point in the county,
and that when it reached the scene of the FIRE
it was too late to be Of service, and that the
horses were ia q "forlora condition." The
boys of No. deny the accusation in toto.
They state that they were at their engine
house on Tenth street when the alarm was
sounded, promptly responded, and reached
the fire IS soon as could be expected by any
reasonable person, taking the distance
they had to travel--niue blgcks-into
| eonsideratit 1t must be said for
the present FIRE department that it is
we'll and ably managed. The Fire Commits
sioners are all gentlemen who in every sense
Of the VOID are representative citizens. In
| selecting those composing the Paid Fire De-
partment they have used commendable judg-
ment, and to-day the Paid Fire Department
of Sacramento city, from the Chief down to
the humblest member, is equal to any, if not
the best in the country.
These concentrations of the fremen of
Sacramento are not in the line Of fat
terry. Tney are simply statements OF fact,
aud it is but just to the department that
they be made Enthusiastically plain. These
men risk their lives, for small recompense, in
protecting the lives and property of others,
and all unprejudiced citizens are ccg
Dizant of the promptness and efficiency Of
the department, which misrepresentation and
captious criticism will not tend to increase.
| The department has been made the subject
of unwarranted attacks from the quarter in
dcated ever since the unfortunate death CT
Frank RuhstalIer's children, who persisted in
the flames last summer, when the fremen
were indirectly charged by the same author.
ity with lack of energy in attempting their
rescue.
LAND PATENTs.-Register Taylor reports
that the following patents for agricultural
lands were received at the United States
land Office in this city Yesterday. and that