Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-28
FIRE FIGHTERS.

| Important Meeting of the Fire Commits
sioners--Fire Traps in the Fire Limits
Reform Urgently Demanded.
At the meeting of the fire commission
ers last evening, D. Sullivan, fireman of
No. engine, suspended few days since
for getting intoxicated, was restored to
| duty with the loss of one months pay.
The superintendent of the fire alarm tel
egraph reported box II struck by light
ming during recent storm, throwing it
! out of the circuit. Upon motion of Com.
Hughson it was voted as a matter of
precaution that the superintendent here
after visit all alarm boxes in the business
part of the city Immediately after all cleo
| trio storms, and all other boxes as soon
thereafter as possible.
The president and chief engineer were
authorized to buy car load Of oats.
| The pay roll OF the department for the
month of November, for $2,S7O.31, and
the contingent expenditures of the chief,
were audited.
| Chief Engineer Strong reported the
death of Fred Guion, (injured by the road
| roller Friday last) former engineer of
! steamer No. 3, and at his suggestion he
| was authorized to have his ngine appro-
priately draped in mourning on the day of
the funeral. and accompany the funeral
cortege to the fire limits.
The superintendent of the fire al
arm telegraph reported that
the work of changing telegraph poles
in the central portion of the city would be
completed and lines transferred to-day, but
that 1t would take two more weeks to COM
plete the Encouragement of the boxes, etc.
| Mr.. G. W. Hall, manager of the fire I'M
derwriters OF the city, by permission of
the board, pointed out several matters in
connection with fire regulations in
the city, that should be
reformed in the interest of public safety
and low fire risks. He was especially sur
prised at the ndmber of permits granted
| for the erection of small frame buildings
within the fire limits, after permission had
been refused by the fire warden. To secure
efficiency he thought the fire warden
should be under the control of the board.
Each frame building erected was an extra
; fire hazard, not only to the particular To-
cality in which it stood, but to the entire
city. The fire which destroyed Chi
cago started in small frame, and was fed
by such structures until it got beyond the
control of the excellent fra department of
that city, and ne was sorry to see that ST..
Paul was following in the same way.
Another essential. Mr.. Hall said, was a
building law, point he emphasized by
calling attention to the fact that a large
four-stoyy brick building had been built
this season, in which thirty to forty per-
sons were constantly employed, that was
not provided with a single stairway, ron
| dering it impossible should fire occur in
the lower portion of the building, for the
occupants of the upper part to escape.
Again referring to this matter of frame
| buildings in the heart of the city, Mr..
Hall said that Messrs. Corlies,
Chapman & Drake would apply
to the council this evening for permission
to erect adjoining their place, Eagle street,
near Seven corners, frame building ,39x99
thus greatly increasing the fire hazard for
all that portion of the city. He also
animadverted upon the policy of allowing
| the erection Of such a row as that on
Eighth street, comprised by the planning
mill, carpenter shops, ETC., filing up almost
the entire front of the block. The ordi-
nance, as it stands, he said, also gives lot
occupants, except in very prescribed limits,
the privilege of erecting frame barns
16x24. and frame woodsheds 12x24-indi-
vidually small structure, but collectively
furnishing a vast amount of infammable
material. Another evil was the practice of
allowing stove pipes to run up through
roofs, instancing as most marked ex-
ample of this evil the large livery stable
| next adjoining Odd Fellows block on
oh ocho or oh Of
| fire walls in our large blocks was
another evil that called for prompt
remedy.
In the course of his remarks Mr.. Hall
| said in his opinion our fire department
did as efficient work as could be expected
| of department of its size and with the
| material at its hand. The danger to be
| apprehended was that with the large num-
Der of frame buildings, fire traps, in all
| parts of the city, a fire would
get beyond its control, as it did in Chica-
go, and thus most disastrous conflagra-
ton would result.
Commissioner Hughson spoke of his OBJ
servations on recent visit to Winnipeg,
where in city of 10000 there are five fire
steamers and better equipped depart
| ment in every particular than there is in
st. Paul, while fire walls extending from
the basement to the floor are built in all
large blocks at least every fifty feet.
Some other general discussion followed
as to the necessity of an extension of the
fire limits, the prohibition of the erection
| of frame buildings within such limits, and
the prompt passage of building law to
| compel proper precautions to be taken
against the spread of fire, and to afford
means Of escape in the case of fire, when
the following was adopted to be forwarded
| to the council:
We would respectfully call your atten-
| ton to the many permits given by the
council to erect frame buildings in the fire
limits, thereby increasing the fire risk all
over the city, and in some portions to such
an extent that the whole city is thereby
in danger to suffer from large sonfagra-
ton. We therefore would respectfully ask
the strict enforcement of the fire limits or