The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1883-11-07

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FfRE,-There is no more terrific cry thar
that of IRE p ringing out on the startled
ear of night; even murder, with all its hid
eous associations, does not arouse us &c
sympathy or 10 action as does the alarm
that thered demon, fire, is loose in our midst
licking up the pride of luxury. the fruit OF
toil, the scraplngs of ayarice, and thl
scrapings of years. Such was the cry that
startled the inhabitants of our village on
l Friday morning at $40 o'clock. The alarm
ed citizens, men, women, and children,
youth and age, wit and beauty, strength and
weakness hurried 10 the scene, and found
that J. X. Coffroths stable was on fire. A
valuable COW was dragged seemingly dead
from the flaming building, but afterwards
recovered. A horse worth three hundred
dollars lay dead in his stall, having early
succumbed TO the suffocatIng influence OF
smoke. The citizens promptly organized a
bucket brigade, and thus prevented the
spread of the fire. Mr. Coffroth's loss will
reach in the neighborhood of 5000. How
much of this is covered by insurance, we
are unable to say. This fire, originating
when it did, might have been most disas-
trous one. Just back of the burning stable
lay the wooden warehouse of Messrs. Cook
& Beerits, containing one hundred barrels OF
kerosene, and much other oil of various kinds,
but of course all highly combustible. Had
the fire communicated to the Cook * Beerits
! building, one can scarcely imagine what
might have been the result. -Four thousand
gallons of kerosene is mass of which most
of us have little, ifany idea. 1t would have
been sufficient to have sent streams of
burning oil kissing and sputtering through
the cutters of the town, spreading a general
conhagration throughout the dislrict perme-
ated by it.
Notwithstanding the numerous yistations
of fire from which Somerset has suffered, il
is, one may say, wholly without protection
from the destroying element. Is there
another county town in the State SO abso-
lutely destitute of what may be reasonably
deemed seemingly adequate means of pro-
lection? If there be one, it is Waynesburg.
Greene county, but as have not been there
for several years, cannot say whether even
this capital ofa county, opposed to railroads,
is as destitute as Somerset. What are our
means of protection, in case of fire l think
they may be summed upin large sized Ex-
tinguisher, which | heard some one last
night call a soda fountain, few small
sized extinguishers, same pattern, a few
buckets, perhaps, and one or two hand
fo-ce-p pumps, intended TO wash windows,
sprinkle rosebushes, etc. The large extin-
guisher was out of order last night l heard
several citizens say that the nozzle of it was
lost The citizens did good and brave work
with their buckets, but did they prevent
confiagration such as have hinted might
have occurred To this question we un-
hesitatingly answer, they did not. The fact
that the stable was practically fire. proof,
prevented the conflagration. Some may
object that the stable was not fireproof, be-
cause it burned. 1t lraS fire-proof, SO far as
any outside fire was concerned, but the
building has vet to be constructed that can
not be burned if sufficient amount of CON-
bustible matter take fire inside it. This is
just what happened here. Tons of burning
hay rendered the inside of that stable hell
of fire and smoke that the iron roof and
brick walls kept in, despite its frantic strug
giles for exit but had the building been
wood, Somerset would at this moment
have been in ashes.
have already alluded to the scarcity of
means wherewith to repel fire, but it must
add to the discomfort of every property
holder to know that portion, even of the
means at hand We're not in a condition TO BE-
used. Who is to blame for this, cannot
say. | have been informed that a man is
paid "to watch the engine" Then why
doesn't he know where the lost nozzle is ?
Perhaps he's been using it as mouthpiece
for a telephone, Or something. The citizens,
many of them, spoke in highly indignant
terms of the soda fountain, and yet, had the
soda fountain been in order, and it is not
for the fact that it was not, this
is one OF the fires in which it would have
rendered as effective service as an engine
worth ten thousand dollars, the gas which il
develops being thrown into a burning
building. having no ventilation to carry it
the condition here--will
extinguish fire or life in short time. If We
have nothing but the soda fountai n, for
heavens sake let that be in order; let il be
charged afresh, at least once per month. In
addition to this several persons should
know how to charge the machine. and
sufficient quantity ofthe material should be
kept on hand to re-charge ii several times.
Under the present system, when the ma
is ended under the system l mention, it
could be used again and again within an
hour the ability or inability to do this
may al some day, or night, amount to the
of the town.
A few young men can be taught in u few
minutes to charge the machine; they can
be taught to know the nature of the chem
lcals, whlch presume are carbonate OF soda
and sulphuric acid. and then the work is
done. Citizens ridicule the soda fountain
they forget that it is all we have, and no
proper means has ever been taken to secure
the best results from that. Let US see wheth-
er the note of warning sounded from the
fire Friday morning will have the effect of
stirring up the Council and Burgess to see
that such material as We have for extin-
gushing fire is in a proper shape to be
used.
Yours Very Truly.
CLAYLAND.
SOMERSET, Pa, November 3, 1883.
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