Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-11-20
Rernrm the Fire Department.


something which the people of every city
want. There are two systems-one the
volunteer. in which the entire manage
ment Is given to the members of the de-
partment who elect the officers ana are
responsible to their fellOw-citizens Tor the
proper fulfllment Of self-imposed duties.
In such an organization the lack OF
thorough discipline is counteroalahcedl u
a limited extent by company pride ana IN
dividual enthusiasm. The other Is the
Maid system. 1t has been adopted
bv nearly all large cities because
il has been found far more EN-
cient. The employees are thoroughly
Organized and disciplined, and are held
strictly accountable as public servants
for the performance of their duties. Sa-
vannah has neither Of these systems. She
has a part paid and part volunteer depart
ment-a sort Of hybrid affair. 1t has been
under trial for nearly eight years, and Is
less efficient now than it was when first
organized. 1t has not the vim and en-
ergy Of the volunteer system, because the
pride and enthusiasm which characterized
the volunteers are wanting. 1t has not
the efficiency of the paid system, because
there is little discipline and not much
respect for the authority of officers. 1t is
about impossible to secure implicit obedi-
ence 10 orders, which is so necessary to ell
ficiency and the successful handling of fire
apparatus. The members of our depart
meut are not to blame for this condition of
affairs. Ii is the fault of the system.
There are no good results to be obtained
from patching up the present Organiza-
ton.
What. then. is to be done? We can
not afford to 90 back to the volunteer
system. We don't want a repetition OF
our experience with that. Wemust adopt
the paid system. The only objection to a
paid department is the cost. The cost,
however. can be so reduced by combining
the Fire Department with the Police De-
partment that it will not be ~burdensome.
The plan suggested by eX-Chief Fire
man Roberts. by which both depart
ments will be controlled by one
officer-the Chief of Police-has merits,
and is worthy of careful consideration. 1t
has been urged as an objection to this
plan that the Chief of Police may not be
competent to till the position. If there is
any doubt of the ability of the present
Chief of Police, OF Of any other person
who may he put at the head of the police
force, to discharge the duties Of the office
of Chief of the Fire Department, it is
only necessary, in order to set the doubt
at rest, TO call to mind those who have
filled the place of Chief of the Fire De
paEtment. The position has been held by a
banker, a cotton merchant, brick-layer,
an engineer, a ship broker, a contractor,
a clerk of court, carpenter and drug
gist. We fail to see that any one of these
occupations gives man especial fitness
for the discharge of the duties of Chief of
the Fire Department. 1t is apparent that
the Chief of Police is not only much bet
ter qualified. but has more time to give to
the duties Of Chief of the Fire Depart
ment than any business man can possibly
have. The men who have been at the
head of the Fire Department, with one or
two exceptions, gained all their eXpe-
rience in handling fire apparatus
and checking fires after they
were elected to that position. Any one
of them at the head of paid department
would have been an efficient Chief. 1t is
certainly within the probabilities that
this city will always have at the head of
her police force a citizen of at least aver
age ability.
With a small force Of paid tiremen, sup
plemented by the police force at fires, with
a competent officer, ranking as Sergeant,
in char &c of each engine, having authority
to command the force under him, both fire
and police, we would have a model de-
partment. There would then be no
delay in getting to work, no want
OF men to move the lines of hose,
no crowding IN the vicinity of fires
Dy uncomfortable mObs; no drunk
ards and lOafers to interfere with the
work of the firemen. The discipline of
the force would enforce obedience not
only among themselves but among
those who cOngregate at fires. The
burning of Kelly's building and
Stoddard's block, and the Bank ware
house, the great fires at Fairlawn and
Yamacraw, show that the rich and the
poor suffer alike from the devOuring
flames. Any movement that decreases
the danger from fires ought to command
the support Of the entire population of
the city.
The Council propose to remove the
present difficulties by paying the Chief
little more money. Will the Aldermen
inform the public how that will remedy
the present condition of affairs: Had
Chief Butler been receiving $4,000 year
he could not, with the apparatus and men
under his command, have saved Yama-
craw. Away with makeshifts and half
way measures. Our Fire Department is
inefficient. Everybody recognizes the fact.
our property, millions of dollars worth
of it, is. to a certain extent, at the mercy
of every fire that breaks out in the city.
We want a better fire service. Let us go
about getting it in a business-like way.
The experience of nearly every large city
in the country teaches us what we must
do. Let us do it at once and be done with
it. An inefficient fire service is dear at
any price. y few thousand dollars more
a year spent on the Fire Department Will
not be felt by the taxpayers, and may be
the means of saving hundreds of thou
sands of dollars.