Omaha daily bee., 1884-10-22
NOT A FIRE TRAP.
Council Bluffs Fire Protection o as
Feeble as the Official Organ
Describes.

chosen by the democratic council as the
official organ. has stirred up the animals
by a sensational article, claiming that
Council Bluffs is only a fire trap, and has
no protection from big blazes. This calls
forth an article from an insurance paper,
The Investigator, and it says:
"a Council Bluffs, Iowa, paper prints
an article headed "What shall we do to
be Saved" and goes on under this cap.
ton to describe the condition of the city
relative to fire protection. 1t is a very
good illustration of the la1ness of many
another city and is threatened with q fate
which has overtaken town after town be-
fore 1t. The article in question gives a
narrowing account of the deficiencies of
the fire alarm, the hose and the appara-
tus-carts, trucks, etc. OF the former it
says:
The present fire alarm is not reliable
and when an alarm is sounded there ia
no telling in what part of the city a fire
is in progress. Most of the boys are of
the opinion that no fire alarm would be
much better than the present affair. 1t
1t is out of working order fully one half
the time, and the other half of the al.
arms this year have been occasioned by
wires being crossed or while it is being
tested.
''Truly an interesting condition of af-
fairs in a growing city of $1,000 inhabi-
tauts. The hose is in an equally deplor-
able state, scarcely q fire taking place
but that two or more sections burst.
Rattle traps are declared to be proper
terms to apply to the apparatus which
ought to be replaced with new and re-
liable rolling stock. So far the screed
upon the departments equipment has
done its duty. But it stops short of the
most important deficiency In Council
Bluffs fire protection. The city is rely
ing wholly on direct pressure
for water supply. What will
it do with It's steamers sold
or out of service when the pressure fails
In the midst of a big fire. The town
never committed a more egregrious folly
than when in the pride of its new water
works it decided that it had no further
use for steam fire engines. Neither
Chief Walters nor his excellent depart
ment can work miracles and the city may
be forced into action on the subject in q
way totally different from what it now
expects. When the spring time comes
gentle reader, we shall tell you about 1t.
Harry Birkinbine, the engineer of the
waterworks, has called attention of the
authorities of the way in which Council
Bluffs interests was being injured by its
own official organ, and thus has called
forth the following letters:
EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
No,,~o,I p1,,T, To noI OF tQl
Harry Birkinbine, Council Bluffs,
Iowa: Dear sir-Your favor of yesterday
accompanied by a copy of ''The I%nvesti.
gator" was handed to me while presid-
ing at a meeting of the city council. You
can imagine my feelings when | read the
article entitled ''Fire protection of Coun-
Gil Bluffs, Iowa." thought the matter
of sufficient Importance, to read it in
open council, and the members at once
passed o resolution, authorizing the diff
ferent officers of the city to furnish
proofs that would fully contradict this
unwarranted and damning article. In
my inaugural address delivered the 18th
of last March, l left no doubt as to my
exalted opinion of the water works. |
Reiteration, however, may do no harm.
l believe the fact is generally admitted
that this city has the best system of
water works in the west, and one which
furnishes ample fire protection. l have
cities and towns supplied from
the Missouri river, and Council Bluffs Ia
the only n that is supplied with clear
water. In all other cities the water fur.
is muddy.
Chief Walters, of the fire department,
makes the following report to me this
morning:
"We keep two steam fire engines in
for points not reached by the
mains of the water company.
"We have two hose reels and one
wagon carrying $500 feet of servicable
We also have one hook and ladder
truck fully equipped. The committee on
lire of the city council have ordered 1000
feet of new hose and a new hose wagon
to carry the m A patrol wagon will
be ready for use.
The department is operated by twenty
four paid men and seven horses. The
alarm is not the best, but works
quite well and the fire committee are adj
ding to and improving it from time to
time. The total loss from fire this year
has not reached $15, 900 and every loss
was fully covered by Insurance."
In fact there are but few cities of 49,,
600 inhabitants that can boast of d better
department than ours. Each one oil
the two hundred fire hydrants in the city
are as effective In time of fire as a
steam fire engine. The pumping appa.
hat supplies the city consists of
two sets of compound duplex pumping
engines, each set berg capable of de.
l~ivering three million FIVE hundred thou.
sand gallons of water into the storage
reservoir every day There are two CEN
trifugal pumps, each propelled by a high
speed steam engine. These pumps have
each a capacity of delivering fifteen
thousand gallons per minute into the
subsiding reservoir, making the total
pumping capacity of our water works
forty nine million gallons per day.
The fire protection house con-
tains the valves that are
closed in time of fire, thus
shutting of the reservoir and allowing
he power of the pumping apparatus to
be brought directly to bear upon the on.
tire pipe system. This apparatus is son
trolled from the central police station
The most surprising fact is that the
valves can be changed in n minute by
the officer on duty simply turning two
small hand wheels. The power used to
perform the work being compressed air.
OF course you know all of this, but /
mention it to you officially that you may
t.aLl.nk All. ILL., {