Omaha daily bee., 1884-09-23

ing of the stable on the premises some
months ago, these were found to work
well.
There Is an iron tramway running en-
tirely around the building, with iron
cages secured With wire ropes, TO aid in
conveying from tho upper windows any
person, who might In case Of a fire be-
low, have the means of their escape cut
OF. This tramway was designed by Gen
Mcigs, and the experiments made with IL
have been entirely satisfactory. In addi-
to tho ordinary fire escapes there are two
cauvcs escapes, reaching from the upper
floor to the ground, snd,as ia well known
those have been satisfactorily tested sew
eral times.
In his last report Mr.. Rounds says:
lows and arrows are also provided,
which would enable life lines to be shot
or thrown through the upper windows.
Up to the time these changes were made
the entire office was supplied with only
a throe.inch connection with the water
mains, which barely gave sufficient wa.
ter for daily use, aud was wholly made
quatc for the purposes. But by tho kindly
corporation of Mr.. Edward Clark, ar
chitect of the capitol, tho office has now
more than double tho former supply, and
quite ample to render tho new fire appa.
ratus in every way efficient. All the
outside doors were originally hung 40 as
to opeu toward the inside of the building
and in case of q panic, with the pressure
against them, it would have been i'm.
possible to have opened them. The
hinges have been changed so as to open
either way, and egress cannot thereby be
INSTRUCTED.
Besides oil those ample facilities for
the safe cgress of employees in case of
sudden alarm of fire, the entire force of
females has been divided up into com.
panies of forty each, and each company
in charge of n captain, with several aids,
and in ceso of alarm tho companies are
taken out by designated horoscopes,
under the charge and aid of the men ap.
pointed for the purpose. The first trial
of the system demonstrated the fact that
the %bindery, containing about five hun
dred women II nearly one hundred
men, was emptied in less than one min
ute; and it is believed that after moro
trials the entire office can be cleared in
less than two minutes. 1t, therefore,
may be fairly stated that for the first
reasonably safe from fire, and its en-
ployes from danger of loss of life or limb
caused by a stampede or want of sutfici-
ent egress.
RThere have been test alarms runs since
the present system was adopted, and it
was found that every man or woman
knew his or her place. By a test once
made in tho bindery It was found that
the folding-room, containing over five
hundred operatives, was cleared inside of
one minute. The female operatives, how
ever, found that in going down the fire
escapes there were some ''Peeping Toms"
on the ground, and in subsequent tests
asked that canvas be placed on the ladder
before they would make the descent.
In each room there is n captain with
three ~lieutenants, and these direct the
Others in case of an alarm, but the work.
ing force consists of about forty men to a
section. Probably no better trial OF the
system was ever given than that of last
month, when a partition on which oil
from the bindery had dropped took fire.
The flames were eX%tinguished when
Chief Engineer Cronin was within a few
yards of the scene and neither he nor
MIR. Rounds knew of it until it was all
over,no general alarm having been given.
For some years it has been thought
that the old portion OF the building wal
unsafe in consequence of the great weight
on it, but by exercising due care and re-
moving the surplus material to The Con-
gressional Globe building, there has not
been for some time past any danger, the
officers keeping in this portion of the
structure at any one time the smallest
possible amount of material necessary for
the work in hand.
Supt. Rounds Office is connected by
telephone with every part of the build
ing, and in case of fire he would be in
formed of it at once.