The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-04-12
A PERFECT FIRE-sERvICE.
Ingenious Contrivances for Saving Time and
Labor-New Uses fOr Electricity.

hundreds of thousands who have watched one of
the gllstening engines at work, not many know
exactly the system by which its movements are
as perfectly managed as at present. This system
Is constantly being improved and rendered more
and more nearly automatic. When city officials
wish to exhibit its operation to the utmost adj
vantage, they take their friends to the house OF
engine No. 81 in John street. The first object
noticed there is the great engine with a long
black tongue projecting toward the doors
and on each side of and above the tongue
set OF harness spread out by cords that sus,
pend it from the ceiling. Next will be noticed
great glass-faced case filled with machinery
and beneath that a polished gong with ham
mer poised ready to strike it. A small clock
ticks cheerfully beside the gong. Below the
clock is a little wooden case with little red
weight suspended beside it. In the case is
horseshoe magnet, which, when a current of
electricity passes through it., draws back a catch
and drops the weight.
The weight starts a remarkable series of move
mentS. 1t strikes brass lever that removes
another catch and then the arm of a long brass
lever is pulled down by heavy weight When
the long lever goes down it pulls three wires
which run into three horse stalls two on one
side of the room and one on the other. 1t
opens circuit through humorous incandescent
lamps. 1t turns over piece of wood that in
stantly stops the ticking of the little wooden
cased clock The current of electricity that first
starts the little weight comes from some fire
alarm box in the fire district to which this
engine is assigned. The same current passes
through another magnet in the big case above
the gong. and releases for short intervals
heavy weight, which throws the hammer against
the gong for each pusation. and
thus counts out the number Of strokes indicat
ing the box from which the alarm was sent.
The pulling Of the three wires leading to the
three stalls removes three pins that fastened
three halters. When these pins are withdrawn
the halters unreeve through the rings on the
bits Of the three horses and the animals are at
liberty. Two of them run to their places be-
fore the engine and under the hanging harness.
and the other one stops when he is beneath the
harness of the tender, which is in the rear of
the room.
A glass-covered ticker is near the big gong,
and further away is a telephone The ticker
records the alarm, and the telephone is to trans
nit the alarm, also. so that in case of damage to
the regular wires the telephone can be used
from the headquarters A closer inspection
shows that the cords which support the harness
terminate in twecZerS, so that a blow lets them
drop on the outside and a Jerk of the reins on
the inside. Heavy weights are arranged to
draw the engine-hOuse doors apart to let the
engine out A catch holds the doors together
until the right moment bit of wood a foot
long supports the two pipes which connect the
boiler of the engine with coil of pipe in a fur
mace i'll the basement. When the engineer
kicks out the bit of wood the pipes drop into
channels in the floor and a shove of an iron bar
prevents the water from running ont of the en-
CINE. This coil Of pipe in the stove keeps the
steam pressure in the boiler at twenty pounds
AT hand by the fire box is a torch mace Of pine
stick with a wad of oil-soaked waste around it
and six matches in the end which ignite the
waste when they are rubbed on the side of the
iire-boX. The torch starts roaring fire of pine
and camel coal instantly There is room for
four men on the engine besides the driver
On the tender six men can ride, 1t also car
ries fifteen lengths of hose, each fifty feet long,
besides two nozzles The nozzle has rough
ened revolving ring near the end. Turning il
cuts down the size of the stream until not
drop escapes, although the engine may be pump
ing away at full speed
Il should think the pressure would burst the
hose" said reporter to Captain Joseph F. Nc
Gill, the foreman of the company.
There are valves on the engine set to open at
a certain pressure, and thus relieve the hose.
We ordinarily run ON eighty or ninety pounds to
the square inch, said the Captain.
A stop with hook on the end of it is attached
to the nozzle. When the hook is secured to a
ladder rung the weight of the hose below is sup
ported and the man can handle the nozzle as
easily as if on the ground
Near the foot of the stairway leading to the
second story is door 1t opens into the foot of
a tower more than fifty feet high Here the
wet hose is suspended at full length so that it
can dry out after the men have returned from a
fire Dry hose takes its place Oh the tender
reel The stairway leads to the sleeping room
on the second floor. Two shining brass rods run
through hatchways from the second floor down.
Down these the firemen slide. One lands the
engineer and his assistant at the fire box and
the men belonging to the tender at their station.
The other drops the other men at the heads of
the horses. All but two of the can 90 to
bed at night These two are called the horse
watch and their duty is 10 begin to
hitch up the horses after the gong
sounds. They also look after the comfort of
the animals during the night, record alarms,
etc. Foreman Mctiill and his assistant, Martin
Cook, have a separate room at the rear of the
mems dormitory. A large number of the electric
lamps on this floor, but they are not turned
with profuson of pictures and with two framed
letters. The letters tell of the bravery of Cap
tain McCiill and his men when they dashed into
Howells burning powder store on July -, 1880,
while the merchants and clerks of the neighbor
ing stores and 400 screaming girls from an adj
joining factory fled for their lives. They
would have fled in vain if engine 81 had been
few minutes late, or if her crew had hesitatod in
their duty
The long brass pole at the front of this room
extends up to the third floor, where there is a
comfortable reading room. Here the men take
their ease from day to day after the usual rou-
tine is over. Three times in the month each
man has twenty-fo hours leave Every day
each one has an hour for each meal. They 60
away in twos, so six men and one officer are al
ways in the house At night they remove their
coats and trousers, showing the trouserslegs down
the tops of big rubber boots The streets
without have the quiet of a country village at
that time, and the men soon fall asleep. If
stranger looked in at that time he would find the
room pitch dark and every thing about the build
ing denOtlng perfect rest. Ii fortunate, he would
look around minute, and then there would
come a brilliant flash of light from a score of
electric lamps, and with it the roar of the big
gong below, hoarse shout from the men. a
tramplng of excited horses, a confused tumble
of white edclothes and dark shadows that
would seem to melt into the floor. Then he
would hear clicking of metal straps, a cry of
ready, another shout and before he could draw
a second breath galoping horses would Whrl the
IA