The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-09-23
FOR FIGHTING FLAMES.
Improved Methods for distinguishing Con-
Observation-Disclosures Appliances.
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Il am always very particular about
taking proper care of matches in my
house, says one man to another, for l
don't know anything more disagreeable
than fire. In the first place, the police
officers run recklessly through your house,
and then, when the fire companies arrive,
long sections of dirty hose are dragged
through the Railways. and, even if the fire
be but slight one, the place is deluged
with enough water to float 4 man of war. "
Such is the current opinion that exists
regarding fires and firemen. There is
some basis for it. to be sure but in the
main it is wrong. There are many things
more pleasant to have about the house
than fire. When the flames once get
Roadway it is fight between water and
fire, and while both are quite damaging to
property, the first is less so than the lat
ter. Water Injuries to great extent fire,
if left alone, devOurs entirely But the
most general mistake people make is con-
corning small fires. They believe that
heavy stream of water is turned upon the
tiniest fame, Just as it is thrown upon a
raging fire that has more than gained con-
troll of a big building. This is not the
case and the false idea is due to the want
Of knowledge as to the proper equipment
of the fire companies
In the first place the nozzles of the hose
now in use are so arran Nd that any sized
stream of water can be thrown and con-
trolled by O thumb screw at the side,
which works at the slightest pressure of
the finger. By this the full force of the
water may be allowed free vent, or the
size of the stream may be reduced to
very tiny flow, even smaller than that
which comes from the ordinary street.
sprinkling hose. The purpose of this is
obvious. When fire alarm comes in and
the engines arrive at their proper destina-
Z 70 Il Sc o.
line of hose out and attach it to the en-
CINE. Unless the fire be a large one the
nozzle is closed tightly. and the fremen
drag the hose along until the fire is found
and then urn the water upon it, regulat-
ing the size of the stream by the size of
the fire.
The nozzle spoken of serves still another
purpose. There are times when a smolder
ing fire so fills a room with smoke that it
is impossible for the fremen to enter. 1t
does not take big fire to cloud room
with smoke, and often when the smoke is
densest the fire is smallest How to enter
such place is then the question which
the fireman has to answer. To go in
bodily with his hose in hand would mean
almost instant suffOcation, and to turn on
heavy stream of water and throw it into
the room would mean reckless damage to
property. To Obviate both these OBJ
jectionable features the nozzle of the hose
is so arranged that by the proper applica-
ton of a slight pressure of the hand the
water can be sent forth in a spray, and
this clears the atmosphere enough
and drives the smoke away sutti-
GENTLY to allow the men to enter There
is joint in the pipe few inches Fellow
the end, which. when Ioosened, allows
the water to escape on all sides, throwing
it forward in a shape somewhat similar to
an umbrella. This drives the smoke be-
fore the men and makes the entrance COM
paratively easy.
Once at he'origin of the fire, the water
can be turned directly upon it. In many
of the smaller fires engines are not brought
into play at ALL The insurance patrol an
swers all alarms, and the light apparatus
they carry is especially adapted to small
fires, and they extinguish them with little
or no damage 10 Surrounding property.
The improved nozzle has been used by
the fire department for several years, but
strange to say, its many advantages are
either unknown or not appreciated by
the people.