Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-08-14
SALT LAKES FIRE DEPARTMENT.
Some Pertinent Remarks TO the City
Council and the Citizens An Re
gard To This Important
Matter.

Each new alarm OF fire which clashes on
the startled ear is but signal for anoth-
er act in the weary farce which the pub
lie have been compelled to witness from
time to time during the past years. In
Justice, it must be said that the trouble
does not lie in any but very small de-
gree with the members of the department,
but is to be found in the miserable So
called facilities" afforded by the city.
The idea that the four men and the one
horse hose-cart that constitute the imme-
diately available resources of the depart
ment are a sufficient force for city OF
the population and area of Salt Lake
could only originate in the brilliant in
tellects for which our City Fathers are
noted.
Upon the sounding of an alarm the
first thing to do is to hitch the one horse
to cart containing 500 feet OF hose; this
having been sent out the next thing to do
is to hunt up a team to take out the en-
zine. This process has been known to
take no less than twenty minutes to COM
plete The usual crowd that gathers
around is then called upon to take out
the hook and ladder tuck, and by this
time any fire that has the least ''get up"
about it will have things well in hand and
be on the home stretch before anything
can be done to check it. 1t is Il standing
shame and criminal reproach that Il city
OF the size ana wealth OF salt Lake
should enGanger the lives and property
OF its citizens in such manner, and the
fact that such a state OF things has existed
for so long can only be attributed TO
the miserable set of blockheads who, for
well known reasons, have been continued
in office from year to year in spite OF their
acknowledged unnJness Tor any position
requiring even the most ordinary COM
mon sense. Some day confagration
will, for want of attention at the proper
time, sweep over the business portion OF
the city; and over the ashes of thousands
of dollars worth of property, and perhaps
of many human beings, the citizens will
raise such voice of indignant protest as
will, perhaps, awaken the sleepy-headed
Council to the fact that they have some
thing else to do beside doing away in
their easy chairs and only arousing them
selves long enough to draw their salaries
regularly.
Numerous excellent plans for providing
us with Fire Department worthy of the
name have been prepared from time to
time, and the most feasible of them should
be forced upon the council for considera-
ton as soon as possible. OF the numer-
Gus plans suggested, that of Chief Often
ger strikes us as being the simplest and
best. '"There should be-" says he, "a
central station provided with two-horse
hose cart and from 1000 to 1900 feet of
hose. In addition to this there should be
some hali-dozen auxiliary stations in
various parts of the city. These stations
should each be provided with men and
facilities sufficient to enable them to work
with promptness, most requisite thing
in most cases where the first few minutes
OF time are more valuable than the sue
ceeding half hour. With an arrangement
like this, no matter in what part Of the
city an alarm was sounded, cart and
men could be on hand promptly and keep
the fire in check at least until assistance
came from other departments"
There is no time like the present to ask
the following pertinent questions: Is
there no way to impress upon the minds
OF our city officials that if this, or some
thing of a similar nature, is not done in
the near future, the public will, without
reference to politics, ask them to step
down and out, and give place to those
who can be made to realize that this is
the nineteenth century? Read you who
have SO long endangered our lives and
properties in the manner you are now
doing. Read OF the wonderful prompt
ness and efficiency of the fire depart
ments of small towns of one-third our
population and wealth. Read, and blush
tor shame when you think of the miser-
able farce which your stupidity, or some
thing worse, has imposed upon us.
JEFF B.