The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-01-31
A FIREMAN'S "REMINISCENCES.
The Force of Stream from Steam Engine
-Ludicrous Incidents of 0lden Days.


thrown by steam fireengine, and at the same
time striking illustration of the resources of
an inventive mind were related by Mr.. Miles
Greenwood, early in 1854, very soon after the
paid steam fire department had been established
in Cincinnati, with Mr. Greenwood as chief
1T may be worth noting here that Mr.. Green
wood, recently deceased, was one of the earliest
and most liberal patrons Of our pioneer artist
Jacob Cox In February, 1884, a committee OF
the Marion re Company. of this city, was sent
to Cincinnati to buy one of the hose-reels of the
abandoned volunteer system of that city. Mr..
Greenwood was very attentive to the committee,
and while going around from one engine house
to another to make selection, he spoke freely
of the new steam pay system. saying at least
one remarkable thing. better worth preserving
than many mot" that has gone into history
IA big advantage of the steam engine is that it
doesn't drink whisky or throw brickbats."
The illustration of the power of a steam stream
was related during this trip round the engine
houses. He said a fire in Columbia street.-the
Journals informant thinks it was-had complete
" Quilted tall five-story brick house, leaving no
inside supports for the thin walls. and in conse
quence the back wall had wholly fallen in, and
part of the front wall was broken and in constant
danger of falling The street was 80 narrow
that the front wall would have fallen clean across
it, and against the opposite wall, smashing ev-
erythpg in the street and seriously damaging
the opposite house. The chief was puzzled at
first how to avert the danger. Luckily
the front was full of windows leaving but mar
row and thin pilasters of brick-work between
them. He ordered on full head of steam in the
most powerful engine, and directed the pipeman
to play on these narrow separating Masses mop
ing to cut through them and tumble only the por-
ne %ha all chAvo ha mid of ha
story windows, and to make 1t fall In instead OF
on the street. He succeeded perfectly. The
powerful stream drove in the bricks in places
sufficiently numerous to make sort OF cut and
then the stream playing above turned the upper
section of the wall inward, and it fell as harm
lessly a sheet of paper.
very funny occurrence at the fire in Dr.
Calls house. in 1853, will be remembered by
some of the old volunteer fremen. The Doctor
was in Antwerp as consul, at the ttme, but his
family still occupied the house. One bitter cold
morning about 10 o'clock, when the thermometer
was 10o below zero, a fire, or what appeared
from the smoke, to be one, broke out in the gar
ret of this residence. On the west, adjoining,
was a little shed-roofed house, where Wiley
Bates had his shoeshop. The Marion and Re-
lief engines were at q clstern or we'll about half
a square away, and were all ready to start
stream the moment the captains gave the word
Previous examination and waste of water had
proved that there was 40 fire below, 80 the next
step was to get ladder against the little shoe
shop and on the roof of that set another ladder
against the house. high enough Tor an aXman TO
cut away the weather boarding Of the garrett and
| for ppeman to follow and play through the
| hole.
Both ladders were set, and Wash. Buchanan
| was the upper ladder chopping away the
| weather boarding, while the hosemen were
| dragging their hose up to the foot of the lower
| one. The captain of the Marion, Mr. Sulgrove,
| was just going up the lower ladder which was
| so long and the little shop so low. that it
I'd dnol all yvhn ia
| mar at the engine somehow mstook signal or
| order and raised the valve. In an instant huge
| stream of freezing water came spoutlng up the
| ladder. raking him from one end to the other on
! the under side Raise your pipe" he yelled, Ia
| cold agony, and it was raised just high enough
| to rake him all along the back, and he reached
the roof of the little shop as completely soaked
as if he had fallen into the canal, and in two
| frozen as stiff as wire. When he
| took off his coat, arriving
at home, it stood up the floor like piece of old
| iron armor. And that was the condition of the
| clothing of good many OF the boys that day,
| among others that of Mr.. New of the journal,
| who belonged to the Relief ''row-boat" engine
| very speedy feat of fine work was done by
| the Marion boys in the summer of OF. The roof
| of an ce-house, excavated on the corner of
Maryland and Illinois streets, opposite the Grand
| Hotel site. was set on fire from the straw that
| covered the ice. one summer night, just about
| dark. The alarm was the usual yelling Fire"
fire, by everybody that liked noise, and 1t
| brought enough of the Marion boys to the old
engine-house on the Circle, to Jump" the sold
| tub" down to the Kentucky avenue we'll, get her
to work, put the fire out. and get back in little
/ over fifteen minutes.
1t seems hard for one of the present genera
| ton, used only to the signal bells of the engine
] houses to understand how we made alarms in
| the volunteer department times, and it would
have been equally hard then for anybody to I'M
| derstand how there could be an alarm that did
| fill the whole town with wells. and bells and the
| tramp of hurrying feet. Tavern bells were al
ways rung, while we had ''taverns' instead of
''hotels," and church bells were rung. if one
could get at them; but the chief reliance was
| yelling This lasted until a crowd was seen
| about burning house, or hurryins towards it,
| and then all became quiet as it is now, when
no one, as the old joke has it, feels alarm at a
fire in the night till he can feel the wall at the
| head Of his bed growing hot.
|