The daily herald. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1886-1887, 1886-12-13
THE FIRE ladies.
GETTING TO BE MORE EXPERT IN
ANSWERING FIRE ALARMS.


Gotham's Flremen Have Got Their Busl
moss Down to Science--Time 1t Take
Fireman 60 Dress--The Horses Irar
ness.
Every day the brave fire laddies o
Gotham are getting to be more expert IN
swiftly answering fire alarms, and are OF
the lookout for improvements that will
cut down even shorter the few seconds al
present occupied in hitching up horses
and starting the engines of trucks rattlinD
on their way to the fire. The sliding pole
was an Improvement on the old fashion Is
pcll-mell rush down the stairs that save
nearly minute of preparation. Quick
dressing is one of the features of fire lad
die activity nowadays that fills every lay
man with amazement. The laddies have
got the business down to such scienc
that they literally jump into their clothe
Every fireman goes to bed with his re
fire shirt on His trousers are alwal
kept tucked into the legs of his heaN
rubber boots, and when he retires h,
retires simply lets the trousers slide oil
him and down over the boot leg and then
steps out of the boots. When he want
TO dress he steps back into the boot
again, yanks the trousers up around hi
waist, fastens them with spring buck,
and makes dashes for the sliding pc
quick us wink, completely dressed
THE AVERAGE TIME.
twelve seconds is the average time
takes fireman to dress when an alt
starts him out of bed at night Ser
Smith said, "and I'll bet 500 to 81 n
g. 49, ,1r. 4.
odds that we. have men here who Gu,
dress in six seconds every time they wan,
to-"
The essential thing in putting fires out
In hurry Is to get the machinery there,
as well as the men who handle it. And
1t is In this essential thing about the
science of handling fires that our fir
commissioners think the department
comes as near perfection as it is possible
for human ingenuity to reach. Improve
: ment after Improvement has been made
until now the loss of time in hitching has
been reduced apparently absolutely to the
minimum There are only two things
about 1t that aren't automatic. These are
the movement of the horses from the
stalls to their places beside the engine
shaft, and the swapping of their collars
over their necks by the Waterman. And
both these are done in such perfect way
that they are as good as automatic any
how. Automatic machinery does all oil
the rest of the work quick enough to
make your head swim If you try to time
the details. The instant the operator at
fire headquarters opens the circuit to send
an alarm the current drops metal ball
right beside the gong. The ball strikes,
presses down a bar of brass, and pulls a
steel wire that automatically unhitches
the springs at the sides of the stalls that
hold the halters of the horses The ham
mer of the gong, simultaneously with the
first alarm stoke, stops the little record"
clock that is perched on shelf beside the
gong, and thus automatically keeps a rec
ord of the time consumed in going to
hre, putting it out and returning BY
comparing the little clock with the big
clock on the wall that is going all the
time, the captain of the company can tell
at a glance just how long it took to do
any given piece of work.
THE HORSES HARNESS.
The harness is always suspended over
the shaft by an automatic iron changer
1t Is held in position there by springs.
When the driver grabs the reins the ten
sion loosens the springs, the harnesses
drop down upon the horses, the watch
man snaps the collars around the horses
necks, and automatic weights attached 10
little pulleys in the ceiling carry the
framework of the changer up over head
out of the way. improvements are
steadily being made in the collars that
the fire horses wear. They are made in
two sections, fastened with hinge at the
top, and snap together at the bottom with
a m N In or ff,nr
made of cast iron have recently been in
troduced in some of the engine houses
They are sixteen pounds lighter than the
leather collars, which weigh thirty-six
pounds each, and they are considered
more durable and serviceable. These col
lars can be fastened around the horses
necks in u fraction of second.
Great as is the efficiency of the appar.
atus for distinguishing fires, still further
improvements are contemplated. Com
missioner Purroy is trying to have an
electric lantern perfected that will ena BILE
the firemen to see into buildings through
thick smoke, and that won't go out and
leave them in darkness, as the present
oil lanterns do. The commissioners
brother wants to rig up a double stage ar
rangement in every engine house. tina.
will enable two engines to be kept in eacl
house and thus double the capacity of tn,
department to fight fires. When one ell
CINE has gone TO fire, the other, by tn,
proposed plan, can be hosted out OF TIL
cellar and be kept in instant readiness
answer call for reinforcements.- Nc
York Sun.
Bringing Up Orphans.
Twelve years close observation and Tn,