San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-02-04
FIRE PROTECTION.
Complaints Of Lack OF Pressure from the
Fire Department.

One Of the most explicit stipulatiOns
in the contract ofthe Water-wOrks Com
psny with the city is the furnishing Of
water for fire protection and the amount
OF pressure to be put on to insure good
strong streams Of water. A portion of
section of said contract reads: And
that the said works shall be capable at
any time in case of fire of throwing six
(G) streams from the hydrants at one
time through 30 feet OF ,! inch of hose
and l.inch nozzle, to the height of the
highest building in said city The
LIGHT has repeatedly called the atten-
ton of said company and the city au-
thorities, whose duty it is to see that the
contracts with the city are enforced. to
the complaints Of members Of the fire
department that there is insufficient
pressure to throw one good stream.
much less six TO the top OF the highest
building in the city 4 member of the
Fire Department, and 81 prominent and
responsible citizen, publishes the iUl-
lowing complaint in the Express:
AT the fire last night on East Com
=.
pany, of which Mr.. II. G. Miller is Fore
man, was the first at the scene, and, I'M
der their Hose Director, Mr.. George
Caen, threw the first water. Owing,
however, to the poor water pressure.
the stream was so weak that the
holders of the nozzle were com.
PEELED to advance so near TO the flaming
building as to suffer considerably from
the heat. The distance from the street
to the burning buildings was only % feet,
and the hydrant Immediately acr, SIS the
street. The writer thinks that 1t is
about time that our honorable City C0un-
ell enforces the Water-wOrks Company
to properly comply with the stipuiaiiOns
of <he contract,
Article six Of the contract says: "rO
guarantee that the said water works
shall be of the most durable material and
tirst-class in Rll respects and thar said
works shall be capable at any time Of ire
of throwing six streams from the by
drants at one time through 10 feet UftwO
and One-haIf inch hose and one inch noZ-
Zle to the hight Of the highest building
in said city, This is word for word of
the contract At the fire last eight the
pressure was so weak that not even one
nozzle would have thrown = stream over
common twO-stOry house. What
would have become of the pressure had
the other five nOZZles been attached? Is
this compliance of the contract on the
part Of the Water-wOrks Company?
viii our City Council tolerate such
state of affairs? Is our Council not there
for the purpose of representing the
rights of its constituents? Is it wrong
on the part OF our Chief of the Fire De-
partment to report to the City Council,
such and such | recommend to be aC-
cepted. when they have not been tested
according to contract? Who is respOn.
sible for LOT ses caused BY a lire when the
water-wOrhs are in such Il condition as
they were last night. without any pres
sure? CITIIEN.'
The Express also has the following as
coming from the President OF the Water
Works Company: Colonel Bracken-
ridge says there must be some mistake
about the complaint of the tiremen re-
garding insufficient pressure for fire pur-
poses. stating there is from 90 TO Gj
pounds OF pressure on all the time. suf
ticient to brow water over the highest
house in town. He is of the opinion that
there must have been something wrong
with either the hydrant or the attach
ment."
Notwithstanding this assurance on the
part of said interested gentleman, comes
another complaint. The members of
the Second Ward Hose Company reached
the fire on Camden street last night
ahead of the other companies and at
tached their hose to the nearest n.y.
drant and secured water fret. They in
formed a LIGHT reporter that if there
had been the proper pressure on the ny
drant the fire could easily have been
eXtinguished by them before il had
gained Roadway. As it was, however.
there was not sufficient pressure to
throw the water to the building from the
street, until long after the engines had
reached the scene.
The contract says that the pressure
shall be furnished, and if il is the fault
of the hydrants or if it is anywhere else,
the duty is with the company to apply
the remedy. The city pays over sci 900
year for what it does not recsive; i. e.
fire protection.