Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-10-01
THE FIRE LADDIES.
GET TING TO BE MORE EXPERT IN
ANSWERING FIRE ALARMS.

Gotham's Tiremen Have Got Their Bust
| ness Dawn to IA Science-TiIne Ii Takes
"a Fireman to Dress-The HORSES Har-
ness.
Every day the brave fir ladlies Of
| Gotham are getting To he more expert in
swiftly answering fire alarms, and are on
the lockout for improvements that Will
cut down even shorter the few seconds at
present occupied in hiIchimg up horses
| and stHrtluE the engines of trucks rattling
| on their way 40 the iiTe. The sliding pole
was an Improvement mt On the old fashioned
| pell-me rush down the stairs that saved
| nearly a minute OF preparation Quick
| dressing is one of the features of fire lad
| die activity nowadays that fills every lay
man with amusement. The laddles have
| got the business down to such science
| that they literally jump into their clothes.
Every fireman goes to bed with mis- red
fire shirt on. HIS trousers are always
kept tucked into the legs OF his heavy
rubber boots, and when he reti res he
retlrcs simply lets the trOuSer, Slide of
HIM aud down over the boot leg and then
| steps out of the boots. Wnen he wants
| to dress he steps back into the boots
again, yanks the trousers up around his
waist, fasteus them with "a spring buckle,
and makes dashes for the sliding pole
quick as wink, completely dressed.
TIE AVERAGE TINE.
Twelve seconds Is the average time 1t
takes fireman To dress when an alarm
| starts him out of bed at night SeryL
Smith SAID, land III bet SlOa TO 81 IS
many times as anybody wants TO take the
odds that we have men mere who can
dress III SIX secoads every time they want
to-
The essential thing in putting fires out
| in hurry Is to get the machinery there,
as well as the men who handle il. And
It is in this essential thing about the
science of handling fires that our fire
commissioners think The department
comes rs near perfection a. il Is possible
for human ingenuity 10 reach. Improve
ment after Improvement has been made,
until now the loss Of time in hitChiug has
been reduced apparently absolutely To the
minimum There are only two things
about il 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 uecks by the Waterman And
both these are done in such perfect way
that they are rs good rs automatic any
how Automatic machinery does all of
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 gonS. The ball strikes,
presses down 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 a shelf beside the
gong, and thus automatically keeps "A rec
ord Of the time consumed in going to
fire, putting it out and returning. BY
comparing the little clock with the big
clock on the wall that is going ali the
time, the captain of the company can tell
at glance just how long it took to do
ANY given plect- of work