Morning journal and courier., 1886-10-25
COMMUNICATIONS.
sDead.head Fire Service.

To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 The city of New Haven, through the ad- ministration of the fire department, is achieving a series of noble tTiumphs and covering itself with glory. It must excite the astonishment, if not the admiration, of all civilized communities to learn that dur ing the past two years at several fires within the town of New Haven, some of them not forty rods beyond the city line, many thou sands of dollars worth of property has been allowed to go up in flame, while the fire department stood idly by watching the de- struction but refusing all assistance unless s'some responsible person" would agree to pay $50 per hour for every engine that should play on the fire Much of the property so destroyed has belonged to city residents, who pay taxes for the support of the same fire department, but that makes no difference. The inhabitants of the outlying districts must in some way be con verted to the scheme of consolidation with the city, and both they and such city resi- dents as happen to own property among them are to be left to the mercy of unre sisted confagrations until these obstinate "outsiders' consent to embrace the blessings of city government which has shown itself so friendly, generous and humane.
 It seems incredible that policy of this kind which would be deemed infamous in tribe of savages, should be deliberately adopted and practiced by the authorities of a New England community toward their own townsmen. Yet such is the fact, and dur ing the past few days it has been rather ex- ultingly foreclaimed by authority in the pub lie print, and the latest application of it with it's disastrous results rejoiced over. The pretext put forth in it's defence, viz: that the city would be in serious danger if or two engines should go a few rods beyond the city line. is too silly to merit notice, far less a reply. So with au- other excuse to the effect the rule is adopted as a proper and necessary protection against what is called "a dead head fire service" To discover the insincerity of this pEetense it only needs to refer to the enormous price of $50 per hour which is demanded for the use of each engine outside of the city limits. The entire expense to the city of New Haven for 1SS5-6 of maintaining it's fire department, including the fire alarm telegraph system, was about $S4, 900. This amount, if assessed upon the seven steam fire engin belonging to the department, would give S12, GOO as the total annual expenditure on account of each engine, or about $32 90 per day and $1.37 per hour. The charge of $50 an hour is at the rate of $1 200 for each engine per day or $439, 900 per year. At this rate if the charge were based approximately upon the actual cost to the city the annual expen- diture on the fire department would be con- siderably over three millions of dollars, or more than thirty-six times the actual amount. Could any words exhibit more strongly than these figures purpose to prevent any assist ance whatever from the fire department in extinguishing confagrations outside of the city limits.
 No doubt, as business matter, some mu- tual arrangement ought to exist between the town authorities and the city relative to the use of the city engines in case of fire outside the city limits and fair compensation there for Why such arrangement does not exist is not apparent-certainly an attempt to effect it should be made at once. But whether it exists or not this community can not afford nor do we believe it will sanction, the continuance of policy toward large proportion of our fellow citizens which in the hour of their ruin and distress offers them only the choice between inhumanity and extortion.
 H. T. BLAKE