The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-21
savannah,s Fire Service.

In the New FORK COn1nleTc1dt Buttetth
of July IS there is an article entitled
! "Savannah's Pc in 1t bears pretty strong
marks # having been written in this city.
1 If it was not it is quite safe TO say that the
informa ion upon which it is based was
fur Is ed by some one living here. While
the article contains much that is probably
true it is calculated 70 give misleading
impression.
TIE charge is made that there are defec's
in the city's water supply and that the fire
depar meat is ineffi isIt. As a matter Of
fact, the is an ample supply of water in
all parts of the city to VIII CHI the
water system extends. The chisf fireman
mas stated repeatedly within the lass few
weeks that he mas never fai ed TO get an
abundant supply Of water at every fire
which has occurred since he has been In
charge of the fire depar ment. 1t Is true
that there is not pressure enough to permit
oi an effective use of hose attacn ed directly
to the fire plugs when the engines are
pumping from the mains, but depe de ce
is not placed upon the pressure i'll mains
. throw wafer upon burning buildings, but
upon the engines Ia Nov York there Is
no presSur' worth mentioning in the mai s.
The Bulletin article says that there are
virtually only three engines to prot-c, the
whole of he city. That stateme It is moor
rect. There are five engines, TO r Of which
are Fl st-clasA\ aud the fifth is capable of
doing excellent service The city council
is criticised in he Bulletins article for
seve al things, one of winch is that its Fl e
- g~.I1 - IA ha fra
engines with hea ers, although ordered to
do so several months az 1t is impossible
| t say why there has baen sucn a re mark
able delay in purchasing the heaters. The
ire committee, or the council perhaps, can
explai the delay. The heaters nave BEEN
ordered however and will be ii use prob
ably wit in three weeks. Another fire
engine has been ordered also, and the con-
ract for it requires that it shall bs ady
for delivery between the LIST aud 18th of next
month.
There is no doubt that there have been a
great many fires in this city this year, but
with the exception of the great fire of April,
| s none of item have been very disastrous
| deed, with the exec tion of that fire it Is
doubtful if the loss from fires for the first
six months Of this year was greater than
the loss for the first six months of last year,
| or than the average loss for the Fl st six
months a year for a numbe' of years.
The great fire of April could not have
been stopped, probably, sooner than it was,
even if the fire service had been twi as
grea as it was, and the water supply as
| abundant as could have been furnish d by
a rive. The ind blew a gale, and the fire
was carried from one building to another
with remarkable rapidly. The wonder is
not that tue fire was so great, but that 1T
was not greater. the lumber of fires
that have occurred since the great
fire does not show a dsfec i've water
supply, or an inefficient fire depart nent
The frequency of fires has no conncc ion
with tho water supply or the fire dep TT
me 1t. The gu stioi is. was there a ok of
Hater or inefficie It fire service at any of the
fres9 Who is the who is prepared to say
there was eitherl Was not the Miller fl e
confined to the buildings in which it origi-
mated, Notwithstanding they were filed
with infiammable Materials Was not the
Germa e fire well haldled? Run over the
didiy aud will it not be admitted hat the
lie service and wa or supply were salts
factory al all of them? Are fires Of the
same charac er handled to better advant-
| age In other citiesa
When a large number of fires has oc-
Cured in a city IN short period of time,
and good deal of property has been de-
stroyed, there are naturally many express
sions of hasty Judgment. There is dis
position blame somebody or to find fault
with something. There may be excellent
reasons for condemning somebody or some
| thing in connection with the recent fires /
this city, but nobody knows whe her there
are or not. view of the many complaints
that are made, would it not be advisable
for the city council to make au investiga-
ton of some of the thugs CON-
planned ofl If there is anything
rong it is necessary to find oul
what it is before a remedy can be applied.
1t is folly to work blindly. If there is
nothing the matter with the water supply
or the fire service, let it be SO stated. If
there is, lot the remedy be applied.
There seems to be no doubt that some OF
the recent fires were of incendiary origin.
The chief fireman mentions several tina,
ought to have been carefully but vgorou,l
investigated. Were they so nvesligs ted
There is another t ing t. which the NJ oRN-
ING NEWS ca led ate ation some time ago,
but concerning which nothing has yet been
done, and that is the coalition of the
cellars and lofts of some of the business
houses. Al It some of these places sources
of great dauger9 They ought to be in
spected every week a ID those responsible
for them compelled TO keep them free from
rubbish.
BY the middle of next month the fire
service will be greatly improved. With q
new engine aud heaters Savannah's fire
service ought to lie as efficien. as that of
any other city of her size in the country.
| Carua Qie and the Tariff