Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-04-10
IN AasoEUrB HEoxssrzH.
The Chief Of the Fire Brigade Sets Forth
the Pressing Needs Of the City fer .
Paid Fire Department.


b Pressing Needs Of the City for
Paid Fire Department.
The fire that swept hall q block on Broad
way on Sunday morning afforded Chic
Themes Of the Fire Brigade . subject
for illustrating the pressing necessity fol
establishing . paid fire company here
Talking with a reporter about the matter
he said yesterday:
1.-THE people can see by the way the men
OF the Fire Department and Brigade
responded to the alarm that the men be-
longing to them are dissatisfied owing to
the lack OF attention that has been paid to
their requests for improvement Of the
service. IL was twenty-five minutes after
the alsrm was sounded ere a coupling was
made at Main and Broadway. There are
about seventy men in good standing be.
longing 20 the Brigade and about the same
number In the Department and there were
only ten OF the Brigade and four OF the
Department that I noticed who re-
sponded to the alarm. The rest were
outsiders. That shows how the boys feel
about turning out at fires. OF course there
$500 SnS atcVip1AuC pU66ltsIc uHQ0F tQf6G
circumstances that there should be-.
"How long were the men on dut. ?n
From / until 4 O'Clock. The MEN there
worked hard, got themselves drenched and
ran big risks INTELLECTUALLY, but it ia too
much to ask of them to encounter all this
any longer under the indifference shown tti
their needs. Alderman Monteath author.
ICED me to employ mpu to watch the stuff,
but the men had to reel up their own hose
when the fire was Out. There were not fire.
men enough to mar the pipes."
What sort OF q paid department do you
think the city can afford3i
SWELL, | think the fire service could he
paced in good and efficient condition if the
city would employ u chief engineer and six
men to be constantly on duty. 1t needs a
good man for chief, and the city canno get
The right shan Tor tho piaca. at less than
$4,000 q year. The men will require to
have their engiLe house, which should ba
central, with Accommodations to bs there
at all hours. The mel must be such as the
chief can depend upon, who be drilled
in their duties. In addition, there is
needed an electric alarm system, by which
. notice OF ire in any section can ne sent !
In the moment it is noticed. Tnen when |
alarm comes in, the men are on hand |
and jump out on the double without the |
loss OF a second, make their couplings sys.
under the chiefs direction, and
are fighting tie fire before it makes head.
way, with an experienced man to direct
chem. The electric fire signal is as n UGH a
necessity as the paid firemen."
Would the volunteer organizations be
II don't think they would. Speaking for
myself I should feel perfectly satisfied to
continue as In aid to the paid firemen and
would work with them with q will. Success
n fighting a FIRE depends on having an ex-
,erienced, cooi-headed man with ideas OF
lis own, who would be obeyed with prompt.
less, and men who understand their bust.
less in charge of the MOBILES. Then q fire is
attacked properly and no time or water is
ost. The volunteer men would work with
under such q system and they
ould relieve the paid fremen when neces-
ary."
"Would the present water mains and fire.
hugs be sufficient under such a system as
GU speak Off"
"Of course not. Last night there were
our 2h-inch hose attached to two ydrants ]
Implied from one 5-inch main. ! must say !
hat the supply OF water never was more
nipple at any fire here in my recollection. i
'ut the mains will have to be enlarged and
he fire plugs placed at every other street !
orner and extended to the outlying parts
1 the city. ALL this cannot be done at !
nee, but if the volunteers Saw q beginning i
made for some such improvements they
be satisfied. All we have got from .
he authorities 80 far is wind, and tell you
ae men are tired Of it, and it !
amt be otherwise. The city is well enough j
BILE to afford such a small force as I have ]
lentioned, and the short and the long OF ]
is that the men on the Brigade and De. [
artment demand to be relieved Of the hard {
ill not respond as of old any more. {
very man on the Brigade is a taxpayer :
nd rs such interested in the welfare OF the =
Ity, but even they, you See, don't turn out
it'll their accustomed energy. But they
ill be satisfied il they only see a start !
lade by the authorities in the right direc- 1
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