The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-02-24
FIRE FIGHTERS DOINGS.
THE WAY THE Man SPEND THEIR
TIME AT HEADQUARTERS.

The Horses. end How They are Taught.
The New Arrangement of the Alarm
Stations Twelve New Stations to
be Added-The Aerial Ladder Drill
The New Apperatus-A Site Pur-
chased for the No. Engine House.
1t good class Of men at firemen's
headquarters Beneath each one Of those
blue flannel uniforms beats warm heart.
The miraculous escapes Of the men from
burning buildings while trying to extin-
guish a flame, or saving some poor unfor-
tunate, are too numerous to record. Brave
men are they, full of good deeds and gen
erous impulses. If they are worked hard,
treated badly, bemeaned, and considered
machines and apparatus put in motion by
the city and operated by its lucre, they are
men. born to do their duty in their sphere.
Success to them is as sweet and as precious
as it is to any man. They have pride, and
are as much delighted with a shining engine
and sleek fat horses as mother is with her
child.
The firemen at headquarters sit back in
the rear of the engine house, and feast their
eyes on the two pretty iron grays which
draw the new engine, and the two hand
some bays that draw the ''moguP reel. All
of the animals and in row, and they
seem to know when the boys are praising
them. They turn their heads in their sta
bles and shake them as if they were enjoy
ing the remarks Of their friends.
When the $3.50 alarm is sent in the chains
drop. All of the horses have q race to see
which gets to his place and will be hitched
up first. Fully fifteen minutes before the
big Duke" taps the horses begin to get
impatient and champ their bits, and move
about and look back at the firemen.
'Do they start every timer
"Well, you are mighty right When
they get SO 'upity' as to walk we don't
want them. Run out7 Well, should say
so. They have been known to run out and
come In an inch Of running over fireman.
More, sir, they'd run right square over a
fellow If he got in their way. They couldn't
be stopped. They get ashamed when they
get benlnd, and it's the biggest kind OF
race between them. They don't stop to
bite at the rope or switch fly off, but they
trot right up to the pole and jump in place.
When the first tap comes in, the chains |
in front of the stalls drop. and the horses |
are hltched up and the fire is started in the |
engine before il gets out of the building |
Why, I've seen these horses out in the yard |
drinking water when alarm came. What |
would they dol Why, fly to the pole.n
"Ever get on the wrong sidef'
"Never. 1t would be a disgrace. No, |
sir, you never heard of these horses getting |
in the wrong place; they've got as much |
sense as a man"
sis it hard to teach themp
"No. They learn it quick if they've got |
any kind of blood at all in them. You see
the horses we buy have to be uncommon |
stock"
"What kind of horses learn the Quickest
Smart, frisky horses. But they forget |
sometimes. The horse that does the best |
service after he's broken in is one of these
regular big fools. That gray horse |
there was the greenest animal you |
ever saw when he came to the department. |
He didn't seem to think anybody was here
but him. de would not notice us boys, and |
when we'd try to teach him he wanted to |
have his own way. He used to run out
nearly scared to death when the 'Duken
tapped, and when we'd hitch him UP he'd
dash through the front door and run clear
around the house before we could stop him,
We beat him till he couldn't see straight.
and after awhile he found out that our way
was better than his and we conquered him.
Now he is the best one in the lot.n
With that the fireman put his arms
around the horses neck and gave him a
warm smack on the mouth, and the animal
seemed to enjoy It, The firemen at No. 3
go TO every fire. Many times they have
much farther TO go, but the boys say they
get there as quickly as any of the compa-
MES. The new engine carries ten or twelve
pounds Of steam all the time, and the
whistle may be blown in the house at any
time In running from headquarters to
Broughton street the engine will make over
twenty pounds of team and can go right to
work. She is polished brightly and looks
very pretty in the engine house. The old
truck used before ''the aerial" came has
been taken to No. engine house. The
horses that draw the aerial ladder are pets
of the firemen also. They are large chest
nut sorrels with white hind feet, and blazes
In their foreheads, and make a pretty show.
All the new apparatus is kept as neat as
pin. The engine house on a Sunday after
noon, when all the boys are in good spiri is,
Is an interesting place.