The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1890-01-12
FIRE FIGHTING
Brunswck's Equipment For Down
ing the Fiend.
A Talk W4th Chief Merrifield-Not Pleas
ant State of Afairs-The Department
Rather Down at the Heels-Bad Manage
ment the Cause.

| Brunswic&'s fire department needs
overhauling, if the court, in the person
of the newly elected chief, Capt. G.. G..
Merrifetd, knows itself, and that it
does there sn't the least doubt.
Chief Merrifield has been there before
and knows how it is ana what is better,
how it should be. He's no yro in the
business Of fighting fire or handling a
department aud is unquestionably the
best equiyCod man in Brunswick for the
position tC which he has been recently
called.
Yesterday morning in company with
Alderman :. Jos. Doerfiinger, chairman
of the council committee ON the fire de-
partment, Chief Merri6eld made an in
spection the material and apparatus
with whic he has been entrusted, to-
gether wit the engine house.
A TINE reporter caught on and soon
had q stream of interrogatories turned
on the chief,
GLOW did you find things at the en-
gine house, was the first dash ont of
the box--no hose.
"Hoss on you, )" said Chief Merrifeld
''But. badinage aside and business right
on, l vert to the engine house to see
what sort q an outfit there was tor fire
| fighting aud it's condition."
'And It's condition."
"a J0sT DEPLORABLE ONE.
"It doseu't sound pleasant to hear
this state 4ent, know, but it is true,
nevertheless, and there is absolute and
pressing Necessity for immediate steps
towards remedying the evils | discov
cred, for evils and dangerous ones they
are. found the engine with only u
half suction in working order, thus
rendering the engine unfit for use only
at plug. The machine cannot, III It's
present condition pump water from a
cistern or ont of the bay. Then, again,
the hook and ladder trucks are all torn
to pieces and are stored away in an
old shar4y, from which a half-dozen
men coud hardly get them out in an
hours hard work. "
''Nor:- PLEASANT FEATURE CHIEF"
-tNU, 81 sJSH 49,: oA9. 1.at tAat ia
not all. The floor of the engine house
is all broken in and the engine is in
danger of taking such a tumble as
would render it completely hors du
combat, as Barney Dart would say.
The front of the reel house is so badly
cracked and bro~en that you can
scarcely get the doors open. Then
more: There are no noZzles but the old
time kind; about unfit for use. If
fire should break out in store, more
property would be destroyed than saved.
called the attention of Chairman Doer-
finger to these Things and he promised
to lay the matter before his committee
and the council, pledging me all the as
sistance in his power, and in procuring
all the necessary outfit to put the de.
partment in fighting trim"
What DO you propose to do tirst?"
"Systematize everything, and then get
the department up to tirst-class con-
dition. There will be much work to do
this, but it must be done. There must
be such action on the part of the council
and citizens that will give Brunswick
fire department, of which We will be
proud and give the city protection.
There should be at least four electrical
fire alarm stations, the fremen must be
drilled so that they will instantly know
where fire is located when an alarm is
sent in. propose to seek information
from the best fire chiefs in the South.
One thing more: There ought to be
paid fire department in part, tiremen en-
ployed to be on watch all the time.
This is but hurried outline of what l
hope to see done toward improving the
fire department.
A REPORT.
Superior hose reel company, composed
of colored men, made this report: Three
Spanners three sections Of hose in good
order, four sections "busted;" one
broken plug wrench; one lamp; one
nozzle; bad order; reel ditto.
Adams the lending grocer. has inst re-