Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-08-15
FIRE FIGHTERS.
NEW YORK'5 DEPARTMENT. THE
BEST IN THE WORLD.
Reading the Gon2s-.The Dreaded
Three Skies and heGrttciul Four
fours--Training the Mcnto Use
Liie-Saving Appliances.

'""H' 'Hc Worlu over. The LOuuOn
press Is apt to inakea great ado at the
close OF each fiscal ye4I, when the notice
"i the cost.ol maintaining their Fire De-
pMtmentfor'twelyc months IS made pub
lie. $50:
The best paid of London's rank and
file tiremen get SIS Il week, out of which,
they must pay rcnt to the city for the
rooms shey occupy, over what the New
lork force know as the apparatus floor.
The rank and ilc Of this city bcuin with
"a salary OF $1,000 year, which is after
| ward increased to'Sl20O. If the liremen
! get Killed in ihis city, the widow receives
| SiooV from the Pension Fund and $500
:; year after ihat rs long rs remains Il
widow.
Company quarters of any hook and
ladder or engine company substantially
resemble one another If Il visitor enters
The quarters of an engine company. say
during the night. he will sec to his rirht.
and close To the door which he passes
through, It desk, generally surrounded
by Il railing. AT this desk the fireman
"cn watch sits, wakeful and alert, for
the signal which may ut any moment
come wiirring over the wires. In front
oi him lies the b!otter on which are re-
corded all alarms and other memoranda
Incidental To the routine work OF the day
or night.
On The wall, TO the right are the eongs
on which the alarms are sounded. one
large one and one small one, IL Morse tel
e"iaphic instrument, - telephone, the
weights and chains, which, by a clever
arrangement, drop when an alarm is
sounded and release the horses. Last.
but not least, is small clock placed near
The large gong. This is connected with
the alarm 10y a small copper wire, attached
10 the one end of which is AN iron weight
The striking of the hammer on the vone
disIodgcs the weight and its fall causes
the wire to pull II piece of. wood against
Ire pendulum of the clock, thus stopping
II at inc precise time of the SOUNDING of
;ln alarm.
Directly in front Of the visitor stands
the engine, as respicndcnt us muscle and
paint can make it. Behind it is the hose
cart or tender. In the ms iority OF engine
quarters stalls for the horses are on both
SIDES of the floor w:;h;na few feet of the
shafts of their respective apparatuses. The
harness is hung TO the ceiling byn system
a P"icyS which permit Of tie dropping
.: he whole by the simple looseniiia of 4.
cord fixed to he wall near the alarms
Above the apparstu, floor the men sleep
on -nowy white beds. Brightly polished
brass rods corncct the apparatus floor
with the mems quarters. and down these
The men Slide when an alarm has called
them ont o! bed.
The most mysterious thing to the
ordinary citizen is the reading OF the
alarms. 70 rush to the nearest fire box
and pull the hook is very easy; but how
can lie alarm hc read ut the ..Ouartcrs.n
Every alarm oi fire is tclegraphcd to
Headquarters in East SiXty-scven;h street
and thence Instantly transmitted 10 the
companies i'll the district in which the
fir IS located. Every engine or hook and
iaI,icr company in that district receives
'he signal simultaneously, although some
ui i"cm may not have to 80 out until IL
third alarm IS sounded.
tlrr alarm boxes are numbered, so that
:: citizen sounding an alarm from box No.
II wil cause the signal Ii To he ta,,pcd off
IN the gong of the companies due at The
tire ~ that district. The above Signal Oh
the bell would be four strokes, followed
hy pause OF Il few seconds and then
four mere strokes After lapse OF
fifteen seconds the signal is repeated. but
the company is usually far away from
quarters by tlaD time
The fire laddie has a wholesome regard
for Uncle Sans evidences of debt. i. e.:
grcenbacks, and he is always made good
na'urcd when the signal ~ comes
tapping on the gong That means:
"salary is all ready at Headquarters. >
The signal which, however, makes him
set his teeth and prepare for hard Wort. is
0-C-G, followed hy one round of a sta
ton. That is the dreaded three SKIES.
very rarely sounded, and full Of terrible
import wien it is.
The hcsitancy Of sounding the three
sizes is that that signal, if ring below
Fiity-ninth street, calls every engine and
truck company from that street to the
Battery to the fire. If rung above Fifty.
ninth street, every company from the
Harlem Bridge to 155th street. II thus
opens the city to great danger.
At fires of any magnitude, if accidents
occur which ncccssitatc the services of a
'N' ssSOh anu stuiDuluUCt, twenty
strokes will call one ambulance, twenty
three strokes three ambulances, and
twenty-five strokes all the available am
balances in the city. Such draft as the
latter upon the city hospitals happily,
however, are seldom made
A system of drills in the use of the
life lines, scaling ladders, nets and other
appliances adopted by the Fire Com
missioners couple of years ago is main
tanned for four months each year. Each
member of the uniformed force under
the age OF forty has to report to the
Chief of the Department in turn on drill
days, unless the Fire Commissioners have
become satisfied that there are good
reasons why any individual member may
be exempt from such work.
The movements selected for the train
ing of the men arc entirely practical, as
they are generally put in use by well
of