The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-11-18
AMERICANS AHEAD.
Appliances for Fighting Fire at the
Highest in This Country.
The English Regard Our Time Hec"'"'
for Putting out Fires some
thiag Truly Aston
ishIng.

There is much to be learned from
America by all of Us, saws the London
News, and il is To be regretted that one
OF the crack brigades Of the states
couId not have crossed the ocean TO at
tend the present firemen's congress
We NAV find one more opportunity Tor
the lesson il the committee of the Chi
cago exhibition think fit to invite the
firemen of Europe to the coming
worlds fair. The Americans like To
think that they take the lead IN TINS
branch of public work; and by all ac-
counts of them they would still be very
hard TO beat Most of our newer con
trivances are probably OF American
origin. The steam fire engine; the
horses standing ready harnessed day
and night and trained to walk straight
into the shafts as soon as they hear
the alarm bell; the pole down which the
men, also ready dressed, slide from
their sleeping-rooms to reach the base
ment To save the few seconds that might
be lost by their coming downstairs-all
these seem to have been matters of
common experience in America when
they were still talked of as novelties
here. The same thing may be said OF
the alarm boxes.
The Americans train for speed, and
some Of their records are astonish-
ing. At a fire which occurred in New
York two wears ago, the first alarm was
received at 6:O7. In three minutes after
that the first engine reached the burn
ing building which, it may be sup
posed. was not far off. The whole sec
ond floor, which was one hundred feet
long was a mass of fire, and the flames
were spreading to the stories above.
Other enpines soon arrived, and by 6:3lr
or in less than half an hour, not
sparlx of fire was left in the building
The water towers, which are huge per
pendicular pipes, carried on a movable
derrick pour the stream into the high
est buildings at any elevation required
They are packed into a comparatively
small space when not in use, but are IN
stantly reared to their full height by
the force of carbonic acid gas. The
floating fire engines are largely used III
New York as the city is surrounded by
water. The latest is built of steel, and
ii travels at very great speed. Its
four pipes are from three to four inches
in diameter, but the power of all the
pumps may be concentrated into one or
two pipes which yield a still larger vol
ume of water. These tive-inch streams,
in their tremendous force, act like bat
terinC-rams and drive their way through
ceilings and roofs, and even through
brick walls, into the very heart of the
fire.
In some instances the life lines are
fired from a gun, on much the same
principle as that in use for the rocket
apparatus at sea The gun carries thin
line to the fremen at the top of the
burning building. and with this they
draw up the stouter rope they require.
The life nets, which are equally light
and strong, into which persons jump
with comparative impunity from the
highest floors, save many lives. The
best of these contrivances have been in
troduced in our own fire service, in
great part owing TO the enterprise
and energy of Capt. Shaw. He
was able to boast in his farewell
address that during the thirty years
of his control of the metropolitan
brigade the number of stations
had been raised from thirteen to fifty
nine and the number of tiremcn from
not much more than one hundred 10
little over seven hundred. In 1861 there
were no telephones or call points. They
now extend over the whole of London.
The last moment of his official career,
however, Capt. Shaw was still calling
for more of everything. Yet it will be
some time before the rate payer will
enable him To realize his ideal of thirty
two new stations at an average cost of
a thousand year each. perfect
water supply was then, and perhaps
still is, our most pressing need. Only Il
small number of the pipes were con
stantly charged, and there were often
more engines at a fire than there was
water for their use.