The morning call., 1893-06-08
LACK OF PROTECTION.

The lack of protection for property from
fire in the Western Addition has been the
subject of comment by newspapers and of
complaint by citizens for years. ever since,
in fact, that portion of the city began to
be built up. The fire OF yesterday morn
ing only emphasizes what has been said
time and again. The situation was SIM
ply this: No engine within a reasonable
Gistancr, no water for the engines when
they did arrive, and not enough men tn
handle the hose when the engines finally
secured water and got to work To COM
pei fire-engine to pump water through
2500 feet of hose that is bursting at every
ten or twenty feet and has to be constantly
patched is to render the machine well nigh
useless. Again. the steep hills prevented
the engines from reaching the scene on
time. Teams had to be taken from one
apparatus and hitched to another in ord er
to drag it up hill, and once there it had
to stand idle or go downhlll again in search
of water.
In the Western Addition there is some
of the finest residence property in the city,
and the majority of the people own the
houses they live IN. Their house is their
all IN many instances, and when they lose
1t their capital is generally badly impaired
If not gone. and they find themselves
where they were years ago when they 'be-
gan TO save" 1t is this class of citiZens
who are now determined to demand of the
city their rights. Not only do they want
more hydraDts, but they want larger water
mains and full pressure on them. They
want more fire apparatus situated right in
their neghborhood. and above all they
want men to handle the machinery the
moment it reaches the fire.
Last evening committee of citizens
called at the editorial rooms of The CALI.
and presented document. signed by the
residents of the neighborhood in which
the fire occurred in the morning. praising
the fremen and stating that the loss of
property was not to be attributed to a
lack of zeal upon the part of the iremen.
Chief Sullivan is outspoken in his protest
against the lack of protection.
IF the steam-engine which l recon-
mended for the protection of Ashburv
Heights had been furnished" said he,
yesterday mornings fire would have been
confined to the building in which it started.
This FIRE illustrates the crippled condition
of the department. If a steamer had been
located on Ashbury Heights it could have
been playing on the fire within five minutes
from the time the alarm was sounded. AS
1t is, the nearest engine Is located at Nc
AlliSter and Laguna streets, and, barring
all accidents, it requires fifteen or twenty
minutes for it to reach the scene of the
nre. The time that was lost III getting
water on that little blaze was fatal
1)CoIdco buC ldCh VI C0Elu6 ~ R6b TO
work right away we were sadly in need of
hydrants. Engines are useless without
water. There is no scarcity of water in
the city, hut there is a scarcity of hy-
drants. Yesterday morning our lines Of
hose were from 1000 to 1000 feet long and
we had we had to put two and three en-
gin in line to get any pressure at all.
1t is discouraging to fight fire under such
circumstances"
To give an idea of the difficulties which
the fire brigade had to face, il is sufficient
to say it was necessary to stretch hose
from a hydrant at the north of the park,
2J00 feet away. There engine was sta
TONED. and engine II was in line to help in
pumping water that great distance.
1t was not till after the general alarm
was sounded that the Spring Valley Water
Company put on the full pressure, and by
that time most of the buildings had been
consumed.
The chemical engine W hich was recently
stationed at Ashhury Heights might have
been of great service at yesterday morn
lng's 1ire, but its valve was broken and it
was lying in The yard useless. 1t was the
only relief engine at the disposal of the
department and now there is no relief eu-
gine to send.
The only apparatus during the progress
of the fire that was at the disposal of the
department to project the rest of this great
city was No. 4 engine on Second and
Howard streets, and No. 9 engine on Fol-
som and Main streets
Early yesterday morning the members
of the Finance Committee of the Board of
Supervisors had all decided upon one
thing, and that was to organize at once
Hose COMPANIES and into engine cum
panles No. 3 Is stationed on Waller
and Octavla and No. s on Filbert and Fill
more. An engine and engineer were sta
toned at each last night, and will con-
tinue until formally organized in the be-
ginning of the year.
IT AIDS digestion. clears the complexion. beau