The sun., 1893-03-18
HE RANG ONE FALSE ALARM.
LETTER CARRIER KANE, IN UNIFORM,
CAUGHT 1T IT BIZ NEWSB0K


Away-Not the Man, Probably, Who Rang
the Others-Another Wa. Rung Last Night
The police OF the West Twentieth street sta
tion think they have the man who amused
himself by sending in false FIRE alarms on
Thursday night. but they may be mistaken.
Tho prisoner Is Thomas i. Kane. q letter
carrier. % years old. OF 221 East Twenty
sixth street. and was working as substitute
collector in Branch Station + ofthe Post Office
at Twenty eighth street and Seventh avenue
At $3.50 o'clock yesterday afternoon Johnny
Fitzsim MONS newsboy. Of 435 West Twenty
fifth street. who was selling papers on Ninth
avenue. saw Kane in full uniform. with his
bag over his shoulder. ring an alarm from
keyless box 374 at Twenty-third street and
Ninth avenue. Johnny. Of course. read the
papers and knew all about the fire alarm
fend. and. as the letter carrier hurried away
from the box. was careful to take his number.
He also called the attention Of Thomas Geary.
an inspector. and John Tueff q laborer Of the
Twenty-third Street Railroad Company. to the
fact The men watched Kane. who was rapidly
disappearing up Ninth avenue.
Engines 10, and 3 and trucks II and 81 re-
sponded to the alarm. but there was no sign
OF fire. Truck II. whose quarters arc in
Twentieth street. near Eighth avenue. was the
first to arrive. and Johnny told Capt William
Shaw that the letter carrier had rung the false
alarm. His number was 1.459. Johnny said.
Capt. Shaw got policeman to accompany him
to Post Offlce Station + When they got there
Kane was leaving the station. He had asked
leave to 60 home. com planning Of feeling Ill.
Capt. Shaw learned that Kane's number was
1.459. and had him arrested.
At the police station Johnny said that Kane
was the man who had turned in the alarm.
and he was corroborated by the railroad men.
Kane denied 1t at the Post Ofice station. but
at the police station admitted that he had
runG the box. He said q man had asked him
to send in a call for an ambulance. as another
man had fallen from pile OF lumber in Bud
longs yard at Twenty second street and Elev-
enth avenue. So he had called out the Fire
Department from q box o third OF a mile away
from the lumber yard. This struck the police
as thin. There is a telephone in Police Com
missioner McClaye's office. near Budlong's.
den, fnsS Bsdionss fS ga Yard Rane was eck up
He has been Ss EN- mployed at Station Z for tive
Se Peeioet Il. and he made s roands up iii II
NJ He had route siT which tpeIudes LEI Al the
avenues The chief night clerk at Station
ami several others agreed that no left there gt
end OF his route and face up his collection.
Tns F's xa s a5 lon
corner o, Lexington avenue and Fifty: eighth
s5es It Gsa s,14 hs 70 hsys cover bsss ss dtass
in twenty minutes. unless he was lucky, in
catching trains and esrs EnFines S! . and ,S ;ss
corner. and had their trouble for nothing. At
12:49 the iiIe-alaIm ilend had reached Third
hsea1s n saa
Ella a IS.n Ssy Sss ssF ans .
more. So was the crew Of Truck 2. aud the
and Fortieth street. was runs, and Engine 81
sn. ana G1 TueFs % and i'Sno went on ana wild
e6isi Bonner thought this was esttins citing rather
quarters and general alarm was sent to sll
10 H. snd III.
trolmen were put on the alert. but no result
'2 At 2:6S o'clock the nend was heard from
again. This time the signal box 557. at the
corner OF Eighth Avenue and Fifty Nth street;
TraoE Fan .eS hoe E
gines 23 and 81 were also Obliged to iire up
and EEeespond It was tn three % hours later that
were at Glre in West Thirty ninth, street. A
to attendthe call The tlend probably wentto
bed then. for that was the last hoard Of him.
THsnti @ eth ps steeet station last nisSs His father
is a walter. His m other said that he got home
shortly after midnight Yesterday morning. and
that she cooked supper for him. Then he
went to bed about o'clock. He is a tall. slim
young fellow with a smooth shaven face and
fair hair.
At IO55 o'clock last night a false alarm was
rung from box 7l2 at l05th street and the
boulevard. 1t brought out Engine Al from
18th street. Engine SO from Eighty-third
street. and Truck p from Ninety eig nth street.
This was regarded as sporadic mischief. for
UP to 80 o'clock this morning no more had
come in.
It is eatimated that each first alarm Of fire
costs the city som mething like $50 for fuel and
wear and tear OF apparatus.
A letter carrier monkeyiDg with pillar box
Is 81 familiar u sight in tho stroots that II
letter carrier should take to ringing fire
alarms he would stand less chance than the
ordinary citizen OF being detected. unless
Nearly ten years ago tho Fire, Department
We're ANNOYED by frequent false alarms OF lire.
sioner. asked Inspector Byrnes to look after
the scamps.. and the result WAS the running
down OF q fa!se-alarm brigade consisting OF
William McCabe. William II. Hughes. NJ. A.
0'Donnell. John Conlin, Edward and Richard
Keefe. Daniel Kenny. CALVIN Smith. and Hora-
ito s. Courtney. Most Of the gang pleaded
guilty. and were sent to prison.