The morning call., 1893-06-13
THEY FEAR FIRES.
Property-Owners Aroused
in the City.
PROTECTION A NECESSITY.
The Supervisors Flooded With Petit
tions for the Establishment of
More Hydrants and Engines.

The lesson taught by the recent Page
street fire has awakened citizens and prop
erty-owners all over the city and commu-
nications are beginning to pour in upon
the Supervisors every day. especially from
those districts where there is little prolec-
tion from fire. owing to a scarcity Of
hydrants and an absence Of engines.
The object of the communications is to
influence the Finance Committee of tn e
board to incorporate in the next tax levy
| needed improvements.
The Board Of Fire Commissioners filed a
communication yesterday appealing to the
Board of Supervisors to exhaust every
means to increase the appropriation of the
! Fire Department SO that some protection
from fire can be given the residential por-
tlons of the city.
| The petition states that these districts
have been largely built up during the last
few years with fine buildings. and are so
situated that # once large fire should
start in their midst the entire city would
| be in great danger of being consumed.
The Commissioners also called the atten-
| ton of the Supervisors to the alarming in
crease In The number of alarms of fire each
month. In March. 1889 there were but II
FOR the corresponding months OF this yehr
there were in March 81, April 81, May 81.
and for the ten days of the present month
| there have been % fires.
The Commissioners state that they are
very much afraid of two fires occurring at
once in different sections. They would
| not venture to say what would be the
| results II such were to take place.
| The matter of increasing their depart
meDs is great public necessity, the Com
misSOners claim, and at this time should
precede all other departments, for large
conhagrati0ns are always to be feared in
| wooden cities, and they are often the cause
| of the loss of many lives.
| Another long communication was re-
ceived by Clerk Russell, signed by Presi-
dent d. j. STAPLES of the Board of Under
writer's, Vice-President w. j. Dntton of
the Pacific Insurance Union, President G.
II. Laton Of the Underwriters Fire
| Patrol and the underw riters' committee
| OH fire de- artnent and wa'er supply.
| The communication stated that a early
as 1889 the underwriters. in a written
| pam phlet, had called the attention of the
Supervisors to the necessity of speedy i'm
provements in the FIRE Department. es-
pecaliy in the residential portions of the
| city. The petitioners stated that they
represented every interest. and earnestly
requested that the board attend, without
reg I'd to the expense, TO the immediate
and pressing needs of the city aud protect
the homes of its citizens. The petitioners
believed that other departments should be
sacrificed If necessary.
a petition was also received from G. d.
Salfeld requesting that two special appro-
| priations be made OF S25.0 and S650 900
respectively for the Panhandle district
the one to be expended for fire-eng!nes
| with the necessary appliances, and the
other for urgently needed street improve
mentS.
The Sunnyside residents filed commu-
nication with the Supervisors asking for
| fire protection. The petition represents
| that the district is without any fire urotec-
/ ton: that it is building up rapidly; that
there Is not even freplug or hydrant a.
| PRESENT. in the district, and tre so to 100
| houses are wholly at tile mercy of the first
! big fire. The residents asked to have at
least a hand hosecart if they could not get
| a regular hosecart
The residents have already subscribe
| S210 of their own for a fife-engiEe fund
and have secured the donation of suit
able lot, with rent free for three years, for
| the location of an engIne-house. They ash
| the Supervisors TO eXpend this sum for the
purposes for which it was raised.
The pr0perty-owners ana residents in
| the vicinity of Washington and Broderick
streets pettioned the board for the organ
| lZatlon OF Il steam engine or chemical engine
company within their neig hborhoud, as
| the nearest fire company is about mile
away, leaving the locality entirely unpro-
tected. The petition is signed by two
| hundred people.
Alfred Clarke, on behalf OF the residents
| of Douglass street, asks the Supervisors
that fire engine be located on the bluff
on the west side of Douglass street so that
It can go down hill and reach fire easily.
He claims that the locality tor blocks
] arnnnd is wholly Milhnut fire nrntactinn