Evening star., 1894-03-10
N G A S e OF IRE
Chief Paris Makes Some Suggestions Of
Interest to the Public
How to Send fn an Alarm-What 20
Do When One Wakes Up I'm
Burning House.
going TO do

Hold on. there: what are you going to do
with that box?"
IL was Chief Paris OF the fire depart-
ment talking, and he was addressing q
man. with hair disheveled and in his shirt
sleeves, who was fumbling at q fire alarm
box
why. chief" said the man, In an ex-
cited manner, my house is on fire. ana I
want to send in an alarm"
Well you can't do It without a key
said the chief, at the same time getting out
OF his buggy and opening the box. An In
nocent little hook projected from the inner
door OF the instrument and pulling this
down firmly with one hand, he let IL go.
IL quickly sprang back into place Stimuli
taneously the fire alarm bell commenced 70
ring. The little hook had done its work
fooly. the message had been sent to every
engine house in the District that the de-
psrttneht pa was needed, and before the sound
OF the bell had died away the engines came
laundering up
Ihe hre proved a small one, being con-
nned 10 a back shed, and was quickly ex-
nnt rote pisned; h Had the department. however.
not been directly notified the flames might
nave spread and done untold damage.
How to Turn I'm an Alarm.
Ihls hre illustrates one thing" said the
cnlef' addressing The Star man. "Everv
one should know how to turn in an alarm
VI hre' out You would be astonished what
niue knowledge there is upon that subject.
lake the present case. for instance Here
was mans house on fire and he was try-
ing TO open the alarm box with one OF III.
oas ousihesS s once KEYS Every man. woman
anu chud When they move into a neighbor-
heoo should learn the location of the kew
Whlch opens the fire alarm boxes as we'll
as lhe location Of the nearest box The kew
SdiI an usually De found at a store in the neigh
. 2taF4
man is provided with a KEY SO III one is
seen, ana II Will save time, il is best TO have
MN send In the alarm. Many a large rire
GouId .s De prevented by the use of little CON-
mon sense and discretion. Ordinarily when
persons find their house on fire they imme-
oiately set about to extinguish IL Them
selves This is losing valuable time II the
nre !. oe small one and easily extinguished
IL Is Tar better to run to the nearest tele-
phone call up number 259, which is police
headquarters. and tell them to send an
engine TO such and such a house
rms VIII not necessitate turning in an
alarm, and the result will be equally satis-
factory. But when it is seen that the fire
is assuming alarming proportions or there
Is danger TO adjoining property it is always
best TO send in an alarm. II is the SIM
plest thing In the world TO do IL You rnere-
ly open the box and catch hold of the hook
Wnich is inside, pull IL down once and let
go. II is what may be said TO be a case
OF you push the button and We will do the
rest But people should bear in mind that
the hook is 10 be pulled but once and then
let alone. This hook engages a lever ON
the inside which operates the mechanism
and sends in the alarm. But this is not
all there is to do. A person should be left
at the box to inform the firemen when they
arrive Of the location of the fire.
Rules to be Followed.
Il have often wondered" continued
the chief, why some enterprising person
has not written a book of instruction for
use at fires. There are some sterling rules,
however. that should always be remember
ed II. for instance, a fire occurs at night
and you are awakened by suffocation the
first thing 10 do is TO get as near the floor
as possible.
This insures fresh air. for it is well known
that heat and smoke ascend. Now the win
dows should be lowered from the top 10
allow free egress OF smoke, and moist
handkerchiefs held over the mouth and
nose TO act a respirator. No time should
be lost in dressing. Simply wrap yourself
up I'm the first thing you come TO and get
out in the air. You should try and remem-
Der that open doors create drafts and
drafts make fires spread. so IL is a good
thing to keep the doors shut. II all means
of escape are cut of by the flames and you
fnd yourself prisoner. retain your pres
ence of mind. More deaths have been caus-
ed by people losing their heads and jump
ing when there was really no danger thsn
any one has any idea Of i know when q
person is placed in a perilous position, Sec
onds seem minutes and minutes drag on to
hours, but the fire department will be on
hand within a very short time and there
are few places in the city where our lad
ders will not reach. Fires are caused prin-
cipally by careless servants or bad work.
manship In the construction OF buildings,
such as foul chimneys, defective fiues ana
badly located furnaces. 1 think II the read
ers of The Star will follow the simple rules
i have given you we will not have any SER
fous caiamities in the future"