The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-02-29
Fire Department Protests
Against Its Bills.
The Commissioners Object to
the Proposed Change.
They Are Willing to Pay by the Gal
Ion But Not by the Hydrant.

The present system by which the inter-
department ACCOUNTS at city hall are kept
straight SO far as the cost of water con-
sumption is concerned is to appropriate
general sum each year that is paid TO the
water department in compensation for the
water used in all the departments. This
general appropriation is $4,000.
City Auditor Chase has devised a new
scheme by which this general appropria-
tion would be abolished and each depart
ment would have its water bills paid out
of the special appropriation.
Secretary Siade of tn commissioner OF
public works department thinks that 1t
would be wise change IN tne system.
Some OF the departments, he said, use the
public water as II IL was furnished by
gravity, and do not seem to realize that
every drop of it has to be pumped.
There is no incentive 10 economy in the
use of the water. because each department
goes ahead, and may leave faucet and
fountains TO run ~ hours day, realizing
that the cost will not come out OF their
special appropriation.
OBJECTION OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM
The board of fire commissioners most
strenuously object TO the proposed change
80 far as their department Is concerned,
because
their water consumption over the actual
figures.
= The estimates of the water department
for the fire department Is Sl5 per hydraut
and as there are 1000 bydrants, the total
estimate is S24, 600, a sum which is con-
sidered TO be absurdly large when COM
pared with the cost of the water actually
drawn from those hydrants.
The price of the water is sne and one
half cent per 100 gallons OF hydraulic ele-
walton. Ia 1885 the bill against the hy-
drants was S23, ,544. u, which meant an
amount OF water that would have more
than filled Hope reservoir three times-it
meant loo, 961. 400 gallons, which was 154,
066, 100 gallons more than was actually
used for fire. That is, there were used
last year 1856 hydrant streams and allowing
that each was played for an hour, which
is too large an estimate, they discharged
1886, 600 gallons, which at the rate of one
worth S434.25 instead OF the s23, b44.21
charged.
Another estimate Is on the number of
Providence tire companies that use water,
that Is exclusive of the ladder companies.
here are Is of these water companies
and in 1895 the aggregate of their time
of absence from the stations was 1853
hours. Assume that they used water
every second of this time they would have
discharged 8, 1897, 800 gallons which at one
and one half cents per hundred gallons
would have only amounted to Si4U9. SO
but that estimate Is much too large, for,
ss everyone knows, large portion of
the time which company spends out OF
the station is consumed In going to and
coming from the fire so that sum OF 1858
hours would be very materially decreased
IL the time devoted to throwing water
was considered exclusively.
II 500 feet of ohse was laid on Ex-
change place attached at one end to a
hydrant with 20 pounds OF pressure end
with a one-inch ring nozzle at the other
end and used every minute from Jan uary
] to December 81 inclusive, it would
discharge 125 gallons per minute or from
60, 200, 900 gallons,a quantity much smaller
than the amount charged up against the
fire department. These figures are taken
from the estimates, based on actual ex-
periments, of George A. Ellis, who is the
authority throughout the country on
water pressure.
was enough water thrown TO cover three
and half acres. with depth of twelve
and a half feet or a bulk of IA, 293, 125
gallons which at the rate OF one and one
half cents per NJ gallons was worth
e2143 e6..
In 1891 the New York fire department
responded TO 1900 alarms and used 2S, 000,-
600 gallons which at the same price was
WORTH s4200. in that same year the de-
partment OF this city responded to 572
alarms and were charged $4,000.
IL is because OF these estimates that the
fire commissioners don't want their
water bills charged to their special APP
propriations as suggested by the city
nduitor. They are willing to pay for the
water they use at so much per gallon but
not at so much per hydrant.