Milford chronicle., 1896-05-15
MAKING FoR THE HYORANr.
The Simple Method by Which the Engins
Always Gets to the Right One.


To the bystander who secs a fire en- me
come dashlng up to "A hydrant 1t might
easily seem, from his confident manner Of
approach, as though the driver had known
from rno start Just what hydrant he was to
take and had been all the time making for
that particular one As matter of fact,
tho driver starts out OF the engine house
without knowing what hydrant he Is TO
take. and he may not know until he Is
within few seconds drive of it. still
there is never a moments uncertainty
about the engines movements, and 1t
mover slows down. 1t goes straight for
the hydrant without the slightest delay
In answering ten calls from the samo sta
tion an engine may mako ms many different
hydrants, but 1t goes to the right hydrant
every time, and the manner of determining
what hydrant it shall take Is extremely
simple.
Every engine hooks up at every alarm.
On first alarms 1t goes out only to fires
within its own district When an alarm
Is sounded, the horses rush TO the engine,
a catch O. two are snapped, and the team
stands hooked up ready to start. 1t is all
the work of very few seconds. But the
harness is still held by the hanger from
which It Is suspended, not to be let go I'M
less the call is one which the engine an
swers. The driver is up. With the last
stroke, if it calls the engine tho captain
says, COP just a slight twitch of the
reins frees tho harness from the hanger,
and 1t drops into place on the horses
backs. If it Is in winter, tho door Is
thrown open; If in summer, the chain is
dropped, and away goes the engine, with
the horses on the gallon, in the direction
Of the station whence the alarm has come
but without anybody knowing what by
drant 1t is to take.
Tho only man besides the driver who
rides on the engine is the captain OF the
company or the officer in charge; he rides
standing ON the rear Of the engine. All the
rest of the company ride on the tender. Two
blocks away from the signal box the cap
tain jumps to the ground and runs ahead
of the engine TO locate the fire. lie may
find it before he comes to the box, or it
may be beyond it. The location of the fire
may DO revealed by flames or smoke or,
perhaps, by the presence of people standing
in front Of tho building in which tho fire
is, or by persons in the building itself. IT.
may be that there nre no such Indications
that there are no visible indications what
ever. But almost invariably the policeman
OF whoever gave tho alarm remains stand
ing by the box until the first engine comes
up. He knows just where the fire is, and
from him, in case he has not discovered
1t himself, the captain learns its location
in an exceedingly brief space of time
1t may bB around tho corner. a wave OF
the captains hand as he starts on again is
enough for the driver, who has all the
time kept coming. Then Is the time when
the bystanders in the side street might
easily Imagine that the driver had known
from the start just what hydrant he was
to take, for he sees the engine come tear
ing around the corner, the driver caloulat-
ing the turn with the greatest nicely and
Strengthening up and coming down the
street booming making for that hydrant
as though he had never dreamed Of taking
any other
The simple fact is that the fire, having
been located, he is taking the hydrant
nearest to 1t. 1t is always sought to take
the hydrant nearest the fire. He comes up
with a rush. fremen yAnk of a suction
pipe and connect the engine with the by
drnnt and the engine is ready for business.
The captain is in the building. He secs at
a glance whether water is needed. II it is,
he orders line Of hose stretched and then
begins the work Of putting out the fire.
New York Sun.