Omaha daily bee., 1896-05-10
RUNS OUT WITH THE MACHINE
Methods Of the Fire Department in Doing
Its Work.
TIME HAS BROUGHT ABOUT many CHANGES
Life of the Driver Of Apparatus Proves
10 he AnythinE but a Round
of PIcnsurc-Qutck Work
at q Fire.

The tap of the gong in No, 3 engine
house, the stamping of horses feet and
the champing of bits in the mouths OF
eleven well groomed equines as they
fumed and fretted in the confines Of their
small iron-bouud stalls, impatient to be of,
were the sounds that arrested the atten-
ton Of a chance passerby a few days ago
All this commotion proved to be merely
the results OF the house drill instituted
of late by Chief Redell in order to bring
the process of getting out" in the Omaha
fire department to a greater stage of per-
lection. The hope that he was to witness
an exciting run to the huge building when
was causing that lur.d glow In the sky, al
ways noted by country reporters, wavered
in the balance and vanished into thin AIR,
rs the chain which guarded the 'front.' door
failed to drop, Tn men, atter dropping INTO
their places. leisurely descended from the
apparatus and backed the horses into lhelr
stalls once more. Pipes were resumed, the
rsd-headed fireman went back to his game
of solitaire in the corner, the pungent smell
Of hundreds of feet of rubber hose pfeVailsu
and things Cnce more resumed the even 'elor
of their way.
There is something indescribably fascinat-
ing even to the elderly observer in the sights
in and around Il metropolitan fre department
house. The dangling harness with It's muir
tude of pulley5, the gaily painted nose wagons,
the long cumbrous hooks and the Dr!ghly
Furnished mechanism OF the engines al lehu
. charm to the scene which remind him OF
the DAYS when he longed to be a fireman ana
pictured in hES minds eye his own appear1nC@
in natty blue uniform, the rush through the
streets and the rescue OF some ldlil''lS
damsel from the thirteenth story OF d purh-
ing building, amid the plaudits OF the crowd
StSrner things perchlnCe now engroSs MS
attention. yet he still feels a passing interest
in the workings of the department, / o"'S
as a taxpayer, while the old thirst lor sA-
element sill remains and he huhssrS !.
the destruction of somebody's property WIN
an intensity that would place MN Ill '"7
front rank of an anarchist society.
MANY MODERN IMPROVEMENTS.
Customs in all well regulated communl-
ties change, likewise do the methous vi
operating fire departments, so that Weie
one Of the Oldest inhabitants TO look IhIo q
modern engine house he would note many
| h arpes within the cycle Cf his recollccno1ls'
In the sC-called good "old times norSes
were kept in ordinary 9tails. conpleteis
harnessed. When the big bell in the tower
turned in the alarm, no small amount OF
cutting was required to put the ANIMALS III
their placgs, 70 say nothing about the loss
of time and the wear and tear upon leather
! during the fly time. To-Day the hots7S "'
kept IN small box stalls alongside Ihe md
chimes they pull Inc saiiC - tnrou,s,
rent that puts lie into the big gong throws
oren the doors. TIE horses jump into their
niaces. a pull upon the lines ana the mar
ness drops upon their backs, a ci!ch VI
snafies and they are on.
MANY of the time saving devices employer
Il, the Omaha department are the inventions
of George A. Coulter, former superintendent
OF the fire ard police alarm sy9tem' ana wou.u'
liz patented at the time OF thelr ihtroGuI
ton, yield a large royalty TO thet oIist
' ---a1 lE ha in, nrlNpnEnfS IN Tune
anuihilators used in the city are the ihEen-
tons of joan Hale, who is also the patehtee
CT the water tower. o., of
According to the old custom, all drivers Gl
( apparatus strapped themselves IN the az
seats This was found to have elements Oh
danger, as Weiss Robinson, who formerly
drove the ancient NEBRASKA fre engine,
discovered one wintry ThanksglVlhs uay
when his machine upset at the Coile' VI
cIvteenth and Farnam streets ana ne was
draoged half a block on the icy ground.
PerChance tae life Of Driver Ell Ming OIL lne
extension ''hook'' might have been saved
when he was thrown from his seat anu
crushed under the wheels, Deceinoei 20,
1874 if he had used this same simple
device. The life of a driver is no slhecure'
and despite the many new improvements III
modern fire fighting, little has been Done 70
lessen the risk lie runs every tihe ne
handles the reins over his gallopihs s'eeu''
IN THE COMPANY QUARTERS.
'HOW do YOU XIII lllIle IVY NN'
was asked of the man playing soltalle'
ION This is one way. We josh some, WORK
little and occasionally we go on a sun
hmlt for the festive animal, Which h@s ~
wings, but gets there just the same' ns
reioined, with a wink. EVERY hIhI Uu'a
we get a day off and IN that way r,th our
chance to renew acqual"'""'7
No 2 engine house has Eight ana AIRY
onarters for the men, OF which there are
fyentv-dye. forming the two companies ss"-
tioraG there. One large dOrmllory occupiSH
o"I nraater norton of the second floor, with
80 Of neatly covered beds along the wall
os srraads there are designs lhnumeTao'e'
in fact this Ia a point upon whlch tho p'sS
rather pride themselves. and tne array u
these coverings III many Vi tne q u"
vorId add luster to the display OF u palsaLn
Nouiu tho end of each row of beds are
10 oontaips' rooms, similar In location "
tbose or a monitor in a female seinIhuiy'
Everything is as faultlessly clean as III tne
aforementioned girlish INSTITUTION unu ono
is almost led to beleVe Ihat a ort at
~ wLite-robed divinities would tulu OUT aI
mo tan oF the gong, instead OF the muScuLal
snIIo,ys who have the preservation Oh the
civ IN charge. A workshop win d nuinpea
~ turning lathes, from which the men 'uln
ont many art!cIes as mWn
out anos a card room and a small museum
IN whicb are carefully preserved the pictures
49, memeutoes of departed comrades VINO
S gone down in the performance Of their
duties complete the quarters;
'1 THE RUN TO A FIRE; ~
The visitor had just expressed a uGslre
n make a run with the machine wheh'
az If in compliance with the request
Rangl went the big gong in the room pelow,
A man who had been quietly sleeping on d
neiehboring cot jumped into MS Doots,
twitched the supporters over MS shou,ueaS
and hurting himself at the brass pole leau-
Ing below, disappeared like the villain III
a Snelodrama. Zip! Zip! and two others ioi-
lowed suit with the rapidity OF lightning II,
self, The visitor followed and a second
later was clinging to the footboard OF the
hig "hooks," while the driver was iashihs
his horses down the street leading TO the
lower part of the city. Around the corners
and across car tracks swung the cumprOus
machine. as II imbued with life or bent
mon gelf-destruction, while pedestrians ana
vehicles scattered to right and LEFT as II
aeeing from the path Of an all deVourlhg
juggernant, hood s,root sned
the machine" with windows flying up on
either hand and excited people craning their
necks 70 catch a glimpse of the apparatus,
This was a touch Of high life, thought uhe
clirging mortal on the footboard' as peculiar
sensations danced up and down ms VerLe-
brae. while his hair grew too bushy LOT MS