The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-11
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. july IL. 1897.
AN ELECTRIC FIRE LADDER.
DESIGNED BY BOSTON GENUS
FOR SUMNER HOTELS.

Acts As Fire Escape for the IN
mates-But Its Real Work Comes In
| when Fighting Fire In Sky
Scraper In TOwn-Ladder Can BE
Raised to Heaven.
| Boston. July 9.-Builders of sky scrapers
and owners OF country hotels are rejoicing
! over an electric fire ladder. the work of
David H. Irving OF Boston. This ladder
makes it possible for the fire department.
| TO fight flames in the top story of any
| building It could easily tackle an out
| break from the top window of the famous
| ST. Paul building in New York, notwith-
standing its twenty-four stories, and never
| feel the inconvenience of it. The genius
who evolved it is the inventor of a theater
mirror for adjusting to the back of an
orchestra chair, to aid in putting on hats.
Sky scrapers' are benehciaries of man.
kind They bring business centers close
| together and economic space for the ever
| growing city. They make it possible to
| preserve the near suburbs for dwellings,
without compelling the business man TO
| take a Sabbath days journey twice day
| going and returning from his work.
But the trouble with the sky scraoer
has been its inaccessibihty in case of fire.
No fire ladder that was ever constructed
would reach above the fifth story Of a
! building and the fire laddes had to depend
upon the precarious alternative of hitch
| ing ladders from window sill to window
| sill. gradually working upward, or rush
ing up inside the oollapsing building.
The Irving ladder threatens to do away
with all embarrassment. 1t is compact
| and can be taken to a fire by the usual
! fire team of broad-backed horses. 1t is
heavy. but not more so than the fire en-
| CINE nor much heavier than the old hook
| and ladder, or cumbersome frame.
one mighty advantage for the new lad
der is that 1t takes up much less space
that the hook and ladder and can turn
| corners where the other would come to
| a standstill. Everybody has seen the
hook and ladder" dashing wildly up
street, looking for a side street wide
| enough to turn in.
This fire ladder in an electric one, in
| Boston, worked by a dynamo, but in
smaller places it is run by steam or by
storage battery. 1t also has very nice
hand attachment by which is can be un>
wound where there Is neither steam nor
! dynamo. This makes it available for the
summer hotel, to aid in the escape of the
| inmates upstairs.
| The plan is, in simple language, this. A
| great spool is wound with ladders that
| are fastened together with joints. A big
| rope connects with the end of the ladder
| like coil When needed, a pole at the
| back lifts the rope which lifts the end of
/ H. Tho 1a6
| ing unwound by a windlass at the other
! end of the ladder wagon.
That is the way it looks to those who
see the firemen working at the cranks
| that unwind it.
The wagon upon which the fire ladder
is taken to the scene is about ten feet
| long and about four and one-half feet
wide.
on it is a drum or reel five feet in de
! ameter 1t sets down into the body of
the wagon two and one-half feet and
there is a handle so arranged that 1t can
be attached at any time for winding or
unwinding.
UJpon the reel there is a, series of lad
der sections, or small ladders, with one
or two rungs at each end, toggle or knee
| iointed and scarfed or mitered, so that,
| when unwound they will fit into each
othed, creating a rigid ladder when sup
ported by the guide ropes.
| On the top of the front of the carriage
| there is a double guide rope derrick, very
strong, the shears or ends of which are
| capable of being raised to vertical or
| adjusted to any angle to support the lad
der when raised The derrick is upon one
end of the wagon, the ladder upon the
other When both are raised they support
each other by the guide ropes.
At the foot of the derrick is a geared
| double rope drum, attached to the lower
part of the derrick, to carry two guide
! ~ Oh, 40 10
and other friction puleys to the eyes IN
the top section of the ladder.
At the back of the ladder there is
| windlass, or hosting frame, consisting OF
| two uprights and fitted on top with an ad-
| iusta BILE ladder carrier. The under side
is slotted to admit geared sprocket, the
teeth of which are made to take each rung
| of the ladder and unwind the same by
hand or electric power.
To the uns6illed mind the mechanism
appears extremely simple as 1t is, indeed,
! 10 a mechanical one A fireman turns
/ crank upon one end of the wagon, and
Immediately the two poles rise, the ladder
begins to hoist itself in the air, while,
| automatically. the upright at the front
keeps the ladder in place with its ropes.
| There might he a fire extinguisher with
automatic attachment fitted to the end of
| the ladder, which, on being quickly run
! up would play upon fire. This would
| be SUFFICIENT to extnguish window cur
! tain blaze or to clear a room of smoke IN
| case there was rescue work 10 be done.
Experts say that the much-vexed fire
escape question will be settled, not from
within but from without. The ropes, bal
| comics. parachutes and patent lowering
| machines will all give way TO the patent
| automatic external hosting ladder. Bos-
| tons ladder is a good one, and when roll
| ed up Is as compact as a sprinkling cart,
! and much more attractive in appearance.
| reed In case of fire In a frame hotel il
! could act as a fire escape for hundreds
by wheeling It along from window to win
! dow. Clearance s. Russell.
/