Evening star., 1898-06-04
EUROPEAN FIRE FIGHTERS.
How They Extfngutsh the Flames I'm
Germany and Holland.

The alarm created by the recent great
fire IN London will probably lead to steps
being taken for rendering the metropolitan
fire brigade more efficient and eGua! to
coping with large coni,agrations. In con-
nection with this il Is interesting TO com
pare London methods with those in use ~
the continent for the cNtinruiShug II fires
In Amsterdam tn" fircnea are all ur,-
married men and live at the fire stations
l he street alarms fer calling out th, fire
brigade are distributed over the citv 50
THAI no house is more than 500 yards from
one Of them. I here are two methods II
fcsculnE people from burning houses
which are pr;st tiCci in th. puith town.
III the inmates are in very dangerous pr-
sition a fine line is shot up To- them with
a pistol. They catch The line draw n ,,o
and at the end ind a Stou. rope. This they
fasten inside the room and slide down IL
10 the ground Jumping sheets are also
provided: the iircmen grasp them with
both hands. raising their arms and the
sheet 20 the level of IN. Coliar-bpnc. and
throw back the body to an angie The
fall of The person thus causes the sheet
to give without bringing the bearers to
their knees
In Germany. call boxes are very rurncr-
Gus and the extent. as well as the locality,
OF tn" fire is siEnalcd. Engines are dis
patched according to the size Of the fire as
ii Is slgraled-small. medium great.
Most German fircmen, II il curious to
Eote, are telegraph clerks A great feature
OF German lire brigade work is the pre-
vention Of unnecessary damage 10y water
As everybody knows, the water used for
extinguishing a fire does almost as much
damage to the contents OF a building as
the flames themselves. The German fire.
men pay particular attention to this point
and do not flood the building with water.
but use it only where il is necessary. The
flremen's clothes can be Inflated with
water il occasion requires IL. The blouse
and trousers are made OF double layer
OF canvas and by means of tap attached
to the hose for this purpose a fireman can
fill the waterproof space between the two
layers with water Immediately. IL too
much water is poured in. the surplus
Capes through a valve and pours down
over the wearer like a fountain, thus duu-
bly, protecting him from the flames Tae
smoke helmet is also used by Germans. as
ind. I'd, by all continental firrmen. II
serves an air chamber, which is filed
Ivy al air pump, with which the fireman is
provided. BY this means The lungs are
supplied with air and the head kept cool.
lille the escaping air clears away the
smoke and enab bles the fireman to what
he is doing. Thus the fireman is able u
enter burning room and ignt the fIre nt
close quarters. The Berlin fireman ais,
carries a short ladder; placing IL against
the first floor window. he mounts it, gets
onto the window sill. pulls up the ladder.
hooks it on the window sill above and SO
reaches the roof. lie then lets down a line,
OF all the continental capitals Vienna IL
probably the most perfectly equipped for
outbreaks of fire. There are numerous
street alarms which are most Ingenious
and useful. Instead of the glass window
which Is equally at the mercy Of a drunk
On or rowdy person or the real discoverer
OF fre-which must be smashed before
the alarm can be given. there is "A kew
Numbered keys for the call boxes are FREE
ly supplied to all respectable citizens. who
are responsible for their use. on discover
ing a fire the man unlocks the door and
gives the alarm: when this has been dom.
the key cannot be withdrawn until another
door has been unlocked, the key for which
only hremen possess. From the numbered
key in the lock the name of the person Civ
ing the alarm can be found. as a register
Il kept Of all the citizens to whom KEYS
have been supplied, with the number of
each key. TheNienna fire brigade turns out
more quickly than any other European
brigade. In driving to the scene of the
fire one of the brigade sits by the driver
and blows trumpet, which can be heard
great distance away. and is "A summons
for all vehicles to pull aside Jntil the eu-
gine has passed. water cart follows the
engine, and so an immediate supply of
water is at hand while the fire plug is be-
Ing found. Thus many small fires which
would soon extend are nipped in the bud.
A great point is also made of the right an
pllcation OF water, which is used with great
economy 1t stands to sense that a pIpt
OF water at the right spot is better than "A
gallon IN the wrong one.