The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-02
SAvANNAH'S FIRE TRAPS.
LACK OF FIRE ESCAPES ENDAN-
GEBING HUNDREDS OF LIVES.

Only Three buildings in the city
Equipped According TO Law-Fire
Chief Mcguire Points out the Men-
ace 10 Life From a Failure to En-
force the Ordinances Requiring
Proper Means of Escape From
Buildings in Time Of Fire
Fire Chic Mcguire asserts that dis
astrous fire in most any of the larger
building IN savannah, where many people
are employed, would carry with It the loss
of human Info II the conditions were such
that the framen could not rescue people
with the equipment now In the depart
ment.
The chiefs reason. for this assertion Is
that the city is, with but three excep-
TONS entirely without fire escapes attach
ed to buildings The Importance Of pro-
viding buildings with fire escapes has pre-
scented Itself to the chief rather forcibly
of late and he thinks it time for something
10 be done in The way of providing them.
'There is an ordinance requiring that all
property owners having buildings over
three stories hieh shall have adequate fire
escapes, but it has never been enforced,
and the letters 1 have written Mayor Mel
drim and other city officials on the sub
ject have proven of no avail in improving
the situation. The ordinance was passed
by council some time ago and provided
that all houses, no matter what class.
whether business or dwelling, three stories
high. should be provided with fire es-
ings are seldom occupied as bed rooms on
the top floors, the council amended the
ordinance and made IL apply only to bus
mess houses, IL was never enforced, how
ever, and l fear the city will come TO the
time when the neglect in enforcing this
law win give council cause for sore re,
greet"
AS to what buildings are most In need
Of fire escapes and in which there is the
most danger, Chief Maguire said.
II would simply have to sit down and call
off every building in the city that is three
stories high ana over. There are only
three buildings in Savannah which have
fire escapes at all and they are the Morn
ing News building, which has exception
ally good ones the Citizens Bank build
ing and the De Soto hotel. l do not regard
the escapes on the De Soto adequate how
ever, in case of a bad fire, though they
would probably answer all ordinary pur-
slider most in need Of fire escapes are all
of the city school buildings, and particu-
larly the Chatham Academy. Then there
are the hotels with the exception of the
De Soto, the Morrison house on Brought
ton street, s. Guckenheimer. Sons & Co.
the Morehead Manufacturing Company
the board of trade building the Episcopal
Orphans Home, the Savannah theater. the
Odd Fellows hall, Leopold Adler and Lind
say Morgan. These places, some of
them, employ many people who work on
the upper floors altogether and when tho
lower floor Is blocked all would be at thu
entire mercy of the fire department. or
course we could do good work with what
we now have in the shape OF rescuinac
equipment, but it stands to reason that
if fourth or fifty story should be full
of excited people. the department would
have TO stop to rescue them and with all
chances against the people in case it were
a quick fire.
THE necessity for fire escapes has so
impressed me Of late" said the chief that
] have gone through some of the stores
and told the employees in case fire breaks
out ana they are unable to make their wav
from the building, to so on top and then
% the top of the adjacent building, wait
ing there until rescued. In other build
lngs, however, the conditions are differ
ent and have, of course, advised diff
Iereutiy. "A close inspection of a few of
tiff bdAtAiAlSH named demonstrates to
that IL would be beyond all human power
or Skin TO save the people in case a quick
IRE should start from the ground floor
and sweep upward"
What do you understand to be the rea-
son FOR not putting the escapes up and
ordlnance?"
Several have claimed that fire escapes
are nuisance because they make an in
let 10 the stores for thieves who climb
lhe escapes and enter more easily This
90 not consider a good reason however
because or the fact that all escapes are
hIteen and twenty feet from the ground.
ana are not therefore readily accessible
BESIDES, II sneaks are intending to rob a
mouse, they viii do il in spite of all that
can be done il willing to climb a fifteen
LOOT pole TO reach the fire escape and then
scale ladder to an open window To
me II does not seem there Is any reason in
this argument for not attaching me es-
cdpes l expect the law will be complied
with and II council does not intend enforc-
snS II 70 the letter, though there is no use
having IL on the statute book unless they
40 intend this, then let it be enforced as
against those houses employing women
and where the danger is imminent rs
not my way of doing business to wait until
large number of lives are lost and then
go 10 work enforcing the law"
chairman Grayson of the fire commis-
2lNheiS was seen IN regard to the matter
lie talked very much in the same way az
oid chief Mcguire with reference to the
commissions inability to get the law en-
forced We ourselves can do absolutelv
nothing in the matter" said the chair
man. remember distinctly making sew
eral inefectual efforts to have escapes nut
up. put nothing was ever done. The com
mlssloners are thoroughly aware of the
fact that should human life be lost In son,s,
OF these fire traps the entire fault would
rest with the fire department for not doing
US duty and getting the people out safely.
we therefore consider it our duty 10
punch the council and keep them aware
that II any harm comes to people. it viii be
from neglect to enforce the law, pure
ana simple. Our policy is to give advice
70 those on upper floors where it is prac-
ticable, telling them what to do in case OF
hre BY this we hope to al least do some
good ana possibly become better enabled
70 save the people If we are some day
thrown in close quarters"
a well-known hotel man was asked
ABOUT the matter and in reply to the cues
tlon as to what facilities the house had
lor saving lives in case Of fire, he said:
I'VE are simply NOT fixed for II. that.