The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-23
FIREMEN's DANGEROUS JUMPS.
They Play With Death i'm Practice,
Leap Into the Life Net.
From the San Francisco Examiner.

Leap Nets
From the San Francisco Examiner.
Jumping from dizzy hight, as If pur-
sued by the fire fend, dropping through
the air and taking chances with fate to
escape a horrible death, are no longer
blood-curdtng spectacles to be witnessed
only at conhagration.
The last resort of the unfortunate sur
rounded by flames hurting himself from a
window or balcony high above the ladders
into a net held by strong hands far be-
low is not now so sickening a sight as it
used to be-
For nowadays men make the sensa-
tional leap merely as a matter of prac-
tice, and others look on quite nonchal-
antly.
In the San Francisco fire department this
leap for life has become part of the fire.
mems drill-an exciting novelty interrupt
ing the routine of hard, uninteresting
work of learning how to be skillful and
adept in battling with the firemen's COM
mon enemy.
Nor do the frefghters regard it serious
ly when the order comes: Get out the
nett
Every man in the company has his place
and knows it, and instantly there is a
circle of stalwarts, with feet firmly set
bodies leaning outward from the center,
and hands gripping a web of hempen cord
All are waiting in suspense while they
hear a comrade scrambhng up fire es-
cape. They stand like trained soldiers.
"All ready"
The circle grows rigid, and you can see
muscles swell as the word is spoken.
Coz
A man drops swiftly through the space
al fbpir heads op6 lands n the N
rebounds, reminding one of victim be-
ing tossed in q blanket, and is rewarded
with laugh from the comrades around
the life net. Sometimes as may be eX-
pected, the daring jump causes concus-
sion or stunning sensation, which, how
ever passes away quickly; but usually
no worse results than a shaking follow
the fall. For the fireman invariably re-
gains his feet as if nothing had happened
to him.
Fifty feet is not considered a very high
fall, though a lower one is customary in
the drills, and yet the firemen firmly be-
lieve that they can save life with their
net in jumps from a hight of seventy-tive
feet and more with as much success as
they have in catching companions when
drilling.
To make perfect firemen and aecustom
them 90 every eXigency, not excepting the
last nope OL all WITCH ldlAlS AAeStAS9 ~
tween them and terra frma, drilling men
in this sensational leap is now part Of
the programme which San Francisco fire,
men perform regularly at the new drill
tower at Eighteenth and Harrison streets.
on Sunday morning, when half the city
is at breakfast or preparing for church,
fire companies may be seen az drill upon
the tower-sometimes jumping to learn
from experience how man may best save
himself in high fails; some times hanging
onto scaling poles. called ladders for want
of a more appropriate name, or scram-
bling over balconies and fire escapes with
heavy hose lines.
The drll tower is a frame structure.
seveuty-iive feet In hight. and built to
resemble a wooden house of five stories,
although equal IN night TO ordinary build
ngs of seven stories, since the floors are
fourteen feet apart on the front there
s a standpipe with fire escape and four
balconies. while on one side are rows Of
windows for pracueing with the new scal-
ms ladders, four OF which were introduced
into the FIRE department three months ago.
Such good results nave been accomplished
through the tower that steel one sevcn-
ty feet hifh b. now in course Of eonstruc-
u0n az Horih Reach for the fire com
panlCs Of iblt end of tho city.
The memaors If No Z truck company.
at Folsom and Twenty-irst streets, gaya
an exhihiton drill upon fhe tower 90 show
what thc department. has been doing with