The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-03
WRECKED IN A SEWER DITCH.
,,.E ENGINES AND DRIVERS HAD a
NARROW ESCAPE.

1NbfIe Answering haise AAarm
wheaton Street-AdvantaEeB Be-
TaIsen of the GIass-FrOnt /
,os for Fire Alarm Keys Which |
Couse' TrOubIe-General Com
Int of the Neglect to Put the |
.ts in safe Condition.
,.cilent that came near resulting in |
rfs and heavy damage to the fire |
inns occurred last night as the ma
80 we're hurrying toward box II, at |
e,ot of wheaton street, from which |
alarm had sounded. Hose wagon No. |
fron, engine house No. 1, was partially |
,-u,olished by running over a soft place
r., Broad street that had not been
..,.sd and properly paved after having
heen torn up 10 lay house drainage pipes.
,rt,a chaerin of the firemen can be well
led when they left the wrecked hose
-.,ron and went on to the box, only TO
vi chat some miscreant had broken the
-,oss case and turned in a false alarm
s,,. ,oI,ce we're soon on hand, and en-
,.,vored TO discover who had broken the
.ov Int no one seemed TO have any idea.
+, &c the drst offense since the new ar
.o,,erent of placing the keys in small
.,ses with glass fronts was adopted, and
,,r mis- reason the police would like very
.,,,.b to catch the mbsehevous fellow and
make an example of him.
The fire department has been apprehend-
tho trouble from the torn-up condition of
The streets. Especially is this the case
a,tb East Broad street, along which the
.ovar contractors have been working
ence thew began laying the pipes recent
" The pipes have been laid to point
n nbort thirty feet north of East Broad
streets intersection with Wheaton street,
o,bieh branches off in a southeasterly di-
roction While the ditch has been filled
20 within four to six inches of the surface
/ nj the cobble stones, still the ground had
nat been sufficiently packed, and the cob
nlastones taken up had not been replaced.
There we're no lights to designate the soft
ground. as is generally the case where the
street is in an unsafe condition.
The alarm was responded to by the cen
tra station and engine companies and 4.
went east on Broughton to East Broad,
and were intending to go along that
street TO Wheaton. The hose wagon driven
NV A N. Rogers was in the lead and just
before reaching the soft ground, was hail
ed by several people who knew of the dan
pAr on account of the darkness the driver
h did not get the warning In time to stop.
fThe result was he struck it at high speed
a and in an angular direction. The front axle
Eeank in the hole but on account or the
a speed at which it was going, it vaulted out.
1.-THE left rear wheel was wrenched off,
4 however. and in order to avoid accident
10 the engine and other machines behind
Ehim. driver Rogers whipped his team
Eebead until the way was clear from what
ever else might follow. The wagon was
#dragged some distance beyond Wheaton
street and stopped. 1t was badly damaged.
The crowd realized the danger to the en-
Zines then coming rapidly up East Broad
#street nearly to the place where the hose
Hwagon had just been wrecked. The engine
#lrivers attention was attracted, and he
tehecked his speed, and went over the soft
place. The wheels plowed the ground but
the engine got through all right, and pro-
eeeded on to the box. The equipment from
the central station came down Oglethorpe
avenue and into East Broad Driver G. V.
XEganse of hose and chemical wagon No.
a was leading with the big team of grays,
put he was familiar with the condition of
he street in that locality and avoided the
#Foft place by driving close to the side of
ne street. The other machines were warned
and passed without being damaged After
Finding there was no fire the equipment
s Eas taken back to headquarters and the
wrecked wagon was taken to the central
Station by means of a scantling in place
I&fnf the MISSING Nxyba Those NUhn rvit0aS
the accident say they were surprised no
lives were lost, and that no more serious
Camage was done.
Some blame the new arrangement of
leaving keys at the boxes and others cen
ure those in authority for allowing the
street to remain in such condition. The
areless manner in which the streets have
been torn up all through the business sec
ion with no seeming regard for the conse-
luences and the inattention given their
restoration, has caused a good deal of COM
ment.
When an alarm of fire is turned in from
Abercorn, Lincoln or Habersham streets,
outh of Oglethorpe avenue, the apparatus
ON the central station is compelled to
nase toward Yamacraw, out Whitaker
treet, ana then cut across to the fire This
caused by Drayton street being block
ded Tor paving. Complaints are made
owners of vehicles of all kinds who find
ne streets in a disarranged condition with
prospect Of their being repaired at any
me in the near future
Inc run to Wheaton street was caused
false alarm, and when another was
ouhded from box 49, at Drayton and Tay
street, about IL o'clock, 1t appeared as
mischievous crowd were out breaking
asses and turning in false alarms. The
ass boxes were adopted by the Fire
onlInlssion because there was reason to
AeVe alarms would be sent in more
omptiy where the keys were available.
lie plan is in operation in many of the
yer cities, where the keys are hung on
'oAS outside the box unprotected in any
aS' Inc glass boxes have been used for
RAJ years in Augusta, and are said
nave proven advantageous. The com
SSlon looked at the advantages to be
dlned' however, and probably did MOI
NSlaer the trouble which might be given
apartment.
w" dld not apprehend any trouble FROM
y source" said Commissioner Cunnipg
H. When Informed of the false alarms
Hght Recent matters brought to
attention convinced the commission
at the glass boxes would be a good
u-. ana as they are successfully used
V'"ef cities l could see no reason why
pn ha al IL,