The evening times., 1899-08-11
THE FIRE HORSE.
He Beats the Fireman Sometimes
When the Alarm Strikes.

men the Alarm Strikes.
From the New York Sun)
The fire department horse lies down to
sleep at night just like any other. His
larly at o'clock, and a feed of hay is
given to him. But though he might be
lying down and fast asleep, he is wide
awake and on his feet at the first tap OF
the gong. He wakes up as quickly as the
fireman, and he is sure footed or he
would not be in the department at all;
so he loses no time in getting up on lis
feet. The same electric current that
sounds the gong drops pin in the side
of the stall upon which the ring of his
bride strap is held, and sets him free.
and the instant he finds his feet he jumps
for his place at the engine; he may get
there even before the fremen-
In some fire houses the stalls are at the
rear of the house. but when possible they
are placed on the sides, alongside Of or
near the apparatus. so that the horses Will
have a shorter distance TO traverse. The
mems sleeping quarters are on the first
floor above the apparatus floor; their
lounging and smoking room is commonly
on the floor above that, though in some
houses there is a space at the front of the
dormitory floor where the men sit 20 play
cards or dominoes in the day or the even
ing There are two or three sliding poles
in the house by which men come down
from the first or second floor; pole at
the front and one or two more at the sides.
There are always one or more men on
duty on the floor of the house; on the
morning watch, from midnight to 6 o'clock,
there are two. These men would of course
reach the engine before the horses. And
in a day or evening alarm in a house where
there was room for the men to sit at the
front of the dormitory floor, the men that
might be there would get to the engine
before the horses could; they would be
all ready, close to the pole, and the pole
would land them close 10 the engine. But
at night, with horses lying down and asleep
and the men, excepting those on watch,
also abed and asleep, the horses might get
to the pole first.
1t might be, for example, that there
would be a range of beds on the floor
above right along over a. horses stall;
there is a sliding pole. say from this sec
ond floor 10 the ground floor. coming down
about midway between the horses stall at
the side of the house and the front of the
engine. At the stroke of the gong the fire.
man wakes. jumps up. and gets into his
boots and bolts for the sliding pole, all
these operations put together occupying
but a second or two But the horse was
wakened by the same stroke OF the gong
and he WAGON MS 1ee1 almost aS Qulchly-
He doesn't have to put on his boots, he
wears his shoes all the time, and he's
ready, and he makes break for the ap-
paratus the instant he's up The man
asleep in bunk directly over the horse S
stall, to reach the front of the engine on
the apparatus floor, would, of course, have
to go the same distance as the horse, with
the length of the sliding pole added He
drops down that pole so quickly that it
scarcely counts in the distance: but he
might lose a fraction of second at the
foot of it because his first duty when he
strikes the floor is TO get out of the way
of the man who is following close behind
him and coming fast; and in any event he
loses little time here-it can scarcely be
counted but it's just a littie-in taking a
fresh start from the foot of the poie. on
course at right angles TO the one he has
Just come down; while the horse may have
an unbroken course. In a situation like
this the horse sometimes beats the man;
sometimes the man may beat the horse,
and sometimes the man coming like a shot
down the sliding pole may brush his back
against the ribs of the horse tearing past
it on his way to the front of the engine.