The evening times., 1899-01-21
LABORIOUS WORK OF
DISTRICT EIREMEN
twenty-five Out Of Twenty
four Hours Oh Duty.
Tasks Compared With the Flame
Fighters Of Other Cities.
More Men and More Money Needed
To Grant Them Leisure One
Third of Each Day.

being circulated IN WASHINGTON SSAlnS
that the members of the police force lie
placed under the eight-hour system OF
duty similar to that in operation in many
of the cities Of the country has turned
general attention tc the present SYST m
in vogue in the various departments
of the District government
The conditions under which the firemen
labor are spoken of as specially thy
Of attention, and there seems to be mo
room for reform in the system CT the Fire
Department than in the Police Depa t.
ment, although the latter latter branch
has good reason to complain.
The firemen, according to the rules laid
down by the District Commissioners are
required To be on duty twenty-five hours
in every twenty-four. The regulations
further provide that every member Of
company snail have one days leave in
seven unless one man is sick or disabled
Then the men have one days leave oAr o.
every nine. Should, however, two men be
disabled at the same time none of the
eigat remaining men is given his C s.
tcmaTy leave. When his day once passes
there is no opportunity TO make Up The
lost time. The two hours OFF every day,
TO which every man is entitled, IS grained
so that the men can go TO their homes
for meals. one nour Is usually a..o"ed
fCT each meal, making it Impossible Tor
the Eremen 10 get more than two warm
meals > day. Ihe oHiy way that tley tan
get a third meal is to carry lunch with
them.
Ii there is sickness in freman's FAM
iaV 20 ka n
hour at a time twice day. There is no
trouble about getting sufficient sleep, for
the firemen have ali the time 10 them
selves during which they are on duty eX-
cept six or eight hours a day, when ii is
necessary to perform the wOrk OF taking
care OF the horses and engines and attend
ing to other necessary duties in connec-
tion with the fire station. The fremen do
not complain OF the arduous character of
the work which they have TO do, but think
that the great length of time during which
they are expected 10 be on duty is alto
| gelher TOO much. They say the confine
menJ is at times almost unbearable, espe-
| Ciaily when there have been no fires for
4 long time.
IN 1884 a law was passed by Congress
! which provided that no employe working
under the supervision of the District shall
/ be required to work more than eight hours
I a day. Nothing was said liz the bill which
! excluded the tiremen from its provisions,
/ but nevertheless the fremen and police
men have worked more than the specified
/ time before and since the passage OF the
| blll. According TO the only Interpretation
of which the law is capable the District
| Government owes the members of the
! fire department three days pay where it
has been paying only one.
At the extra session OF the present Con-
gress which convened soon after President
| Mckinley's Inauguration a bill was passed
| allowing TO the members OF the Police and
| Fire departments a vacation of twenty days
during the summer. The police received
| their vacation, but the firemen were allow
! ed oaly the ten days which il was custom
| AIRY 10 grant before the passage of the bill.
| \ number of the men when approached
| in regard to the matter were afraid to talk
| Many CT them are afraid to ask for what
| is due them as they say it is dangerous
| TO enter complaints. Some of the firemen
| in discussing the matter, compared the
| department Of Washington with those of
other cities and Washington suffered by
! the comparison. In Chicago the firemen
| have twelve hours of every second day
/ and twenty -four hours of every fourth
day. The priyates receive a salary of $100
| per month. The salary paid to our fiTemen
| is $50 per month. In New York and Bos-
! ton salaries ranging from Sl00 to SIP are
| fire department in New York receives 500
! per month from the start and as he is
| transferred nearer the business portion of
the city his salary is increased. In Wash
lngtOn the foreman of company does not
receive as much as the lowest private on
the New York or Boston departments as
he only receives 81, 900 per year. The as
sistant foreman receives the same pay as
the private. notwithstanding the fact that
he is held rpSnOpC fbla fnr CT
the direction Ct the men in case of fire
Congress evidently thinks that there is
sufficient pay for the assistant foreman in
/ the little glory that he has in being in
charge OF fire station or directing the
men at fire. In New York twenty
days vacation is given each and every fire.
man, and his railroad fare to points within
radius of a hundred miles is paid by the
city. When fireman of the department
OF any OF the cities mentioned has his day
of he is not under compulsion to return
TO his duties on that day, but under the
rules of the Washington department if
there is fire the man who is on leave
is required TO go to the station and stay
there until the fire is eXtinguished and
the company back from the fire. He is not
i allowed TO leave town.
The Fire Department of Washington is
very efficient considering the number of
men and the amount of apparatus which
the city possesses. The firemen take great
! er risks in fighting fire than those of any
other city. They fight a fire at closer
| quarters. In other cities where fire has
| gotten good headway the efforts OF the
| firemen are always turned toward saving
| the surrounding property. Here the ef-
| forts of the fire fighters are directed
| against the building in which the seat of
| the trouble lies. and very often much prop
erty is saved as result. In fighting the
] q. ofO la,1c
! the fremen is greatly increased, and con-
sidering the number of fires in Washington
and the great width of the streets the loss
of life has been heavy.
Fighting fire, even when confined to q
small building is always dangerous. Fall
| ing walls, suffocation from smoke and ex-
| plosions are invariably to be feared.
| fireman every time he leaves the en-
! gine house to go to a fire, undergoes a
risk. even though there be no fire at the
end of the run. The danger resulting from
a mad rush through the crowded streets
cannot but be dangerous. The fireman is
| constantly taking his life in his hands to
| save the lives and property of others.
| When they desire more pay and less ar
duous hours for these eminently necessary
| services, he is supported by all who are
cogniZant OF the condition of affairs ex-
listing in the Washington Fire Department.
| A number of citizens have expressed them
selves very forcibly in regard to the mat
ter. The firemen themselves are watching
| closely the move which is being made in
| behalf of the policemen of this city. Lately
there has been a good deal of complaint
| among them, especially where some of
| them have not had leave for more than a
month. The firemen are not inclined to
blame the head of the department or the
/ Commissioners, but rather throw the re-
sponsbility upon Congress.
| C,nnpreSs has made two gnnd laws for