The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-10-11
Better Facilities For Fighting Fires
Are Needed.
OPINIONS OF AN EXPERT
SAN FRANCISCO FIRE MARSHAL
EXAMINES DEPARTMENT.
Says the Personnel Is all Right, But
the Apparatus IS Ridiculously In
adequate-City Protected By Its
Good Luck-Should Have at Least
Five Engines. .%

Charles Towe. formerly OF Boston. and
now fire marshal Of the San Francisco
fire department.. arrived in town late
Monday evening and spent yesterday
making a tour of inspection OF the Salt
Lake ire DEPARTMENT.. As fire marshal
Mr.. Towe has equal rank with the chief
engineer and he with the chief and as-
sisllant chief, compose the board OF fire
wardenss whose duty 1T is to enforce ali
fire laws, inspect and pass on the build
ings during and after erection, and also
to attend to- the purchase of new appar-
atuS for tie use OF the fire departments.
In addition. tie board inspects the de-
partmenti frequently and reports the need
of appropriations to the board of alder
men. Mi. Towe was very favorably inn
pressed with the, personnel of the local
ire hghting5 force. and paid high tribute
to the intelligence and ability of Chief
Devine. He said.
''Ghief Devine Isl one of the most intelli-
gent firemen that / have ever met. He
is a close student of the science of fire
fighting ard thoroughly posted on the
construction and operation of all the lat
est fire eXtinguishing apparatus: Where
he gets his information from / do not
know, but this i do know, that il is not
from contact with the apparatus used in
this city today. Sine force is totally in
the times, and only one of the two is in
proper condition to go through a hard
fight. They. are Of the Silshee pattern.
none of which are to be found IN any
the two steamers. the fire department con-
SiStS of "a Holloway chemical engine and
a solitary truck and no insurance patrol.
OF course each engine is equipped with a
boss carriage. There is a total of four
pieces of fire fighting apparatus with a
force of tWenty-e}ght nen to handle them,
in a city that boasts of 10000 inhabitants.
Fire Engines Needed.
There should be ait least five engines,
three trucks, and two more chemical en-
ftlN III 1f
couple of combination chemical engines
and trucks in the outlying districts The
water supply is miserable, and the mains
are too small to be. of any use should
mains on a good many of the, streets We're
only four inches in diameter when put
down five years ago, and now, on account
of the lime and other impurities in the
water, they have been reduced by inter-
Tor demonstrations, to two inches inside
diameter. You can only get two inches
of water out of a two-inch pipe. and that
isn't sufficient to put out blaze of any
size after It has gained Roadway. The
mains to which fire plugs are connected
should never be less than six-inch ones.
Again, there is not sufficient pressure
or head and such pressure as exists is
not uniform. The water supply and pres
sure is a serious matter, and cannot have
too much attention paid to it or money
expended in making it what it should be-
The capacity Of the reservoirs is too small
to supply the demand that would ensue
in case several of the larger buildings
We're on fire at the same time. a condi-
ton of affairs that is likely to happen at
any moment.
Case of Luck.
Considering the sad state of affairs it
is only extraordinary good luck that has
wiped out of existence. The water that
is daily going to waste in the cutters is
appalling; it should be turned into adj
ditional reservoirs to be used exclusively
fra oh of
is the most responsible man in a large
city, and when he has demonstrated his 4
ability time and again. as believe Chief
Devine has done. his recommendation
and appeals for appropriations should re-
ceive immediate attention Politics should
not enter into the workings of a city fire
department; there is, too much valuable
property at stake, and S10.G GOO fnitelIigently
expended will often be the means of saw
ing millions; and in addition it saves
thousands to the merchants and property
owners in insurance rates. | have looked
over the insurance records, and am sur
priSed that the rate per thousand is so
low, considering the existing circumstan-
ceS. If | were at the head of the in
surance bureau I'd make the rates just
about double what they are at present.
81 have noticed from my room in the
buildings i'm town are possessed of shingle
roofs That in itself is a serious menace
to the safety of any town, and especially
Salt Lake, where the dry season is so
come warped by the heat and often a
spark will lodge in under one and work
it's way into the blind attic; the fire will
shoulder for days and then the whole
roof will break out into blaze. The
building inspectors and fire departments
should puS a stop to such practices at
once.
Danger to City.
Considering the poor fire fighting APP
paratus, the Tfdiculously small number of !
men to- handle it, and the condition of the |
water supply. the city is threatened by |
a danger that will play havoc with it /
should it cut loose What would the fire +
department do today if a good sized blaze
broke out in the business district and
two or three alarms should bessent in from
the residential portion at the same time? /
-Four pieces OF fire apparatus in a city of |
20. eco inhabitants. and covering close to |
twenty-five, square miles of territory is |
crirninal2
OFFENDERS In COURT.