The San Francisco call., 1899-03-05

tuck up your legs. hold your
breath tight, and jump
The fireman in a blue sweater,
~ pering out of a second story win
dow thirty feet from the ground,
did not seem to relish the idea. He SHOOK
his head gravely and drew back a little,
They're all a bit nervous about it at
first" said Engineer Fernandez, who was
in charge of the proceedings. Hes hsw
man. but he'll be all right soen."
The engineer knew what he was talking
about. He had not been drilling flrefnen
for years without gauging the stuff out Of
which his heroic f1re-fghters were made,
Sure enough, as we watched, the man at
the window gathered up his courage and
plunged boldly downward, flashing
through the air like meteor.
There was really no danger about the
feat, 1t only looked bit awkward. Be-
meath in the graveled yard twelve strong
men spread themselves round the oircur1-
ference of a strong rope net some twelve
feet in diameter Aney graspod the thick
outer rope with both hands, holding their
wrists upward 80 as to give tho maximum
of resistance They braced themselves
against the shock. pulling backward with
all their might. and at the same time
keeping wary eye on the Jumper above,
It was all over IN u second. The body
plunged into the center Of the net, forcing
It inward and downward until IN the mid
die it nearly touched the ground, But the
power OF the twelve strong men offered
sufficient resistance. the jumper escaped
unhurt. He did not, as one might lave
expected, rebound violently like ball
from the net; there was no tossing effect,
He simply turned half sonersauIt back
ward, and the twelve mon drew the net
back to It's original position.
There is something more than mere
muscular strength needed to perform this
to be watchfuI to see that the jump.
er does not miss the receptacle. By con-
certed action q body of trained men can
move the net several feet IN either diree-
ton within the very brief space OF time
required to fall from burning building,
Thus they can make sure OF catching the
esca ping person, unless the jumper make
a very bad shot indeed.
At a real fire the greatest watchfuiness
and skill would be necessary to insure the
effective use of the net. Half-craZed auf-
ferers, blinded by smoke and scorched by
heat, cooped up on the roof Of some high
building. cannot jump with the same skill
and accuracy as fireman on drill,
Some Of them,' remarked Engineer
Fernandez, would be sure to miss es-
pecially the women, but think we could
manage to catch most. Even If the height
were too much for the men to keep the
net from touching the ground. they would
at any rate be able to break the fall, and
the sufferer would get off with some
bruises or perhaps a broken bone. You
cannot expect a man or woman impris-
oned in a burning building TO behave with
the coolness of q trained fireman. Why.
there was that man we took off the cor
nice Of the Baldwin. We just reached him
IN time, and next day, when he had got
over his fright, he came around to the
station and told US that in a couple Of
minutes more he would have cut his
throat"
It is good to know that our fremen are
so diligently practicing the use of these
new Hfe-saving devices. Every Sunday
morning one or other company Of
fremen gathers at the Seventeenth
street station for drill The place
is admirably equipped for the pur-
pose There is a high. four-square
wooden tower. butt like a house. and ris-
ing to a height of seventy feet. It has
windows on each story, and is supplied
with a regular f1re-escape and hose pipe.
Every kind of fire drill can be carried on
with the aid of the tower, but just at
present we are more interested in the new
life-saving devices which have been
brought from the East, and In the use Of
which our firemen are rapidly becoming
skilled. The net which we have already
seen is of local manufacture, constructed
principle of a SPIDERS web. Experts diff
fer as to the best kind Of net to be used
In some Eastern cities they employ can
vas. and in London rubber sheeting.
Engineer Fernandez Is a firm believer in
good, old-fashioned rope Nothing is so
strong" he says. Canvas may split, or
rubber stretch, but rope will never 60 See
how many meshes there are! It would be
impossible for enough Of those to get rot
ten all at once to cause danger. Why, I
have tested this net by dropping a bag Of
sand into It from the top Of the tower.
You can imagine the force with which
dead weight would fall from such a
height. The net showed no signs of Civ
ing but the men who held It felt the
shock terribly. They all had sore necks
next day"
Even more interesting a drill. and i'm
portant as a ltfe-saving device. Is the
hook-and-ladder exercise. 1t is marvellous
what trained men can do with these SIM
pie implements Four of them rest on tho
ground before the tower. They are mar
wells of ingenious construction made by a
celebrated Kansas firm IN such manner
as to combine the maximum Of strength
with the minimum Of weight.
Strictly speaking 1t is hardly right to
call these instruments ladders. They do
not conform to the conventional type at
all. Instead of having two uprights with
rungs between, they consist simply of a
stout hickory pole having short cross
pieces at convenient intervals. The steps
are just wide enough to afford foothold
for a man and strong enough to bear any
weight which can be put upon them.
The pole is about fifteen feet long, and is
strengthened by a stout steel wire fast
ened along its entire length. Even If the
wood should break or burn through, the
wire would still hold, and the ladder is
guaranteed to bear a strain of 1000 pounds,
though it weighs only twenty-five.
The hook. however, is the most interest
ing feature of the device. The ladder ter
inmates in a strong, steel arm, extending
at right angles for about three feet and
slightly curved at the end, The inner
edge is serrated to prevent slipping, and
is capable of taking firm hold on wood
or store or iron.
Take up ladders." commands the en-
gineer, and four men, girdled with huge
canvas belts, rush to their posts and seize
the ladders, raising them perpendicularly
against the wall The belt is an essential
feature of the equipment. quite as much
so as the ladder, for one would be useless
without the other 1t is constructed of
stout woven material, fastened by leather