The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1900-08-17
THE
WATER FRONT.
Plan to Cheaply Con-
vert the Eleu into
Fire Tug.
THE LONG TRIP Of THE WiLLSe0TT.
WILD ADVENTURES OF A SKIP
PER WHO TRIED TO
RIDE a BIKE.
A Good Deal of Dredging Needed
About the Strange Disappear
ance of the William
Carson-Notes.

The idea of making fire boat of the
Eleu is undoubtedly good one" said
a weil-posted engineer yesterday. "She
/ is admirably arranged to be fixed over
/ into first-class vessel, with very little
expense. In the after part of the Eleu.
/ below deck. is great deal of room,
which might easily be utilized for two
small or one large duplex pump. This
room. which is now used as living space,
would much better serve the purpose
OF a pump room. The connections
with the boiler could be easily made
/ from this room, and if the boat was
| turned into fire boat there would be
no need of living space aboard, At
the place where she ties up a small sta
ton could be built to accommodate the
crew on the wharf.
10 properly conduct the Eleu as a
| fire boat when she is converted, she
should be turned over to the fire de-
partment and classed as an engine and
hose company would be. It seems
strange TO me that the underwriters
/ have not already taken hold of the idea
of protecting the shipping of Honolulu
| from fire The importance of good
facilities for fire fighting cannot be
oyer-estimated. See to what good
| purpose the Iroquois helped on the day
of the big Chinatown fire. Had it not
/ been for the assistance of her powerful
! pumps the damage to the shipping at
/ the uptown wharfs would have been
very great. Then too. fire tug is al
ways useful where there is blaze near
| the water front. 1t is not long ago that
terrible fire in San Francisco was
a. erted by the aid rendered by the fire
boat Governor Irwin, which supplied
six strong streams of water to the fire
departments water tower about two
blocks up town.
"fn case of fire here among the ship
ping the government has no protection
to offer or aid to give other than the
little donkey pump at present on the
Eleu. Honolulu's fire department is
one of the finest for its size in the
world, bnt with all the care that has
been taken to protect the city, nothing
has been done for the harbor The ex-
penditure of large sum of money to
transform the Eleu into first-class
fire boat is not necessary. Not more
than $500 would be required for the
purpose. For that money pumps suffi-
cient TO supply six powerful streams
and monitor with water could be fur
nished,
THE monitor is on the plan of the
water towers. which have come into such
general use in the states of the late
years. 1t is arranged on a mast on the
fire boats and is for use in case of the
fire getting to the rigging of the ship,
or where the fire gets so hot that it has
to be fought at distance. The wharfs
here snd buildings on them are all of
wood and very inflammable. Say for
instance, fire had started in naval
row during the sugar season when the
ships were so closely punched that
person could almost jump from one to
the other. What chance did they have
of being saved in cass of a general con-
fiagrations A fire ting is now neces-
sity and should be Forthcoming. 1t is
not at ali doubtful that the insurance
companies would respond to an effort
to furnish one. Where they are so
careful of the ships carrying sugar that
they, because of the insurance. will not
allow them when loaded to leave the
harbor even in tow of a tug without a
pilot, they certainly must see the great
danger of leaving the shipping unpro-
tected fIom fire
1.-The lesson of the recent terrible
confiagration in New York should be
taken to heart here as a warning of
what might happen in Honolulu har-
Dor"