The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-06-23
PruvIdeucs Flrsmsn Went 10 Auburn and
Five Of Than Were laIuTsd.
THREE SUFFERED BROKEN LEGS.
City Kept ihs Injured on Pay Roll Un.Il They Re-
oovsrsd -Ths Irs al ths TurksT Red
0IsIng Companys Works.

The action of the board of fire COM
missioners. yesterday. relative to the
sending of apparatus over the line. has
had its effect. The officials of cranston.
as well as the volunteer firemen. real
ize that the commissioners do not pur-
pose to jeopardize city property by per-
mittingthe Washington park and Elm
wood companies 10 make runs TO that
town.
the wall that not all the volunteers
were in Bristol on the day of the mus
ter. and that had they been given an
alarm they could have brought out "a
hose reel and no doubt could have
aided in saving the Amos w. Palmer
residence. Such may have been the
case; but the fact is that that fire was
burning for more than an hour; that
the trolley cars took the news of the
fire into Pawtuxet village and that had
there been any real fra instinct among
the volunteers they would have hooked
on to their reel and made a pretense at
playing firemen, IL nothing else.
The refusal of one OF the Arlington
firemen who was of the few, who. be-
cause of quarrel in the ranks de-
clined TO attend the Natick muster. TO
accommodate the Providence firemen
by going TO the. hydrant and asking
that the man in charge OF the chuck
should turn on the water, was in strict
keeping with the wide awake. ever-to-
.ae front attitude of the Eawtuxct vol-
unteers. r. H
NOT PAID TO RUN ERRANDS.
The only difference noticed was that
the Ar<Dgton man said that he wasn't
tuxet volunteers said and did nothing
and did IL hard.
The explanation OF the Pawtuxet
volunteers explains nothing.
What the taxpayers of Providence
want 10 know is how long is this
gratuitous service TO be asked for! How
long is 1t to be given?
This is no new question.
History is repeating itself.
Take, for< instance, the fire Of July
81 1879.
On that date a fire broke out in Jas.
Donohoe's house on Park avenue in
Auburn village.
Did the Cranston authorities wait to
telephone for aid?
Not BIT or 1t.
Some smart Alec trotted over the city
line, and, securing key, pulled box
213..
By this act he called one steam fire
engine. one hose and one ladder COM
pany away from the protection of resi-
Dental property, running In value into
the hundred thousands. and on arriv-
Ing at the box the captains In charge
OF the apparatus, with fireman's zeal
A. A. h,, nf rot Ia,
crossed the line and sent their men into
the burning building.
A few minutes later one OF the floors
fell and five f1remen were placed hors
du combat.
Three were taken out OF the wreck with
broken legs. One suffered from contu-
sion OF the spine, another was injured
about the head and all were laid off
duty for months.
The city press made such a row over
the accident and the Gripping OF the
service that nearly two years later, or
to be more exact. on May 10. 1881 the
town of Cranston contributed $1,000 to
the firemen's relief fund.
GIVEN FULL PAY
In the meantime, and by resolution Of
the city council, these five disabled men
were given full pay until they were
able to resume duty.
Consider the experience of the city
firemen on November 8. 1883.
A fire broke out i'm the Turkey Red
Dyeing Co.'S plant. at Bellefont..
Aid was asked for and Engine Co. No.
10 was sent to Cranston.
With that company on that occasion
was George III. Thurston Of III. & l.. No.
While assisting the members of the
other company Thurston was struck
by piece OF falling wreck and his leg
was broken.
Thurston was of duty for 81 days,
and during that time he was carried
on the regular pay roll.
Neither the town OF Cranston nor
the proprietors of the Turkey Red Dye
ing company contributed cent toward
the medical bill contracted by Thurs
ton. nor did either chip in toward his
salary.
NO ASSISTANCE.
The worst feature OF This affair was
that some of the city firemen arranged
for benefit for Thurston and solicit
ed the purchase OF tickets supposing
that out OF sheer gratitude the Turkey
Red Dyeing company would take a few
but the representatives OF that corpor-
alton declined 70 purchase even one
tirket
These are a few OF the reasons why
the taxpayers OF Providence are of the
opinion that they should no longer be
asked TO provide n fire department for
the town OF Cranston.