The sun., 1900-09-07
ALL WIRES SHOULD
Be underground
SAYS CHIEF SASSE
Recommends That There be
Regular Drivers for
Hose Carts.
BLACK EYE FOR GASOLINE
He Fayors Fire Drills i'm the Schools,
and Says the Semi-Annual
Fire Inspection is Farce
and Ought to be
Abolished.

Some very important recommendations
are made by former Fire Chief George
w. Sasse in his l;i,t annual report,
which is the 32nd annual report of the
Fire Department. The report is for the
year ending May q and is most ex-
cellent document and reflects great
credit upon eX-Chief Sisse
The eX-chief calls attention to the
many overhead wires iii this city, which
he declares ought to 20 underground as
they Interfere With the work of the fire
men, preventing them from going where
they choose ON burning buildings. He
favors subways owned by the city and
says there should be Il time fixed for all
wires to 70 underground
He says regular drivers should be
employed for the hose carts Of the vari
ons companies. Al present the compan-
les do not receive large enough appro-
piations to hire drivers and it some
times happens that inexperienced men
yet oil the liDSe carts. He recommends
that the appropriation OF each company
be increased $500 year for this pur-
pose.
He says that the use of gasoline for
domestic purposes should be prohibited,
by ordinance, il possible. He says it is
used almost universally for cooking pur-
poses in simmer because of its cheap
ness and thinks the price Of it ought to
he fixed 1T 81 4 gallon Or morc so that
it would be out Of the reach Of careless
people. Gasoline he says. is trcach@r-
GUS fluid and one does not know when
some housewife will lie cramat,l alive.
II has been noticed that many alarms
aia received just before breakfast. lin
ner Or s'pper, as it Il NJ tllis time that
| the gasoline stoves are iii full opera
tiou.
lie recommends that more fire hyd-
trants ~ placed in South Wihaington
! now that l2-inch main Aas raplaed the
6-inch main across t!e Ch'i4ti3sit.
lie considers the scnii.aauull alsppe-
! tiGn 4 farce aHd lavur- it5 a'oli3nnent.
In its place zig recommends ul ulnM!
! test allt! ayie5t ef lrnn asl apparatus.
| He recommends hra drills III tltg public
and mrlte sthne- a}4d cans attention
10 dangerous ,rllaus. He rrtHras hanks
70 City Council. thr Police Commissions
crs CHIEF Dolan md the press u the
city.
During the year thorn were 50 first
lalulnlS, @caegal alarms, 62 tolephuti,
81 still, telegraph, milking focal d
| tS9. Men and apparatus were sent to
aure Oh It!!e "a aud to Bear Station
IN December 5.
The total loss by fire was S264 1922
ana tho insurance on the property dos
\ d ) n 6 N I.
i was $3.45 2-3. The three largest fires
were: October 4, 1899, +. Blumcntfal 4
Co.'S Factory, loss. $74440.23; November
/ s, Diamond State Steel Co.'S spike mill
loss. $5O,055.1S; January 10, Delaware
Hard Fibre Co.'S fibre works. loss
SOS 25O, making Il total of $19T,14j.tt with
loss oi only $G7,027.Sl for til rarlain-
Hg 1856 calls.
President Wala"c Of the Steel Co
when he arrived IN the scene feared the
mill was doomed and said afterwards
lie saving Of the mill was Ike dnna
sion of it 10 the company by the tirenen
'ihe fire 1T the Diamond State Stee
Co.'S plant was s., 2,500,050 risk. The fire
burned with lightning inridity ana whel
.he first apparatus arrived one end OF
The SILK. ',,l cnl'.s "a. IT., 1l;l
| waS 5Gl%.. Sr5 IT, ,-I ct =. va
consumed. Cncf Sit;tae cut the iia. !,
two and confined the tialhes to Il cottuii
point ard had the fire under control il
thirty minutes.
There were G2 telephone calls, IN in
crease Of % over the previous E"ar
There were 10g calls for chemical On
gireS. The rhorniy ambulance usiiun,i
ad ia 547 calls, an increase of GIG oyel
the previous year.
There were Il new fire hydran;s nd
lrd during the year.
The value of the real estate II th
yalious companies. $il6O0o: PERSONA
property. S77.sS5; feet - first class hose
IT, coo: feet OF chemical hose, 10G0 fee
af LADDERS, 50S; active mrihhe.s, S11
honorary 3O5: horses sc.
The number Of plArms responded +
by the various com 2es Were rs fol
lows. Friendship, 81 n eliancc. 81: Della
ware. 81; Phoenix. 4 Phoenix Hool
and Ladder, "a; Water Witch. 81; Fame
60; Washington, 81; Washington chemi
cal, SO; Weccacoe, 45; Weccacoe chemi
cal. "a; Liberty 81,
! -Four hundred copies of the report viii
be printed by Council.