The Washington times., 1901-07-18
FIRE DEPARTMENT NEEDS.
The Men Poorly Paid and the Com
panies Too Few.
A Comparison Between the Present
and Former Years-What Would
Take Place With Two Large
COnnagratiOns Mt One Time.

The schedule of estimates recently SUBJ
mitted to the Commissioners by the Chief
Engineer of the Fire Department calling
for expenditure in the department of
more than half million dollars for the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1903, has been
the subject of considerable comment since
its publication in The Times on Monday
afternoon. The remark has been made
that the new Chief Engineer appears to be
somewhat ambitious for his department,
and that he has asked for very liberal ap-
preparations.
Such a view of the matter, however.
is not warranted. Those who are con-
versant with the management of the Fire
Department for several years past know
that Congress has been slow in granting
the increases for more companies, appa-
ratus, and salaries, as they have been
asked for by the Chief Engineer and the
Commissioners in their annual estimates.
Chief Paris last year. in making up his
estimates for the current fiscal year ask
ed for an aggregate sum in the way of
appropriations for the department of $685.
$751; as against the s570260 asked for by
Chief Dutton. In other words. the needs
of the situation as they appeared to the
Chief Engineer year ago were S16,5A
greater than they appeared to the Chief
Engineer this year. Furthermore, the ad-
ditional expenditure, over and above the
appropriations asked for by Chief Dut-
ton, aggregates s244.340, while the aggre-
gate increase over the appropriations last
year was s2s0634, representing a differ
ence in favor of this year of s36,29i.
An examina ton of the estimates for sal
aries made last year and this year show
that a considerable part of the estimate
is made up of the salaries of the proposed
new companies For instance, Chief Dut-
ton asks for the addition of six new COM
panies and Chief Paris last year asked
for seven. Taking the estimates for this
year, and the salaries of the additional
men and officers asked for foot up $780,
640 subtract this from the aggregate IN
creased salary list of $9S,9i0 and there re-
mains $4,000 increased compensation to
the 'firemen- now in the service. The
friends of the department think that that
amount ought to stand, whatever else
is lopped off in Congress, in committee
or in conference.
The simple truth is that the money
asked by the Chief Engineer represents
the real needs of the department to put
1t upon the right footing. This is shown
by a study of the estimates for the past
five or six years. Every year the de-
partment has beer running behind, so to
speak, because Congress has been slow to
recognize that Washington needs as
good a fire departn ent as other cities of
the country
Chief Dutton, in his report, states that
the department is called upon to cover
a territory Of siXty-nine square miles, or
2S75 square miles for each company.
This. he says, is double the territory
covered by each company in New York.
three times that covered by each com
pany in Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati
and New Orleans. four times that COW
ered by each company in Milwaukee and
Louisville, and six times that covered by
each company in San Francisco.
Chief Dutton. when asked about the
matter yesterday. said that he had made
his estimates with unust al care, ex-
cluding every item that could be called
He said the estimates rep
resent the actual needs of the depart
ment. and if they appear large he thought
it was because Congress had not been
as liberal in its appropriations as it
might have been. That is. the appropria
tions had been too low for the depart
ment to expand as the need of fire pro-
lection Eas increased.
Chief Dutton called attention to several
large fires that have occurred in Wash
ington He cited the power-house fire OF
several years ago. when every engine and
reel carriage in the District was in serv-
ice. There was not one in reserve, he said.
Suppose now" he continued, that a
fire had broken out in one of the large
business houses or in one of the big
hotels, the city would have been at the
mercy of both fires as not enough COM
panies could have been srared from the
fire to have successfully
coped with the second fire. Then, too.
the apparatus was in use, and TO take it
out of service, to load up and to go to the
other fire would have consumed SO much
time that the second fire would have
gained so great headway as to be beyond
control Washington will wake up some
to find some such thing as l
have described taking place If the city
is to be adequately protected, prepara-
ton must be made for just such emergen-
cies."
1t has been suggested that Congress |
provided quite literally last session for
the reorganization and expansion of the |
Police Department: not, perhaps, up to |
the actual needs OF ponce projection, Dut |
literally to that end. Now it is said by |
the friends of the Fire Department It is |
time for large appropriation that will |
give some additions to the fire fighting |
forces and will give better salaries to the |
poorly paid men. 1t is a fact that fire |
men are paid less wages here than in any |
arge city in the United States, and 1t is |
claimed that there ought to be some such
Improvement in this direction as Chief |
Dutton has set down in his schedule of |
Chief Paris, in his annual report last
year, said: This is the poorest paid de-
)artment under the District government,
and / cannot conceive why such should
De the case. The salary does not COM
oensate q man for the great risk of life
and limb while going to or performing
service at fire.
1.-THE salary of the highest paid mem
yer of a company is but 81 600 per annum
which averages sS4 per month, and con-
;ervative estimate of his living expenses,
such as house rent, clothing. food for
himself and family, and miscellaneous
TENS should be alone sufficient to en-
courage the increase that has been recon-
TT can be readily seen that In order to
i've within his means member of this
department must partake of only the |
s,fI q.