Evening star., 1901-07-27

| twice, followed by another pause, and then
| four times, and as the bell struck each
| stroke was marked on the paper tape by
| tiny hole, so that the man at the desk had
| two ways of ascertaining the number of
| the box pulled.
Equipment of Companies.
Each company in the fire department is
| commanded by officer known as the
| foreman, who is given full charge OF ms
| company and who is held strictly respon-
sible for it's proper conduct. He has an
assistant foreman to take his place Wheh
| he is away. and if the company be steam
| engine company there is an engineer, VINO
| has full charge of the engine, hremah,
| who attends to firing it; driver, VINO mas
4 charge of the horses and drives the engine
| team, and an assistant driver, VINO heips
to care for the horses and VINO orlVeS the
| hose carriage team. and three or four pfl-
| Yates. In a truck company there is a fore-
| man, a tilerman who sits on the end OF
| the truck and guides it's rear wheels, ana
| who is the assistant foreman of the com
| pany; driver and assistant driver and SIX
or seven privates. The chemical engine
companies each have foreman. an as
| sistant foreman. driver and assistant
| driver and several privates
! There is little need to describe TO you
/ how the steam engines are connected TO the
water plugs and how by steam pressure
they force the water through the long lines
| of hose, or how the appliances on the
| trucks are used, for all of You nave no
4 doubt seen them In SeTNlCe dt HES AieAiS
times.
Chemical Engines Described
| "But with the chemical engines you are
hardly SO familiar. The chemical engine.
| as it's name implies, makes use of chem
| icals in the putting out Of fires. AS rule
| they are supplied with two tanks, eacn
| with a capacity of from seventy to eighty
five gallons These tanks>are for the most
part filled with water, but inside OF then
there is a glass bottle or jar. rms jar 10
| filled with vitriol or sulphuric acid, eleven
| pounds of it being placed in an eighty
gallon tank. In the tank thirty-tWo pounus
| of bicarbonate of soda is also placeu, !ne
vitriol, however is not mixed WIN lne
| water or soda until the engine arrives On
| the scene of the fire. Then a screw Is
turned which dumps the vitriol or suipnuric
| acid into the tank. The moment that ~
done carbonic acid gas is formed wn.n nii
the tank, the three hundred feet OF small
hose is laid out and the pressure OF tne
gas in the tank forces the water out
through the hose. The water absorps OF Is
charged with the carbonic acia a. gas s. anu 4he
acts in double way upon the nre, as lhe
gas, being heavier than the air, presses
down upon the flames something IKE wei
blanket and smothers it. A good miustra-
cup partly with water, then, after pouring
some alcohol on it. dropping ishtea
match in to set the alcohol on nre, In, al
then sprinkling pinch or TWO 0! coihiiio mn
gas generated at once putting out the Iile. e.
"About every piece of apparatus used IN
the fire department carries one or more sinai
chemical fire extinguishers, some OF Ineln
being three gallons and some six gallons,
the small ones being carried by mana anu
the larger ones on the backs OF the Ire
men. To these extinguishers small nose
is attached and they are very eIectiVe III
putting out small fires. Indeed, with the
chemical engines and with the chemical
fire extinguishers some fre departments
put out so or 80 per cent OF nres TO WHICH
they are called. There is another piece OF
APPARATUS in the District fire department
known as the combination chemical engine
and hose wagon. There is one at truck
one in the Brookland company. These COM
bination wagons carry two thirty-hVe-gal-
lon chemical tanks, with 100 or more 1eet
of chemical hose, good size iaoder ana
also q thousand or more feet OF nose used
on steam engines. At some future time
every hose carriage in the department may
be replaced by one Of these combination
wagons.
The Water Tower.
''There Is little need for you to follow
Chief Belt to box 1884, for you would see
little that you have not seen before, and by
the time you got there you might find that
it was false alarm. OF course, II ne
found it to be a fire too big for the COM
panies which went there on the first alarm
to handle he would send his man to the
would bring engine companies and 1 to
the fire. Then If they should not be enough
he would send his man to the box to send
in a third alarm, which would bring engine
companies and and truck company u,
and so on until he had enough companies
At fire where he had need OF so many
companies he would probably put the water
tower in service. This piece of apparatus
is somewhat new here, and has not yet
been put in service at a fire. In other
cities 1t has proven to be a most powerful
and valuable piece Of hre-fghting appa-
ratus. The tower can be raised to a height
Of seventy-f1ve feet, and from the nozzle
al the top most powerful stream OF water
can be thrown into burning building.
This nozzle can be raised or lowered at will
and turned in any direction desired. At the
base of the machine are two turret nozzles,
which can be used to throw streams while
one is being thrown from the high tower.
The water is forced into the tower by
steam engines, and twelve engines can be
attached at one time to the tower in the
District department.
Fine Horses.
I'm some fire departments engines are
driven to fires by their own steam, but
here horses draw every piece. 1t is be-
lieved that the horses used here are as
fine animals as can be seen anywhere.
Great care is taken to get the very best
money can buy. and they are given the
very best of care. They are fed well, well
groomed, and they are most intelligent
animals. They take as much pride In doing
| their work as the men, and make every
endeavor to get to the fires as quickly as
possible. The apparatus they pull Is un-
usually heavy, the trucks weighing 5000
pounds, and some Of the engines are al
most as heavy. It is terrible strain on
| the horses, and as soon possible after
reaching the fire their drivers give them a
| drink composed of equal parts of water and
| arnica. This is given them to stimulate
| them. The horses seem to know what 1t
| Is given them for and make no objection
| to taking 1t. although 1t not very pleasant
| to taste. AS rule, the horses do not
stand the work very many years. some
| of them not more than three or four years.
| and then they are condemned and turned
| over to other departments OF the District,
| where they are given lighter work
Dogs and Cats Also.
| Horses are not the only animals in the
fire department, for number Of the COM
panies have dog and these dogs, as
rule, run with the companies to fires. At
truck company D they have a dog called
Weaver" who not only goes with his
company to every fire, but also goes into
the burning buildings with the firemen.
/ He has more than once gone into such
/ hot fire that he has had his feet blistered