New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-11-11
INJURY TO BIG CABLES.
CHIEF ENGINEER MARTIN ALSO TELLS
OF THRILLING EXPERIENCE
on THE TOWER

Chief Engineer Kingsley Martin, in charge of
the steel construction Of the bridge. told a
graphic story of his climb to the top of the tower
and gave some facts about the fire and the in
jury to the bridge. He said:
Il was at my home in Brooklyn when l was
informed about I o'clock of the fire / hurried
over and met Battalion Chief Guerin and four
or five men who had just come down from the
top of the tower. The hose line had broken and
they were helpless. Ciuerin decided TO make
another try and Axeman Michael Callahan. of
truck No IL. who proved to be a great worker
and fine fellow. volunteered 10 go with him
The stairs are of wood. leading up through
| the tower, and the stairway is in the northern
| tower. 1t took three about fifteen minutes
to get to the top. 1t bad quarter of an
hour the French say. I wouldn't want TO
go through it again. Bolts and rivets of steel.
heated TO whiteness. fell all around US. Tim
bers Of pretty good size with end and sides
lighted and flaming. also tumbled about our
heads.
when we reached the top we found the plat
form OF the Toulouse or the under part Of its
floor. burning. Timbers and rivets were fall
ing from it through the door. The sight was a
remarkable one, as the wood and irot hit the
steelwork In the fall of $50 feet. What inn
mediatey were forced to notice that the
fire rapidly gaining Roadway toward the
stairs and II these caught fire our escape was
cut off. The fOotpaths had burned away and
we had no other means Of getting back TO earth
again except by the stairs. We had to fight TO
keep that, and at once.
Battalion Chief Guerln, with fine presence OF
mind. spled'a barrel half filled with water. We
hailed that out in our hats and threw II on the
fire as II burned the wood near the stair and In
few minutes were successful the
IRE stopped gaining: then lost ground ana
by this time two hose lines had been got up,
spliced and made into a Siamese hoseitne with
three hundred pounds pressure on each line.
This served TO break the Slamese connection
again and again. and made heaps of trouble.
The first time it caused a delay of half an hour.
When 1t did get going after each break, II made
quick work Of the fire 1t took half an hour
about. TO put out the blaze. In that time you
can lima CINE how much water was poured on the
fire and from that judge how the poor hremen
at the foot of the tower were drenched Tons
and IL was heroic work they had to do. Guerin
and that aXeman. Callahan, are heroes, think,
for the work they did there tonight. About a
dozen fifteen men came up from truck IL
and engine II and got the fire out
The four cables. numbered from the north
and called one two three and four are on
saddles each saddle weighing thirty-four tons
and made of steel Nos. l and were red hot
and No / red hot all the way through
not be approached and ! could get my hand
nowhere near II. could not get over to No.
1. The intense heat will not injure the saddles
and they will need no repairing.
The heat from the saddles, however. played
havoc with the cables That part of the cables
Nos. 1 and resting the saddles will have
to be entirely replaced The heat makes the
wires brittle and for fifty feet on each side OF
the tower the cables will have to be replaced
by wires which will spliced. The
bles will not have - be made and the
splicing and replacing will not njure them. 1t
is done on the Brooklyn Bridge and all
bridges and even while the bridges are being
used. II does not weaken the cables. There is
not much probability that any more than fifty
feet OF the cables are injured. and not all Of the
wires I'm that space damaged.
Perhaps half the wires for fifty feet Of No.
2 will have TO be replaced. These wires will
be put In at a time and spliced repaired
with cuffs Not nearly many wires In the
other cable will be replaced. But II will cause
a delay OF. at the very least four months to
do the repairing. I could not estimate nearly
the actual time it will take.
Il want to say that there is no danger what
ever not the slightest, of the cables falling or
of the tower being injured The cables can
stand the weight on them now. OF course. with
the wires damaged. they could not stand any
very great additional weight, but they stand
their weight. and what is on them now. So
far the fire injuring the tower is concerned.
the effect OF fire like that on the tower is like
hitting an anvil with tackhammer.'