The Topeka state journal., 1902-03-24
Secures an Instrument to Reg
iSter Fire Pressure.
SOURCE OF TROUBLE.
Often Finds Pressure made
quate For Fire Purposes.
Some of the Difficulties EXper-
fenced by Water Company.

There is a new piece of apparatus at
the fire department headquarters 1t is
a water pressure gauge.
When the fire gong clangs cut, it au-
omatically notifies the engineer at the
big engines of the waterWorkS pump
ing station west of town to double up
his speed, and multiply by two the pres
sure of the water on the water mains.
Within three minutes he is supposed to
raise the pressure from about so pounds,
the normal, to 120 pounds, which is fire
pressure.
Sometimes he does not do it. 1t hap
pens occasionally that when the fire.
men couple up the big 212-inch hose, and
turn the hydrant key, expecting to have
the water come out with a hiss and
roar, there is only a feeble stream which
nozzle.
Then Chief Wilmarth hurries a man
off to the nearest telephone. The man
calls for the waterworks plant
What's the matter with your pres
sure? We can't get any pressure, he
says to the man at the pumping en-
gines.
We've got on 12O pounds. Every
thing is all right Can't see what's the
matter"
And the fire department has been
obliged to take the word of the water
company for it, and patiently wait for
the water pressure to come up, which it
is pretty certain to do in the course of
a short time.
Now it is different There has been so
much trouble with short pressure and
delayed pressure that it has been de-
cided to put check on the water COM
pany and find out what the trouble is
The lack of fire pressure cost Chief VIII
marth the use of his valuable horse
few nights ago. The unfortunate ami
NAL fell while posting off at breakneck
speed in the dark to a telephone, with
man to find out why the pressure was
so low. The horse suffered some terri
BILE cuts and may never regain it's full
strength and agility. The man in the
wagon was thrown clear over the horse
to the ground, and escaped injury al
m OSt by miracle.
If an alarm of fire should come in to-
day, the watchman who stays in the
building when the apparatus goes out
would hurry to the water pressure
gauge which is located in the watch
mans box on the first floor of the
building He would take a printed
form and a pencil which hang within
a foot of the gauge. He would jot
down the exact time the alarm came IN
and the amount of pressure indicated
by the water gauge at that time. At
intervals of one minute thereafter he
would write down the amount of pres
sure indicated by the gauge, until ten
minutes had expired Then he would
write down the pressure every five min
utes thereafter until he received word
had been ordered off. He would sign
this report and file it with Chief Will
marth. In that way the department
will keep an exact record of the amount
of pressure at all times during the
progress of a fire. If the pressure is
not what the water company claims it
is, the department will know it.
The water pressure gauge is a simple
but sensitive apparatus which looks
and acts very much like the steam
gauge on an engine. 1t has a dial prob
ably a foot across. with a long, slender
needle, which is never still for an in
stant 1t is constantly vibrating slowly
between 40 and 60 pounds pressure, ex-
cept when some extraordinary occur
renee, like pressure for a fire, causes 1t
to climb up to the higher points of the
dial
There is a half-inch pipe which con-
meets the dial with the water pipes,
and the pressure indicated on the dial
is, or should be. exactly the same on
every water pipe in town.
So sensitive is the needle which indi-
Gates the pressure that every stroke of
the big pump at the waterworks is re-
hected by a movement of the needle.
When the water is forced into the
mains by a stroke of the piston the
needle goes up two or three pounds, !
and slowly slides back until another
stroke pulls it up again. Under nor
NAL pressure the pumps give about 80
strokes a minute.
In summer time, the gauge will indi-
filled, by sliding down a few pounds. |
In winter time, the gauge will drop |
down during the night, because people |
nearly all leave a little water running |
through the pipes to keep the pipes |
from freezing. Every little drain from |
the water pipes, in whatever part of |
town it occurs, will be reflected in the |
water pressure gauge at the fire sta |
ton.
In cold weather the firemen dread a
midnight alarm because it is so hard /
to get good pressure. Hundreds of wa
ter faucets in town are trickling a tiny /
stream to prevent freezing of the pipes, |
and it makes the big engines at the wa
ter plant puff and groan and fret and /
furne to get up enough speed to over
come the drain and put big fire pres
sure on top of ii. The harder the pres
sure the faster the water flows out of |
the multitudinous faucets.
This difficulty was encountered two
years ago at the Palace Clothing Store
fire at a. When the apparatus ar
rived and the hose was laid, it was
found that the water could hardly be
thrown to the second story windows. 1t
was a bitter cold night, and probably
the department never had such a tough
fight for mastery over a dangerous fire,
all because they could not get the nee
eSsary water pressure.
The collection of records of water
pressure will be of interest, aside from
the immense value of the information
which they will give to the officials of |
the fire department.
Harris Amendment.
washington March 94-Senator Har- |