The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-07-20
Growth of Firemen's Associa-
tion and Its Benefits.
PRES. MCNEIL WRITES
Money Sav,d BY the Volunteer Fire
Fighters of the State.
"A RECORD OF FOURTEEN YEARS.
The Splendid Results Obtained And the Prom
isng Outlook That Is Ahead of One Ct
the Grandest Organizations
Of North Carolina.

Of North Carolina.
With a desire of presenting a history
, of the North Carolina Firemens Assoc
citation a request was made of the able
! and active President of the Association,
| Hon. James d. McNell, of Fayetteville,
that he furnish an article for this issue
of the News and Observer concerning
the history of the association with some
| of the benefits which have come to the
: property owners of the cities and towns
/ in which the association has members.
In furnishing this article Mr. McNeilI
says that to do the subject justice he
would require the entire space of this
: edition, and that he contents himself
with general summary. Continuing,
he writes as follows:
Cup to the date of our organized ex-
istence, the fire service was of a very
crude nature. None of our towns had
water systems and only four or five We're
equipped with even a steam fire engine
and reservoir system, and in consequence
the annual losses by fire were heavy,
necessitating high insurance rates and
also a large annual loss of valuable
property.
I'm those days a property owner, if
he insured at all, generally insured for
the full value of his property as the
| chances were that if it caught fire,
total destruction was inevitable, whereas
now, the insurer, relying upon the
efficiency of his local fire Department,
only insures for what he has reason TO
! believe his actual loss will be (as that
| is all he would be entitled to in any
EVENT. and he thereby saves every year.
| not only a good part of his premium but
| also gets his insurance at a less rate
per annum.
"In September, 1888, at the instance Of
| C. d. Benbow, OF Greensboro; E., B.
| Englehard, of Raleigh, and the writer
chiefs of their respective departments-a
few leading volunteer fremen met in
Greensboro and organized our State AS
ISOLATION with Chief Chas. d. Benbow, as
president! Our membership was then
quite limited (only about fifty membersl.
On the 18th of March, 1882 the Legisla-
ture Incorporated us and gave us a
charter as State organization. In 1891
our membership having largely in
creased, the State granted us an annual
appropriation, payable from the license
tax upon insurance companies of 81, 500
per annum, as a relief fund, to be used
solely for the benefit of sick or disabled
tiremen, who had been made sick or
injured by reason of their service as
firemen.
This act on the part of the State, has
been the key note to our unparalleled
success and has clearly demonstrated
the wisdom of our law makers in making
so judicious all appropriation. Under
this act every fireman. who has been in
jured by reason of his efforts to protect
the lives and property of his fellow citi-
zens has been allowed the sum of $500
per diem to partially recompense him for
his loss of time and injury to person.
This sum, while small within itself.
has been great help towards making
our membership more enthusiastic and
daring in their personal efforts, as they
felt assured that they were in measure,
at least, appreciated.
'The Association has met annually in
convention, in rotation: First in Green's
boro in 1888. and then successfully in
Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham, Asheville,
Wilmington, Winston, New Bern, Sails
bury, Fayetteville, Goidsboro, Green's
boro. Wilmington, Charlotte, and now
again JHlSf year -fdlelSn. Inc GROWTH
of the Association has ever been a steady
and satisfactory one, its membership
now comprising practically every fire
department in the State, and / have every
reason to believe that our meeting in
Raleigh this year will see. every DEPART
nent enrolled in our membership The
last Legislature, passed very judiciOus
law, in the interest of a decreased fire
waste, making it the duty of every in
corporated town in North Carolina to
organize some system of fire protection
and when this law is fully executed, the
full measure of its beneficence will be
realized.
Very few people realize the enormous
annual loss by fire in North Carolina.
and only those who have personally suf-
fered can or do adequately appreciate
the necessity of a system of organized
fire protection. Take the town of Clinton,
AOr instance, which only few days ago
was partially swept out of existence by
reason of fire. all of which could have
been prevented by the use of one little
fire extinguisher, or little water, in
the hands of the right man, those bust
ness it would have been to apply it at
the right place at the right time, and
at a cost of not more than 80 cents
Strange to say there are yet score of
similar places in North Carolina and it
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