Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-04-05

to fre-aIarm headquarters, and from there
few seconds later It is struck In every
one Of the twenty-four fire department
houses.
Suppose. for instance, the box Is 1874,
It'll and Louisiana avenue, the instant the
person pulling 1t lets go of the hook the
first stroke sounds at fire alarm headquar-
tiers. Then there Is pause of about two
seconds followed by two strokes; another
pause, followed by four strokes. AS the
strokes are about every second, just eight
seconds have elapsed since the box was
pulled. A pause Of eight seconds follows,
and then the first stroke Is heard in the
quarters of the twenty-four companies of
the fire department., and just twenty-four
seconds from that moment, or forty seconds
from the pulling Of the box, two rounds
have sounded in the quarters of the COM
panes. Long before that. however, the
horses have been hitched up to the appa-
ratus the men are in their places on it,
and on the last stroke, or just thirty
seconds from the moment the box was
pulled, the various companies assigned to it
are their way.
Praise From President.
The horses in the service of the District
fire department are noted for being second
to those of no other department In this
or any other country. President Roose
self, who Is not only expert horseman,
but also experienced judge of horses,
remarked to District Commissioner Ross,
the department, that he had never seen
a finer lot of horses. The speed these ami
mails make in responding to an alarm of
fire is remarkable, and more than once
Chief Dutton has had timid citizens COM
plain to him that the apparatus should
not go so fast.
The companies here get out as quickly as
they do in New York or any other city,
ten seconds being about the average time
in the daytime and fifteen seconds at night.
So, it will be seen that when box is
pulled" for a fire. be 1t day or night, the
various companies of the fire department
assigned to 1t are dashing through the
streets on their way to 1t in less than
sixty seconds from the moment the per
son pulling it let's go OF the little hook.
What to Do in Case of Fire.
All fre-fghting authorities agree that a
fire intercepted in its tncipiency cannot
amount to serious conffagration. These
authorities will tell you to lose not sec
ond in turning in the alarm. And they will
further tell you that to send in an alarm
promptly, you must know the exact ioca-
ton of the nearest sfire charm box There
| fore, 1t Is Imperative thatsevery citizen ac-
| quaint himself withtthe location OF the fire
| alarm box nearest Ehs residence or place
| of business; to learp howlto pull the box,
| and, above all things, to keep COOL and
| move quickly. OF the two tire-alarm
| box or a telephone use the former, TN
| less you know Dey0nu uoupt lHat YOU
| can save time by using the telephone. II
you decide to use the telephone, say 20
| central:
My place is on fire. Give me fire-alara
headquarters"
Such messages are given the right of
| way, and when a second later you are given
| fire-alarm headquarters say:
| My house, so and so Blank street. Is or
| fire"
| . You need not say more, for the opera
| tor at fire-alarm headquarters viii do the
| rest.
Promptness is the Thing.
| The moment you give him the number OF
| your residence or place of business, the
| operator knows the location of the fire de-
| partment company nearest to You, and The
| next instant he has rung up that company
| over the District wire. There Is some
| member of the company at the other enc
| of that wire day and night. and almost
| before you have had time to hang uI
your telephone transmitter, the company