Hattiesburg daily progress. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 18??-1909, 1903-06-12
FIRE ALARM SYSTEM
Movement to Inaugurate One in
Hattiesburg-Its Needs as
Demonstrated.

A gentleman from Atlanta is here
who is representing a fire alarm sys-
tenn and as soon as the mayor and
board of aldermen meet he will make
a proposition to put the fire alarm
system in Hattiseburg. He proposes
to put in fifteen alarm boxes, which
he considers sufficient for the present,
and bell at any place the city may
name. The system is the latest i'm
proved and is considered the best used
in any city. In case of fire all per-
son has to do is to touch hutton
and the bell will ring giving the num-
f, ber of the ward. The present arrange
ment of telephoning is very unreliable
and as often locate the fire in the
wrong place as in the right one.
Ia connection with this fire alarm
system the fire department, which is
voluntary concern, proposes to make
it warm for the city authorities until
it is better equipped. 1t wants pair
of horses, man to attend them, and
fireman's wagon. This attendant
is to eat, drink and sleep at the fire
house, Atrain the horses, and be in
readiness in case of fire. In fact he
will be the entire department, as
everything will depend upon him.
| The bell, if the fire alarm system is
adopted, will be located. do ubtless, at
the headquarters Of the fire depart
ment, so that at the end Of the last
stroke of the bell the horses will be
harnessed, hitched to the wagon and
everything in readiness to go to the
fire. If everything is in proper work
ing order this work will not take ex
ceeding a minute, and the horses 60
ing at the highest rate of speed it
will take only the shortest possible
time to reach the fire. All this can
be accomplished with the outlay of
only few hundred dollars and would
be the means of saving thousands and
thousands dollars worth of property
perhaps every month.
Under the present system every
thing is left to luck, and that the
city has been so lucky up to the pres
ent time is a wonder. As stated, the
tel ephone system of giving the fre
alarm is unsatisfactory. When the
house belonging to D. B. Holmes was
burned a few weeks ago the alarm
over the telephone was attempted to
De given, but it appears that it was a
complete failure and someone gave
the alarm by yelling fire or BY going
to the water works plant. By this
| time the fire was under good Roadway
and there was no way to save the
building. This fire broke out within
block or two from the headquarters
of the fire department, and yet by the
crude system now used it was many
minutes before water was thrown on
the flames
Udner the present system the fire.
men have to depend upon any old
thing in the shape of an animal they
can pick up to convey the fire wagon
to the scene of fire. 1t may be fast
gated horse, but more often is it the
case that it is the slow gated mule,
before which man has to travel
with bundle of fodder to get it out
of the ordinary gait, and by the time
the fire is reached several houses may
have been burned and some of the
corner lots badly scorched.
Hattiesburg has arrived at that
stage of the game when it should
have fine and complete fire depart
ment system. 1t is money put out at
a very large interest. 1t would pay
| for itself in the saving of property in
a few months besides reducing insur-
ance rates at the beginning. If the
city is going to have fire department
at all it should have good one, and
since the men who are now connected
with it are applying their labor and
Ienergy voluntarily without hope of
any reward, they should be encour-