The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-02-22
WIcHlTA's FIRE DEPARTMENT.
New York Paper Makes Some Re
marks About IL.

The last issue OF the Fire and Water
Engineering of New York city contained
the following:
During 1902 the fire department of
Wichita, Kan, answered 13a alarms. of
which rs were for actual fires, and five
were false. The total loss was only ST.
SsS.s5-sS,ll0 on buildings. and s2477ss5 on
contents The most common causes OF
the fires were: Carelessness. from which
fourteen started; gasoline stove explo-
sions. with twelve; defective fiues and
sparks from chimneys. seven each: lamp
explosions and overheated stoves, six
apiece; unknown. thirty eight; incendi-
airy. two; defective furnaces and electric
wires, five apiece. In two cases the fires
gained on the department Cd from lack
of sufficient water pressure. owing 10
the extensive exhaust of water used by
those who were sprinkling lawns while
the fire was burning, and CD from the
fact of the fire be ing such a distance
from the nearest fire station with the
flames under such Roadway before The
department arrived that the house-a
private residence-was almost entirely
consumed. The latter cause is remov-
able only by protection being brought
nearer that particular district. For the
former there is no excuse. and If people
are SO senseless and so selfish os to per-
sist in watering their lawns. etc. while
a nre is going on, an ordinance forbid
uIng the practice after the alarm has
once sounded should at once be intro
duced.
THE department consists of one fire
hal nj
fire marshal. one city electrician. twenty
five regular men. and one substitute-of
which sixteen are first class. seven are
second class, and four are third class.
There are four fire stations. The appa-
ratus consists of two steam fire engines.
one chemical engine. one aerial turn
table hook and ladder truck. three hose
wagons, one hose reel. Obs small wagon
carrying 500 feet of hose at Fairmount.
and one fire chiefs buggy. There are
4 $50 feet of host. OF which amount $3.50
feet are good. $50 feet fairly good and
500 feet unfit for service; 30 feet of sue
ton hose. one Eastman Deluge set. and
200 feet of chemical hose in good condi-
ton. There are seventeen head of
horses, of which four have been in ser
vice from eight to twelve years and are
incapable OF good service. During the
past year an additional fire station was
built and equipped. causing an added eX-
pense of s25, Sizes. Two hundred and six
ty-one hydrants are set in the city TWEEN
ty-five of which were added last year
requiring 15,OoO feet Of additional eight
inch to six-inch mains Besides these
there was laid. on the recommendation
of the fire chief. a twelve-inch pipe ex-
tending south from the pumping station
across the Arkansas river and connecting
with the twelve-inch Main at Douglas
tional high-pressure. triple expansion.
4 COZ. 600 gallon r u. Wood pumping en-
CINE has be- n put in-making a total
daily capacity of 100000 gallons; large
open receiving well of 10000 gallons ca
pacity has been built. into which all the
water from the driven wells can be sy
phoned. which makes the supply ample
and sufficient and gives a better pressure
at time of fire.
with the article was a half-tone en-
craving of Chief Walden. The figures
given for expenses were not correct. in
solar as the article states that the new
caused an added expendi-
ture of s25.612.os. This amount covers
the total running expenses of the depart
ment for last year and also the expeu
ditures for the improvements made dur
ing the year