The Savannah morning news., 1903-01-06
IN MAYORS HANDS.


THE lines were barely formed when
the stirring notes of one Of Sousa's
marches sounded through the rooms.
Each tramping pupil knew his place
and as the 400 children marched from
all corners into one general column,
little Ethel Barker thumped the piano
as rapidly and as evenly as If she was
in her own home. In three minutes
from the first alarm every soul but
Ethel was out of the burning building
and so we'll drilled was this little girl
that she stayed at her post until one
of the teachers had to go back and
call her out There was no undue ex-
element, there was no crush. no panic
no loss of life or broken limbs.
where Goodness Counts.
In Atlanta on Dec 10, an alarm
of fire was sounded at the Calhoun
Street School. which proved to be
false alarm. The teachers quietly
formed the children into line and
marched them out hurriedly but reg
ularly. The fire drill which had long
been practiced in case of just such an
emergency was called into use and
with even step every child was march,
ed out across the street and out of
danger before the fire department ar
rived, and this occurred in the day
time, during school hours. A gong was
used on this occasion.
1T has been claimed that fire drills
would interrupt the studies. If this
be true can the studies be interrupted
more in Savannah than they can be
in Chicago, Baltimore, New Yorc, At
lanta, or any other city where fire
drills are practiced? Can we stop to
consider a momentary interruption of
studies when the very lives of our
children are involved?
Thomas Bashill in his work on Fire
and Panic thruthfully says I'm pro-
portion to the number buildings, fires
are exceedingly few. l might say sur
prisingly few" but after a calamity
the general public with all it's tongues
asks why the precaution was not talk
en-, and looks out for a victim BY
the standard than, set up and not by
any doctrine of chance those in author
fty may expect to be judged"
Parents and guardians have a right
to expect and to even demand that
their children shall be surrounder by
every possible and necessary safe
guard. while they are under the control.
care and direction of the agents of the
state.
Fire drills are a positive necessity,
they cost nothing and the benefits to
be derived from them have been DEM
onstrated time and time again. 1
would be glad to see them adopted in
Savannah and l had hoped that they
would have been introduced long before
this, but as it appears to be impossible
TO have them instituted otherwise. l
respectfully beg to asy that an or
dlnance be adopted requiring all public
and private schools of two stories or
more to practice fire drills at least
once in every seven days.
Fine Inspections.
| During the past summer a great
many inspections were made by details
| from the several engine companies
| These inspections started at River
| street and were made through the bust
ness section to Oglethorpe avenue in
Guiding the streets north and south
from West Broad to East Broad
streets.
The details examined the doors anG
windows on each floor and made re-
ports showing the character of SUCH The
manner by which they We're secured
the location of all hoists, elevators
traps or other openings, the stairs ur
| and down, the location of fireworks
| gunpowder, gasoline, kerosene oil
other explosives and made note oil
the doors and windows through which
! access could be the most readily made
| A map of the ground floor of every
business house in the section mention.
ed was made and copied into a book for
| study and future reference.
A great number of other inspections
! were made of defective or dangerous
stove pipes, flues and hearths, gratings
cellars and outhouses and to hi:
work, to a great extent, can be attrib-
uted the reduction in the fire loss.
Many New Buildings.
The report of Fire Marshal George
| Mouro shows not only the cause Of
the sounding of each fire alarm dur
ing the year, but contains other val.
liable information. 1t shows just what
building was done and the followine
table will be of interest.
New buildings We're completed as
! follows: One hundred permits fol