The Washington times., 1903-09-06
* THE EVOLUTION OF WASHINGTONS FIRE FIGHTERS x
Taken hGNk d tn When
ThHmdSf dFns-Th h~tkT Under New
.HE inauguration of William T. !

TINE Inauguration of William T.
Belt as Chief Engineer of the
District Fire Department is an
event of peculiar significance to those
who are familiar with the history of the
organization. Among his companions he
is known as a fireman from away
back" and it iss ssaid that what he
doesn't know about handling fires isn't
worth the knowing. Born in Washing
ton, October 81. 1916, he entered the old
volunteer service when seventeen years
old, as a private in Franklin Company,
under Chief Engineer Peabody. He has
the distinction of having driven the first
steam fire engine in Washington. On
January 2, 1879, he received an appoint
ment in the present Fire Department
and was assigned to duty with Engine
Company No. 2. Promotions came fast,
and in 1856 he was made acting foreman
ot Engine Company No. l, fifteen months
later being made foreman. Next month
he was made assistant chief. and two
years later received a permanent ap-
pointment to that position. His rise to
his present position OF Chief Engineer
has been equally rapid, and met with
equal approval from his associates.
Regular and Volunteer
1t will be noticed that Chief Belt rep
resents a combination of service which
is becoming more and more rare at pres
ent. He has been both a regular fire.
man and a volunteer. In this his career
shows how the old volunteer fire laddies
with their "goose-neck'' engine have
gradually developed into the modern
regular fireman. with his superb machine
throwing sometimes as much as LOO
gallons of water a minute. This growth
has been necessarily slow, but 1t has not
been without interest, and the dash of
romance Of the fireman's calling.
1t is possible that the romantic ele-
nsent was present in somewhat greater
quantity in the life OF the volunteer fire.
man than in that of his successor. When
brimming buckets Of water, ladies, pans.
gcurds. and every sort of vessel passed
from hand 10 hand along a row Of shout
ing men, and the fire zouaves were rails
ins and lowering the long wooden han
dies, the blood seemed to move fast,
and if the fire was suppressed, why, the
cir 70 hn ma Wit
such poor instruments as these. Today
the fireman has the best horsefesh to
wbisk him of to the fire, the best COM
b:nation of nuts. rivets, steel. and rubber
hose TO help him fight the flames, and
water tower which sends a stream of
water directly into the windows of a
four or story building. Still the
fireman of today and yesterday are alike
ir their daring and coolness IN the hour
OF danger.
From Small Beginnings.
At the beginning of the century Wash
ington was a cluster OF scattered viii
lages. with woods and swamps IN be-
tween. At that time there were no i'm
portant fires. for the houses were too
far apart. May, 1900, the Government
appropriated 5000 for the purchase Of
two fire engines to protect the Treasury
Department. These were small ma
chimes, throwing a very small Jet OF
water. Tradition says that one OF them
was placed in a frame building opposite
the south portico of the Treasury De-
partment. An opportunity TO use the
engine was soon provided. November 8,
1SOO fire wac 6fsco-erad IN fba br,iIdfn1
occupied by the War Department, a
three-story house owned by Joseph
Hodgson. and which stood on the corner
of Pennsylvania Avenue and Twenty
first Street. The blaze was one of the
most stubborn ever known in the his
tory OF the department. II was very
destructive. the war records were de-
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