Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-10-27
DEADLY FOE To
THE FIRE DEMON
PHILADELPHIA ABOUT TO iNAu.
GURATE NV SYSTEM.
MODERN IDEAS APPLIED
Engines of Wonderful capacity-Run
by ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Pres
sure Obtained at a Minimum
OF Money outlay-Floods of Water
no Fire Can Withstand.

The chiefs of all fire departments as
well as fire insurance underwriters,
are keeping close watch upon new
fire-fghting system that is now being
inaugurated in Philadelphia.
The new pumps and engines of Phil
adelphia are located on Delaware ave-
nue.. massive, simple structure, it
contains nine enormous pumps that
are able to send rushing through the
fire mains 100000 gallons of water
! day. 1t generates power sufficient
TO squirt simultaneously four streams
Of water over the roof of the city's tall
est building. 1t is sable to mass to-
| gether and discharge in a few seconds
unheard-of fioods-fioods under which
no fire on earth could live for half am
hour. AS yet uncompleted, 1t has re-
| duced the insurance rate Is cents on
the 500, and two weeks hence, when
il will be finished, the rate will fall 10
cents more. The system is a new
thing-a great advance. 1t is as
much of an advance, indeed, as
twenty-three-story sky scraper world
be in world that heretofore had only
three and four story buildings.
John Weaver, engineer of the Phil
adelphia high-pressure service, super
intended the construction of the pump
icg station. The facts relating to the
station that follow were obtained from
Mr. Weaver.
The Building and Engines.
The building is of steel and brick.
its dimensions are 72x14O feet. It's
total cost will have been s250000.
With its walls of white enameled
| brick it Is light airy and spacious
within. 1t has nine gas units, or
pumps, of the total capacity of 2,400
horse power and these great engines.
which weigh from twenty-four to thir-
ty-five tons apiece. can be started
from state of absolute immobi1itv in.
TO full speed in eighteen seconds
Running. pumping 10000, 900 gallons
Of water a day. they make no more
noise than as many sewing machines.
Two of the engines, or units, are
small; they are each $50 horse power
| and they have each pumping capac-
ity of $50 gallons of water minute
under a 300-pound pressure. The re-
naming seven units are large and
their pumps win each deliver f.4o0
gallons of water under 300-pound pres
sure per minute. The cost IF each
large engine and pump complete was
nf tt
was $4,000. The pumps were built by
the Deane Pump Company of Holyoke.
Mass. They are of the double-acting.
! triplex sort. The engines were built
by the Westinghouse Gas Engine Com
pany of Pittsburg. Engines and
pumps all have been installed and test.
ed to 500 pounds pressure with per.
feet success. Each small engine con
sumes. in operation. 1900 feet of gas
per hour. and each large engine con-
slrmes 5000 feet, but they will never
need to run an hour continuous. for no
| fire in the world could withstand so
long the Niagara of water they will
throw.
Pumps Run by Electricity.
These pumps are started electrically
and the pressure they put upon the
+ water can be regulated to a hair.
Thus 1t may be one minute 500 pounds.
the next 100, the next ESQ. as suits
the engineer. The engines may be
all standing cold and still and in eigh-
teen seconds they can be running full
| speed. while in forty seconds they can
be supplying a S00-pomd pressure.
4 Gas is used rather than steam in this
huge pumping station for economy's
sake-economy In time, in men. in
space, in cost. in everything. For
with steam the fires would need to he
kept going all the time, and even then
fTll speed could not be generated
! quickly, while great coal sheds would
be required, with tracks for coal cars.
and the force of men would have to be
/ doubled or tripled. But now its pow
| er comes to the station through one
/ simple pipe-a gas pipe thirty inches
in diameter, and with this pipe each
OF the nine engines has its separate
connection. To show the unusual
| size of thirty-inch main il may be
pointed out that the mains used by
| pavrite houses are only one inch.
/ The fuel Is composed OF six parts of
/ air To one of gas. The sparks for the
engines are obtained with electricity,
and there are four ways to get cur
rent. Thus in an emergency. should
one fail. another may be turned to.