The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-08
FIRE ENGINE IS HERE.
Ezra Anderson VIII Have
Charge Of 1t.

Chief Wilmarth today announced
the appointment Of Ezra Anderson.
captain at station No. 4, to be engineer
of the new steam fire engine purchased
by the city. Anderson will at once
take charge of the borrowed" engine
which arrived today from Cincinnati,
and will be in service here until the
new engines arrive.
Lieutenant Joseph WeidIich, of sta
ton No. 4, is promoted to the position
of captain, succeeding Captain Ander-
son, who will hereafter be stationed at
headquarters.
Charles clearinghouse, who was badly
hurt some weeks ago by falling 40 feet
from a fire alarm pole while stringing
wire, will be given the position of fire
man of the steamer when he gets out
of the hospital, which Will be in about
one week He is not able to resume
his former position in the service. be-
cause his injured arm will not be
strong enough for heavy work for q
good while.
The steam fire engine which arrived
today is not beautiful. TT is like
singed cat" said Chief Wilmarth.
laughing. Tt is a good deal better
The engine is one which the Ahrens
Fire Engine company keeps to loan to
cities needing an engine for immediate
use, and it has no dome. The dome
is the glittering overcoat of nickel and
Z
srnokestack, and makes the steam fire
engine a thing for the crowd to ad-
nire. When this little old borrowed
engine makes it first appearance on
the streets of Topeka, everybody will
have license to laugh. Tt doesn't look
much like the pictures. It has black,
grinly iron boiler and freboX, knOtted
all over with big rivet heads, and the
snokestack is merely an Overgrown
piece of stovepipe. But the fire en-
CINE manufacturers say that 1t is all
right when 1t comes to pumping wa
ter. and that is really what counts.
The borrowed engine will not be reg
ularIy put in service, but will be held
as a reserve. The city has no horses
Just now to draw the engine As soon
as horses can be obtained, the engine
will go to all fires in the business dis
trict and to all mills and other large
buildings from which an alarm IS turn
ed in.
The automatic heaters which have to
be used in connection with steam fire
engines, also arrived today, and the
one for headquarters will be put IN
place at once. 1t will take a few days
to fix UP the necessary equipment IN
the basement. and until it is ready, the
borrowed steamer will stand with cold
water in its boilers The object OF the
automatic heaters is to keep the water
in the boilers of the engine at tenn
perature pretty close to boiling, so that
when the engine is needed at a fire,
there will be no delay in getting up
the necessary pressure
When the city gets its new engine.
and succeeds in finding some horses
suitable 70 draw It, it viii be neces-
sary for the department to employ one
additional man. The steamer and the
hose company viii work together in
handling fires, though when the fire
does not appear to be of serious ma
ture, the direct pressure from the hy-
drants will be used
The old Topeka fire engine which the
council has decided to have rebuilt viii
be shipped within a day or two to Gin
cinnati. 1t will be loaded onto the
J same car which brought the loaned en-
| CINE to Topeka, and covered with the
same tarpaulin.