New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-11-20
FIRE BOXES FAIL TO WORK
BLAME EDISON CONCERN
Nmety-f0e Effected Delay Ouer
Alarms Lets Bad Blaae Spread.

faIure or three different fire alarm signal boxes
10 WORK properly according to the police, and the
delay OF half an hour caused thereby allowed
fire in one of the storage warehouses of the Termi-
nal warehouse Company in Twenty eighth-st
near Eleventh-ave.. early yesterday morning to
spread, so that when the firemen at last came two
alarms were necessary, and the blaze much
worse than would have been the had the alarm
worked promptly.
The fire was in Warehouse No IL one OF the
group of seven story brick buildings owned by the
company which occupy the entire block between
Eleventh and Twelfth aves. and Twenty seventh
and Twenty-ei SITS. It is occupied by the
Sperry & Hutchinson Trading Stamp Company
storage house for It's premiums The fire started
on the third floor. which was stored with furniture
and similar articles, and was confined there. but
the damage including that by water through the
flooding of the lower floors amounted IN fuIlv
5000
Patroman Peter Hogan Of the West Thirty
seventh-st. station whose beat includes this block
says that he discovered the fire at els o'clock He
ran. he asserts. to the fire alarm box at Twenty
ninth-st and Eleventh ave. and pulled hook
there. He waited to direct the fremen, but after
five minutes there sign OF a response. and
he thought something was wrong with the box. He
ran TO box at Twenty seventh-st. and Tenth-ave.
and pulled the hook there Again he waited five
minutes and ne says there was no response Then
he hurried a third box. he declares. at Thirty
frst-st and Twelfth-ave and tried that. Still
there was no response. He gave up the fire alarm
boxes after waiting five minutes more, and going
TO his signal box called up his sergeant in the
station.
The sergeant called up the telegraph bureau at
Police Headquarters and told the trouble to Ser
seaht CouShlan there Sergeant Coughlan tele-
phoned TO Fire Headquarters Then engine No. 81
was sent to the blaze and its captain turned In
an alarm from the box Twenty-ninth-st. and
Eleventh-ave., the one which Hogan says he tried
hTst Apparently the box worked all right this
ufne. Tor In few minutes the usual detachment Of
apparatus which replies TO a alarm from this box
had responded. A second alarm given a once.
Chlef Croker came On the second alarm
Later, at Fire Headquarters, 1t asserted that
Tor three hours yesterday morning the fire alarm
boxes in the section Of the city between Sxty-sev-
enth and Charles SITS and the North River and
flfth-aYe. were useless. The Of the trouble,
as stated at Fire Headquarters was that a cable
containing the IRE alarm telegraph wires connect
ing with the boxes in the large region affected
a gang Of employees of the Edison Electric Light
Company in a conduit at Thirty-ffth-st. and
Eighth-ave. The cable contained all the wires COM
municatng with boxes in the section described.
The break in the service not discovered until
more than two hours after II occurred. Then line
men of the department put to work mmedi-
ately, and in less than half hour after the
trouble was discovered the broken wires were re-
placed.
Ninety-1ve boxes in all were affected.
Commissioner Hayes said later:
1t is impossible for me TO express my Indignation
at the stupidity of that act OF the Edison en-
ployes- The cables of the Fire Department were
two feet lower than the others. I making
personal investigation of the affair." and will do
my utmost to punish the man or men responsible
It is impossible for the general public TO realize
the possibilities Of peril TO property and life caused
by the cutting OF that cabla