The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-02-24
Barre Now Has a Thoroughly
Up-to-Date Arrangement
WHICH HAS COST $4,000
Structure on South Main Street Re-
ceives Finishing Touches rs
Modelled After Massachu-
setts Structures.

With the completion OF the new fire
department station on South Main
street, just few feet sonth of the
City Park, Barre has the finest struc.
ture Of the kind in the state, and prob
badly no city in New England Of the
same size can boast Of anything better.
The main part Of the department is
now located there, the apparatus hay
ing just been moved from the old sta
tion on Prospect street. The building
has been in course Of construction since
August last, and the cost win be APP
proximately 10000. Plans for it were
prepared BY Building Inspector Fred f.
Colburn after an examination Of twenty
nine different stations, principally in
Massachusetts. The design combines
the advantages Of two stations in South
Boston and one in Quincy, Mass. G.
L. Bugbee was the contractor, John
Bion had the painting contract and
Phelps Bros. looked after the plumbing
and heating arrangements.
The station is substantial building
Of brick, two stories and half high,
with basement and tower for drying
hose and for the fire alarm bell. The
front Is Of buff brick with granite trim
mings. On the first floor is the main
apparatus room, 40 BY GO feet in size.
and in this will be housed the hook and
ladder truck and the chemical engine,
with possibly one hose wagon. There
are tracks Of iron, one for each of the
larger pieces Of apparatus, and the for
ward part Of the track is corrugated,
so that the horses will not slip when
starting out Just back Of the truck
and chemical are the stalls, eight IN
number. This viii allow for the needs
Of the city for some time The wood
work of the stalls, as Of the whole build.
ing, IL IN hard pine. In the flooring
OF each stall is the Snow sanitary stall
stand, whereby they may be flushed
with water all at the same time BY sim
ply turning a faucet. Back Of the stalls
is commodious room for feeding pur-
poses. a manure pit is q special brick |
room In the cellar, from which no
smell can come, and TO help out there
are also two ventilators in the feed |
room. And there are, of course, the
necessary shutes. etc, for feeding pur-
poses.
There is only one stairway to the
second floor, but there are three other |
ways to get down, brass sliding posts, /
one on each side Of the building and one
in front, so distributed to accomodate
the tireTLen in different parts of the /
building. Ten rooms, with six closets
and several lockers take up the second
floor. In the front are club room and /
a pool room. Just back Of them are
two sleeping rooms, one large enough
for six persons. Then there is bath /
room, wash room, toilet room, a
battery room and one or two smaller
apartments.
Above is a large attic, and at the
rear is the tower room which Is not vet
finished and win not be until the fire
alarm bell is moved from the Spaulding
building This tower win be so feet
high Inside Is an iron ladder by which
a man can ascend to the top and draw
up the hose a er use to dry it. In
the basement is the heating apparatus,
the Guerney system, also room for stor.
age OF city teams, etc
The electrical part of the equipment
il perhaps the most interesting Of the
whole arrangement The Indicator and
the wires are all on the right wall of
the building An alarm Is rung in, the
Indicator swings around, the double
doors Of the eight stalls fly open, the
fire horses pranee out and take their
places along the pole Of the cart, the
4.l. n. 4
brass poles, the harnesses drop on the
horses, the driver takes his place on the
seat, pulls a string above his head,
opening the outside doors, and the fire
department is off for the scene Of the
fire.
That's the programme II will not
be followed just yet, although the equip
ment is all fixed for that smoothness.
The first hitch viii be the training Of
the fire horses to do their part of the
scheme @Tom" and Jerry" have been
trained to the methods Of doing things
over in the old fire station on Prospect
street and il will be q difficult task to
change their ideas on how it ought to
be done The iiremen already know
that as they had a little seance with
tho animals short time ago, when
the old schedule was d little disarTanged
out Of necessity. But both the animals
aFe knowing beasts and the firemen ex
pect 10 leach them the proper way |
soon.
But that is only incidental The main
thing is that Barre has station and
equipment which leaves little to be de
sired The completion Of the scheme
which has been in the minds Of those
particularly interested win be the rel
organization IF the department BY the
addition Of several men to the paid force,
the placing Of a number on the call
list, with volunteers. That work Is
now under consideration by the city
council. /