The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-09-24
KEEPING TAB ON FIRE CHIEF
How the Department Every Minute of the

, nights ago Chief Bywater was in at
tendance as usual. This particular
evening il was case of nov you see
him and nov you don't for few
minutes after the chief had been seen
i'm the chambers he had disappeared. 1t
developed that he had seen the wagon
drive up TO the joint building from
State street and had Immediately gone
down stairs. When the driver was
ready TO turn about and go 10 the fire
i'm the Emery Holmes barns the chief
was in the buggy.
Again: a week ago last night the
chief was at the Commercial club.
where few citizens had gathered 70
''Tesolute" on flowing wells. tele-
phone message came to ''236' notifying
the chief that there was some diff
Guilty at Main and North Temple
streets, where an engine was engaged
in pumping ditch water into sprinklers-
As soon as the chief had attended to the
difficulty referred to he started back to
the meeting On the way down he
stopped i'm a department store and noti-
fled the station of his whereabouts and
destination.
Fire VS.. Drama.
1t is thus that the department keeps
track of its chief. and the chief of the
is the same i'm case Chief Bywater de-
cides to spend an evening at the the
atre. Before leaving he let's those at
! the station know which seat he is to
occupy so that in case of fire he can
be reached with the least possible de-
lay. While not d frequent theatre
gOer. the chief has had more than one
| ''thrillin' Grammar" spoiled at the slow
music point by an alarm OF fire.
1t is thus that the chief of the fire
department spends mis- day, here, there
and everywhere, but always in touch
with the station.
That his duties. and those of the for
ty-eight men under him, require trib-
ute in sleeping as we'll as waking hours
can be gathered from the fact that no
| fireman lies down to rest until he has
| placed his boots, with trouser legs in
! side, beside his bed His coat and he'll
| met are also near by. so that it takes
| hardly a jiffy to jump from the mat
tress into the fire-fighter's uniform.
prevention Best Protection
| This system of speedy communication
and alertness is, after all, but a part
! of the general plan of prevention.
THE best protection is prevention"
/ is Chief Bywater's motto. 1t is along
| this line that he and his department are
| bending their energies. Not a day
| goes by that firemen do not inspect
| buildings so that they may learn every
! ingress and egress, basement plans,
| fire escape1, rOu~>S, etc. Not a month
! goes by that hundreds of notices are
| not sent to proprietors of business
blocks and stores, warning them to
| conform with the city ordinances re-
| garding the accumulation of infIam-
mable debris and the placing of a red
| light in the hall indicating the direction
of the fire escape. The number of no
! tees sent out is surprisingly large. A
| glance over the list showed a
block or store of prominence that
has not been negligent at some time or
| another in the last few months
I'VE have no friends in this depart
| ment when il comes to the enforcement
| of the city ordinances for the regula-
| ton of fires" says Chief Bywater. I'VE
] want people to understand that when
| an order to clean up is received il is for
their own benefit. No one need feel any
| alarm at seeing a fireman investigat-
| ing building cOIElitions for it is all part
| of our system for the prevention of
! fires. One of a fireman's most import
ant duties is to have a thorough ac-
| quaintance with all buildings, especially
/ with basement entrances and fire es-
/ canes"