The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-05-21
SHOWS up WELL.
Topeka Now Has Excellent Fire
Protection.
Now Easy Enough to Keep It
Above 100.
CLOSE HARRISONPLANT
Down Town Pumping Station
Not Used Now.
Will lin a Short Time Be Aban-
doned Entirely.
GLOSEHARRISONPLANT

pressure for the city, the nIes a. ~
Harrison street station being SIMPLY
banked. A comparison Of the pressures
furnished during the first three mon'hs
Of 1905 and 1906 does not entirely meet
expectations. The average pressure
during January and February was pc
low that Of the same months in 1900.
The pressure during January ana
February, 1905, was very uniform
there was little fiuctuation. January
probably gave the biggest example OF
variation. At one time it got down
to IS pounds and then rose to So pous
the gauge marking time for the ma
jority Of the month near the so pound
mark. In February it lowered about
As pounds and in March 55 pounds.
The registration discs show that dur
ing the first two months of this year
the average pressure was below that of
the registration shown for January and
February. 1905. by from ) to 10 pounds
In March it got better and commenced
to close in on the record made by the
corresponding month of the year pre-
vious.
During April and the part of May.
which has elapsed, the average pressure
of the two years corresponds to all
purposes so closely that there is no Oc-
casfon to call attention to difference.
With an expenditure of upwards OF
900 in improvements, the fact that so
little improvement in the pressure IS 10
be noted would at first seem disheart-
ening. But two facts help to take away
the sting. One is that the fire pressure
can be secured more quickly, and sec
ondly, with more certainty and greater
average fire pressure.
In the established policy of the board
of WaterWOrks trustees since the puf-
chase of the waterWOrks by the city
there has been a constant effort made
towards building up the efficiency. OF
the service for fire protection as We'll as
domestic consumption.
The former owners of the plant, the
Topeka Water company. furnished such
an execrable specimen of fire pressure
during the latter part of its ownership,
in 1894 that the fire losses sustained at
tl--st time were increased beyond the
true hazard simply through the inabil-
ltysof the company to furnish adequate
pressure. Seventy pounds and occasion
ally eighty pounds was the ruling pres
sure for fires during the year when lit
shJuld have been above the 100 mark
Following the showing made at the
Parkhurst-Davis fire in the spring OF
1904 when the pressure was so weak
that the water scarcely more than dFib-
bled from the hose IN the hands of the
flremen an attempt was made to i'm
prove the equipment.
The Harrison street pumping station
was overhauled and with the two plants
in service, the up river and Harrison
street, marked Improvement took
place.
During November and December the
pressure got back to a point where
there was some chance of breaking even
in fighting fires
Immediately on taking charge of the
plant during the early part Of 1905 plans
were laid for carrying out extensive
improvements
These have now been partially com
pleted. The choke" existing in the
mains at Fifth and West streets was
relieved by building a twelve inch con-
meeting main down West Seventh street
from Western avenue to West and down
West street to the blind end of the six
teen inch main. Additional boilers were
constructed out at the up river plant,
and new we'll points installed.
During January. 1906 there were Is
occasions when the fire pressure was
either 100 pounds or exceeded that fig
ure as against seven in the same month,
1905.
while for February 1905, there were
only only four times when the pressure
registered 100 pounds or more
In March the showing IS not quite so
good In MARCH, 1906 the pressure
gauge registered eight times and in
March, 1905. ten times above 100 pounds.
From January, 1906. to May. 1906. the
pressure has varied all the way for fire
purposes from % pounds to 119 with the
average at about 105 to 10
To develop fire pressure is but mat
ter Of from one-ha1f to three minutes
Generally to increase the pressure from
the normal by upwards Of so pounds il
takes one minute from the time the
alarm of fire has been sounded. While
the service was somewhat crippled in
February in the midst of an installa-
tion of driven We'll points, it took on
one occasion u minutes to raise tho
pressure from 40 pounds e. to III. But
this IS the one exception of the fo,1r
months and a half since the bepfn-
ming Of the year. Ninety per cent of
the pressure this year has been devel-.
oped inside of one minute from the time
that the alarm has been received Of
headquarters. That the pressure can
be maintained when once raised Is ex,i-
denced by the record Of January o5
when pressure of 100 to 1I2 hounds
was maintained for one hour and Is
minutes.
In January IS of 1905. on the other
hand it took one hour and Is minutes
to get a pressure raised from 30 to o0
pounds. And on the 18th Of the same
M, the pressure got down to three
pounds and remained there for abo11f
an hour.
Things have never got that bad since
municipal ownership.
Il have not had time to 90 over the
records" said Jesse Shaw, superintend-
ent Of the department, but I had IRE
sumed that our average pressure would
be better this year than last am
somewhat surpl ised. though the aver
age pressure for domestic eonsumnfion
is usually about 40 to so pounds
know one thing, however, and that is
we are able 10 get up a fire pressure
more quickly and great deal more eas-
fly than we did a year ago. 7 think one
Of the things which contributed to the
lower average pressure for January and
February of this year was due to me
fact that we were putting in some new
well points and the plant was some
what handi aIpeo by this.
'eThe pumpage is now about 9. 20O oOo
cubic feet days this is Just about the
same as last wear. The pumps have
capacity Of something over 100000. so