The San Francisco call., 1906-05-18
BELIEVE C|sTERNs
WOULD HAVE SAVED
CITY FROM FLAMES
Old Firemen Recall the Efforts OF
Former Chiefs to Provide
Emergency Supply.
All But a Few Tanks Are Filled at
Request of Different Cor
porations.
Three Reservoirs South of Market
Street Check the ConflasratIon
for Three Hours.

Once upon a time San Francisco
was provided with an auxiliary water
supply, which, had it been maintained,
might have changed the final result Of
the recent unequal battle with the
flames and saved from the debris pile
much valuable property.
The late Chief Engineer Sullivan and
his predecessors, Whitney, Scannell
and Ackerson, were all advocates of
an auxiliary system, and at one time
this city possessed an emergency sup
ply Of water, which would have been
invaluable on April Is.
Old fremen are telling today Of how
different 1t might have ben had the
ideas OF these former chiefs been car
ried out.
Whitney, Scannell and Ackerson,
foreseeing the possibility of the city's
regular water supply being cut off or
so diminished that the pressure would
be insufficient to be or much use in
case Of fire, advocated the installation
Of huge cisterns in the vicinity Of all
large buildings and IN every district
where the danger of serious confla
grafton was likely.
Former Boards Of Supervisors, con-
vinced of the wisdom in these veteran
fire fighters suggestions, did what
they could from time to time to carry
them out.
Cisterns, built Of brick and cement
and as nearly as possible earthquake
proof, were installed in many places.
These cisterns, each with a capacity
for about 100000 gallons of water.
were placed below the street In the
crossings. They were regularly in
spected and kept at all times filled
with water, of which there was suffl
cient in each to supply one of the
modern engines for a three hours
battle with the flames at full pressure.
When the main supply proved made
quate the top was lifted from one Of
these cisterns, the suction pipe in
serted, and for three hours there was
available a stream as big and power
full as the capacity Of the engine could
make 1t.
At one time there were seventy five
or more Of these cisterns In service.
One by one, through the influence Of
the telephone company, the water
company and other corporations whose
interests necessitated the laying Of
underground conduits, these cisterns
were condemned. filled up or taken
out. until only few were left.
Chief Sullivan saw to it that the re-
naming cisterns were kept in repair
and filed with water, but when the
big fire came there were not enough of
these reservoirs left to supply eff
fective ammunition for the hose. Such
as were left, however, furnished an
object lesson to illustrate the wisdom
of the precautions advocated by these
fire chiefs of days gone by.
Among the cisterns that remained
on April Is was one at Second and
Folsom streets, another at First and
Folsom and third at First and Har-
rison. These cisterns were tapped and
for three hours the fire was held In
check. For three hours three blocks
that had been ablaze were reduced to
damp blackness and for three hours
hope ran high In the breasts Of prop
erty-owners and residents In that part
of the city.
There were no cisterns elsewhere,
however, and when the three big basins
were empty the surrounding sea of
flame evaporated the moisture and
licked up the homes and stores, to save
which such gallant fight had been
made.
IF we'd only had more cisterns," is
what all the old firemen are saying