The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-01-08
FIRE DEPARTMENT
 EXPERT IS HERE
Ex-Chief Hale of Kansas City
 Making Inspection
CONFERS WITH OFFICIALS
Hale Comes at Invitation of City to Investigate Fire Fighting condi- tions. Talks Interestingly
 About Such Matters.

Kansas City fire department. registered at the Birmingham at an early hour yester- day morning. He comes to this city at the invitation of the authorities for the purpose of Investigating the fire depart rnent and recommending such changes and additions as will enable the firemen to perform satisfactory service.
 MT. Hale will remain in Birmingham week or more and will not make his re- port to the mayor and aldermen until after he has returned to his home in Kan sas City.
 MT. Hale has had a conference with the mayor, who welcomed him and expressed his pleasure at the early beginning of the work of inspecting the fire depart ment.
 Tn company with Chief Mullin, MT. Hale yesterday spent several hours driving about the city. and three of the fire sta tions were visited, the central headquar- ters and two stations in the southern sec ton of the city.
 To Make Test Today.
 In the course of an interview last night, MT. Hale stated that a test of the fire department will be made today. One of the fire alarm boxes will be pulled, just as if there was a fire, and a record will be kept of the time expiring between the first tap of the bell and the moment the water is leaving the nozzle of the first stretch of hose.
 "I have had little opportunity to look around since my arrival here," said MT. Hale last night "but am impressed with oIfx xxafp is growing rapidly, so rapidly that It IS difficult for the fire department to keep up with It. This city appears to have great future, and seems destined to be one of the greatest manufacturing cities in the world.
 while my opinions may be changed by things I have not yet seen, I believe now that the apparatus of the Birmingham de- partment is modern and up-to-datei and the men strike me as being fine set of fellows, young. active and capable of do- ing hard work In fighting fires. However, I have not seen them at work, and cannot speak as to their qualities in that re- spect.
 Tt is my intention to test the workings of the department, and tomorrow I shall
 
 not they answer the alarms rapidly enough. The department may be all right In every respect, and may be getting blamed for things for which they are not responsible. I shall study the water sup ply conditions, and shall endeaVor to discover if the water is adequate. Three or four engines on one line of water pipes are unable to get a good fire stream un- less the pipe is of large size.'
 Mir Hale, questioned in detail relative to the condition of engines. horses, engine houses and other features of the depart mept, expressed the opinion that the horses were rather light He said that the city was level enough in the congested district but there were some heavy grades in the outskirts, and the light horses were hardly able to pull the heavy appa- ratus rapidly enough
 Engine Houses Anticipated.
 The engine houses, he said. were some what anticipated. He called attention to the fact that he could speak only of the three stations he had visited. There was lack of sanitary improvements, and the sleeping quarters of the men were not conducive to the saving of time. Some changes in this line will probably be sug gested in his report.
 MT Hale discussed most Interestingly the business of fighting fires as conduct ed in the big cities of the United States and in Europe. There were fewer con fagratons in European cities he said, principally because of the fact that the people representatives of the people there legislated against fire risks and took all steps possible to guard against conflagra- tions. He recalled the old proverb, the ounce of prevention, and said it was as true regarding fires as 1t was relative to anything else
 In the course of his conversation, MT. Hale mentioned the many schemes and contrivances used in this country to guard against big fires. The automatic sprink- lers, the automatic fire alarms, the water curtatns-all were referred to and high ly approved by him.
 "These contrivances," he said, have become commonly used In the larger millions of dollars annually to property | holders and insurance companies.
 The members of the National Board of Underwriters said MT. Hale, "are more fully informed regarding conditions in Birmingham than any other persons or ! body, because this board have a full and