, 1906-01-17

Report of Chief of Fire Department
To the Honorable Mayor and Members
OF the City Council of Laramie, wy.
oming.
Gentlemen.-I herewith transmit. for
your information, particulars concern.
ing the work of the fire department for
the year 1905, beginning January list
1905, and closing January list, 1906.
1t was deemed advisable at the be.
ginning Of the year 1905 TO re-organize
the fire department to a semi-paid ba'
sis. The reorganization was effected
by the addition of a combination hose
and chemical wagon, the renovation
of the hose house, the purchase of ex.
ira apparatus, and the installation OF
the Gamewell fire alarm system. The
addition of apparatus made it neces.
sary to put on two more horses, and
considering all changes, it was accom-.
plished at an expenditure of about
$4,000.
The department as now organized,
on a semi-paid plan, consists of one en-
gineer n two drivers, full paid, and
four men who sleep at the hose house
and are on call at night, each being
paid $50 per year. This gives us q to-
tai of seven men at night, who are
available at once. The volunteer force
consists of n company of twenty
men.
The first requisite, On an alarm, is
to get to the fire as promptly as pos
sible, as the first ten minutes is the
most important, and often prevents a
great co~nflagration; hence speed is the
first requisite, and the appliances
should be of the very best. l wish to
say in this connection, that Laramie
is now supplied with fre-hghting ap-
pliances of the latest type, and is as
well equipped as many of the towns
through the country a great deal larger
than Laramie.
The wisdom of the council in the
purchasing of the chemical engine has
shown its worth on several occasions,
in the short time it has been used, and
has saved far more than it's cost and
maintenance. This you will see by
referring to one of the accompanying
sheets, which shows the fires and
ALARMS. Our promptness in getting to
the fires has been the keynote of our
success; and we can, with pride, point
to the small losses sustained in the
year 1905, $5,765. OF this, the insur-
ance companies have paid about $4,000;
the balance was Union Pacific property,
and the company carries its own risks.
This would mean a loss to the insur-
ance companies of S2,700, for the year
1906, a remarkable showing for a town
the size of Laramie.
The expense for 1905 has been con-
siderable in getting the department on
a firm footing, but it will be a great
deal less this year. We were unfortu-
nate in being compelled to purchase a
new fire team, but as the old team was
found to be too light, and their ages
being against them, it was deemed ad-
yisable to sell them and get a younger
and larger pair, which was done. We
now have four very good horses, and
We are well equipped, and able to give
the best of service. We sold the old
team for 800, n we have also sold
one of the hose carts for SIS, which
is to go TO Walden, Colorado; these
two sales amounting to SITS. .
During the year the Union Pacific
CONSTRUCTED a large reservoir of brick
and cement. This is a very valuable
addition to the water system; it not
only adds TO the amount of water con
served, but leaves a large quantity for
reserve, to be drawn in case of emer-
gencies.
There has been considerable agita-
ton in our daily press in reference TO
the water system, and the laying of new
mains. This is a move in the right di-
rection, n should be accomplished
at the earliest possible moment, as
there is a great deficiency of water in
the outlying districts, and when the
steamer is attached to one of the three
inch mains, we do not succeed in get
ting a sufficient supply of water for
the use of the steamer; and also at
large fires that may occur in the bust.
ness section of the city, we need larg-
er mains, as We should not only be able
to use the steamer, but from hydrants
as well, when we could lay several
lines of hose. But even in that con.
nection, they would be of no service,
unless there is an adequate supply OF
water, n that can only be secured
by getting larger mains. l would sug
gest that the main belonging to the I'm
ion Pacific Il am reliably informed thai
they contemplate replacing the old
main with a new one, which runs to
the springs) be a sixteen-inch main
from the springs to the city limits;
this would act as a reservoir, and in
times of need, there would be sufficient
supply of water to draw upon. In the
city there should be no mains less thar
Ifour-inch, and from that to eight-inch
and the system SO laid that there will
In ~ load ends think that tho timf