Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-16
WOULD PREVENT
Loss BY FIRE
OFFERS CITY AN AUTOMATIC
SYSTEM
Los Angeles Corporation Wants to In
stall Alarm Boxes In Business
Houses, Theaters and Hotels.
Has Proved Success

Los Angeles Is to have an auxiliary
fire alarm system, provided the fire
commission and the city attorney APP
prove, that will reduce the number
Of disastrous fires in this city and
permit owners of buildings and mer-
chants to secure cheaper rates for fire
insurance.
A petition for the system was intro
duced to the city council yesterday by
Frank G.. Finlayson, attorney for the
Los Angeles Fire Alarm company, the
corporation which proposes to install
the new system and was referred to
the fire commission and city attorney
to report back to the city council at its
next session.
Mr. Finlayson explained that the
company proposes to use the Gamewell
devices. These are private fire alarm
boxes and will be installed chiefly In
large buildings, such as business
houses. theaters, hotels These boxes
are connected with the city's fire alarm
system and by pulling little hook
the alarm is communicated to the cen
tra station. A thermostat arrange
ment makes it possible, in cases where
tlere is 10 one 10 TURN III IIlt dldIIIl
from the private boxes, for fire bell
placed on the top of buildings to ring
automati tically through the action of
heat on an electrical apparatus
Will Cost City Nothing
The attorney for the company read
letters from the insurance authorities
in which it was promised that insur-
ance rates would be reduced five per
cent to patrons who used this system.
This system will not cost the city
one cent" said Mr.. Finlayson, n state
ment that caused Councilman Smith,
chairman of the finance committee to
take a lively interest in the case. 1--WE
propose to attach this system to the
general alarm, but the ordinance pro-
vides that in case 1t proves detri-
mental to the City's alarm system 1t
may he detached. The reduction in
insurance rates will more than cover
the cost of installing the apparatus
and the number of disastrous fires will
he greatly reduced, as an alarm can
he turned in at once and valuable
minutes will not be lost.
Take the case of the Douglas build
ing fire of last week. Had this sys-
tenn been in use an alarm could have
been turned in. when the janitress dis
covered the fire, by the simple pulling
of q little hook AS it was the woman
IuSl NdluduIt tlIllt III l'ltlJilcIllu3 lue
agent of the building, who was com
PEELED to dress and get to the building
before an alarm was sounded"
Believes Alarm Good Thing
CounCinslHE Smith and other mem
bers of the council believed it was Il
good thing, but preferred to have the
opinion of the fire commission and
the city attorney before taking de-
cisive action.
Fire Commissioner Wren, who is a
fire insurance underwater, was presenI
at the council session and to a ques-
ton of Councilman Smith answered he
thought the system was all that was
claimed for it and as far as he was
concerned heartily favored it.
Doc Houghton's dyspepsia got the
better of him towards the close of Mr..
Finlayson's address to the council and
he demanded the opinion of the city
attorney as to whether or not the
request called for franchise, the mn-
nicipal ownership of the system, right
to inspect it himself and see if it was
all that was claimed and several other
things, all in the same breath. None
of his demands received a second and
President Summerland called the ques-
tion for the reference to the city at
torney and the fire commission de-
spite Houghton's frantic clamorings.
The system which Mr.. Finlayson pro-
poses for Los Angeles has been tried
with good effect in San Francisco and
has recently been introduced in Sc
attic.