The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-30
SOME BIG DEFECTS
Kegelmeyer Points Out Several Faults in the Fire De-
 partment.
DANGER TO THE CITY
New Fire Alarm Telegraph and Fire proof Headquarters Sorcly Needed
 Urges Appropriation.

In an interview last night Joseph Kegelmeyer, the president of the board of fire commissioners, took oc- casion to criticize sharply certain conditions existing in the fire depart ment, especially the fire alarm tele- graph, and pointed out the great need of an improvement in that system. Commissioner Kegelmeyer Is also of the opinion that the city is liable to great loss on account of the lack of a fire proof building for headquarters and urges an appropriation to this end. The commissioner said he wish ed to express his appreciation of the efforts of the Journal-Courier In bringing the matter before the citizens of New Haven and he hoped the tax payers would awaken 10 the fact that some radical change Is needed and needed at once. He styled the fire alarm telegraph as obsolete and anti. quated," and said that the danger. as the result of this out of date system being located in a building not fire proof, was greater than the average citizen realized
 "I believe that if the public has the facts presented to it in their true light" he said, Tt will he but a short time when these two serious defects will be done away with
 q am confident that when the fire commissioners make out their estl- mates for 1909 one of them in this budget will he for a sum of money to build flre-proof building to he used as the department headquarters, and central fire alarm telegraph station I know that the committee in whose province these come will make rec concentrations to this end. My i'm pression is that s35,oo will pay for a fire proof central station and also for the establishment of the local sys- tenn on an up-to-date basis. We have made similar recommendations before but nothing has come of if.
 '~rhe present fire alarm telegraph apparatus is located in building that is by no means fireproof A fire In that building. even one of small pro- portions anywhere near the apparatus might utterly ruin the electric appa e ratus. As far as the result Is con cerned both fire and water would have the same effect on the delicate instru- ments. |. e.. their ruination. This would mean that the city would he deprived of fire protection. as far as an alarm system goes. It would take at least month to procure and install a new set of instruments. a month in which the city would. practically spea king. be at the mercy of the flames. A freproof central station will remove this great menace.
 Another defect is the fact that our central apparatus is greatly over ! crowded. circuits intended for ter boxes. have twenty on them. one cir cult in the city having 27 boxes there on. 1t this condition of affairs is tc continue # is only a question of timJ when the system will break down. Su- perintendent Grant of the department has his hands full postponing this in evitahle breakdown. Then anothei | fault. and very serious one Is witf our present system. If one box is pull ed while another Is sounding this lat | ter ringing in Is not recorded. Tht has happened on at least one occasion and there have been several near oc casionF Suppose an instance like thi l should have occurred at the time of tn, Grace hospital fire What might hay, been the result? Tn modern system
 this fault is corrected
 The fire underwriters have just fin ished making a thorough investigation
 of our fire department. and if in thei
 report they do not severely criticis
 our anticipated telegragh alarm sys
 tenn. and it's location, I shall be mucl ! surprised
 Chief Fancher spoke of some of tn | recommendations he felt confident tn investiga ting committee would make i He said that one recommendation vii
 be that the city establish q new trucl
 company. Another will be that tn
 number of men in all of the companie be increa sed to twelve The largest en zine company in the city has but elev
 en men, while some have but eight.