The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1908-03-19

crowd of the huskiest hosemen they
can find at the nozzles, and that they
have about all they cafl do to control
the powerful streams.
1t has been the writer's good fortune
to witness several exhibition drills of
the fire boat and its crew aud with
your permission he will undertake to
give you brief idea of the immense
value of the fire boat to the city and its
millions of Inhabitants. At the exhi-
bition 1 shall mention, the fire boat
was set at Pier ga" and the stream she
forced thru the salt water pipe was
sufficient to carry solid three-inch
stream a distance of 400 feet from g
hose attached to the salt water hy-
drant at Broadway and Fulton Sts., a
mile distant from where the fire boat
was playing and at point most re-
mote from the source of power. When
you realize that stream of that size
and volume is sufficient to knock a
hole thru an ordinary brick wall, you
can see that the exhibition was very
comforting to persons who OVID prop
erty within the district protected by
the salt water pipe.
The New Yorker or engine 81 is
berthed at the west side of Battery
Park just back of the Aquarium or
old Castle Garden, and is q familiar
sight to passengers on the Staten Is
land and Brooklyn ferryb0ats, and the
hundreds OF steamers and other boats
running around the harbor, but one
cannot get satisfactory idea of the
fire boats size or power without going
aboard.
The fire boat isn't very beautiful
one, as seen at distance, but when
you 60 aboard and see the powerful
engines and pumps, observe her deptf
of hold and breadth of beam, and sex
how substantial everything is, you
quickly get comprehensive idea Of
the great power contained in the boat
snd you also get satisfying view o.
fine nautical housekeeping, for ever.
piece of metal is kept polished up t
the requirements of q man-of-war
and the decks holystoned like those o
a flagship. The fire boat. has crew o
twenty men all told, and altho ther
are no sleeping accommodations aboar'
there is always wide-awske man OF
watch, aud day and night there ar
one hundred and fifty pounds of steau
in the boilers and the boat can b
started to q fire as quickly as land
going engine.
The firemen who man the boat slee
} on the second floor of a building whic
/, is about ten feet from the boat.
this building they have telephon
and fire alarm Taper just as they d
T, in the other engine houses, and th
: crew can jump out of their beds. pill
t aboard the boat and be on the way
3 fire calling for their services as quici
D ly as their brothers who 60 to fires b.
hind galloping horses, or with self-pr'
: petling steam engines. In the Twin
t rooms on the Battery there is alwa,
d a man on watch just as there is in
, land engine house, and abOar
9 the boat the men stand watch.
t of four hours each, the man on tt
Q boat having among his other duti'
f that of keeping up steam. The boz
It is so big that she is comfortable f
q the men doing duty on board, whi
the quarters of the crew oD land 81
i fitted up with as many convenienc
e and comforts as any of the houses I
{, town, including smoking and lou
d ging room and billiard room. I'll
IS men also have roof garden fro
n which they can overlook the waters
s. the harbor, and in summer, with crow
is of pleasure seekers going to and fro
IS the beaches, the firemen have plen
n of diversion in watching them, whi
If all the year they can see the Ocel
le steamships passing to and fro.
III. near as can remember, the fire bo
q was l25 feet long, of 100 tons registi
st was 30 feet beam and had draft
lhj IL feet 6 inches. She could easily ma
Or Is knots an hour and was one Of t
at most easlly managed boats, sccordil
lg to her crew, Of any craft of similar
q mensions in the harbor.