The morning journal-courier., 1908-09-05
BOOKSELLERS FIRE APPARATUS.

The universal adoption of various automobile devices in the different city departments Is now only a question of time, The purchase of an automobile for Chief Fancher to hurry to fires In Is beginning The request for an automobile police ambulance has followed 1t closely, Now Chief Fancher has returned from a meeting of fire chiefs at Columbus imhued with an enthusiasm for the universal adop- tion of horseless apparatus In his de- partment at the first opportunity He concurs with ex-Chief Hendricks who has been known for some time to fav- or such q move, The day of the beau tful and big fire horses Is limited In New Haven as in every city. Intelli- sent, gentle, powerful, lovable and he- rolc as nearly all of these horses have reputation for being, they and their offspring will soon be where changing bells, wild dashes through the night, and gusts of smoke and flame are not of such common occurrence.
 The great argument in favor of tho newer style of fire apparatus Is of course their speed. Speed Is the first essential in every detail of fire de- partment, A few seconds gained In getting out of the fire house. and a minute or two shaved off of the run ning-time to fire are matters of the greatest importance. A building, a block of buildings. a whole section of city may be doomed or saved In that short length of time. There Is no one who realizes more than the flremen that prompt arrival at a fire is more than half the battle. Quick and intellI- gent as the best of the fire horses may be when the bells ring, they arc cer- tain to delay the men In starting to some extent. Ingenious as may be the way in which the harness Is arranged so as to facilitate matters, there are sure to be waits Whereas, with the automobile apparatus, 1t Is simple matter of turning a crank or a lever or two and the men are on their way as soon as they have tumbled into their clothes and down the brass poles. Once on the street the superiority Of | the horseless apparatus is very evld- ent especially on long runs, when horse-neeh feels the strain. Steel knows no fatigue. In Bridgeport and Hart ford where they have the new automo- bile chemical wagons. there has been a grave fear that some day there would be a serious loss of life on the streets due 10 the high speed. Chief Fancher l reports that at the convention the au- tomobile trucks, chemicals, engines and hose wagons all worked to pesfec- ton. A seven-ton truck attained A speed of 50 miles an hour on a three mile run, arriving in time to raise a Io-toot aerial ladder by automatic means in little over seventeen min utcs.
 There was a day when the adoption of horseless fire apparatus was wisely deemed inadvisable. It cannot be said with all justice that the two jumbo horseless engines that Hart ford now has have proved very satis- factory. But there have been many inn provements in automobile construction eince their adoption and the situation is vastly different today. Our fire de- partment deserves and requires the best of apparatus to do itself justice and 1t may be believed the cnnnge to the new style apparatus will be made in the near future The fire commits. sioners arc even now asking money for the purchase of gasolene engine and an automobile combination chemical and hose wagon.
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