The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-15
Points Out Section Where Wa ter Could Not Be Had
 In { ase of Fire
THINKS STANDPIPE MUST
 BE PUT ON THE MOUNTAIN
Either This or Water Must Be Pumped Directly Into Mains-City Has Declined to Allow Use
 of Water.

While the water question IS Sucn a i've
 one in the city of Birmingham, and the
 city fathers are puzzling over the propri-
 ety of going 10 to 30 miles for more water
 there seems to be an even more urgent
 matter needing attention here at home Ac-
 cording to Chief A. V. Bennett of the fire
 department and the citizens Of one of the
 finest residence sections of Birmingham,
 thousands of dollars worth of beautiful
 structures are totally without any water. protection in case of fire.
 Chief Bennett said yesterday: "As I un- derstand it the proposed increase in the
 water supply is to provide for the future
 growth of the city. Everybody is willing
 to admit that the present supply is equal
 to the demand. The future growth of
 the city is more or less problematical, but
 it seems to be fully as important that
 we provide protection for what we all ready have.
 "Our residence section is rapidly extend ing to the crest of Red mountain. Some
 of the most costly structures of the
 city are already along the top line, and ton or being planned.
 Tn order to furnish fire protection for
 this portion of the city it will be neces-
 sary to install a separate water works system which could be done either by
 pumping direct to the mains or by stand
 pipe As I understand it the water works
 company has owned the necessary site for
 the erection of a standpipe for good many years and is ready to begin con- [ af dal
 agreement can be reached with the city. This matter has been under discussion
 for a number of years, and we have
 made absolutely no progress toward final solution. The proposition of the
 water company has been to build the
 standpipe and put that section of the city
 under meter. but the council has refused to allow the use of meters.
 Tt seems to me that while every min ute's delay is jeopardizing thousands of
 dollars worth of property there should
 be some means by which the city and
 water company can reach a satisfactory agreement, and allow this work to com mence at the earliest possible moment" The only action that the city has taken
 recently in the matter was to refer action
 to the city attorney. Former City At torney Ed Smith construed the present contract with the water company to mean that the city could force the water com pany to put up the standpipe without
 making any concessions whatever. This brings up a legal question, the water
 works company claiming that they are only under contract to furnish water for
 domestic and fire uses in the section which
 composed Birmingham at the time the contract was drawn, and at that time the city limits only extended to Avenue H. The city has formally notified the com pany that it must conform with it's con-
 tract and build the standppe, this being
 but the first step in what is regarded as long legal proceeding In the mean
 time the section south of Highland avenue
 and east of Twentieth street is without started. It is said that a petition has
 been drawn and signed by many residents
 of the section asking for immediate ac- tion. The files of the city clerk show that the fire chief has been urging action for quite a long time. One letter, dated May 6, 1908, sets out the conditions as fol- lows:
 Birmingham, May G. 1908. Hon. George B. Ward, Mayor, City Dear Sir: In the vicinity of Maiden
 Lane and Sycamore street, Mountain ave nue and 1roquois street. and that portion of the South Highlands lying south of Sixteenth avenue, there are great many beautiful and expensive homes that are
 practically without fire protection, and
 fif,6 foalf tirely helpless should it be called on to extinguish fire that had been allowed to { obtain any considerable headway before
 being discovered at any of the above To- cations. This condition is not due to lack of equipment or men to handle same, as that
 portion of the city is possibly better pro- tected than any other resident section so far as the city is able to furnish, but good horses, expensive engines hose and apparatus are all merely a means of us-
 ing water to extinguish fire, and when water Is lacking all other appliances are practically valueless, and this cannot be 1 furnished in that part of the city under our present water works system, and the fire hazard will increase from year to year as new homes are being built all
 the time. Water flowing under gravity pressure I VIII not HOW HlBiitT tHdIl us Souice oL , supply, and the fact that this portion of our city is higher than our reservoir makes 1t useless to install hydrants with out some artificial means of supplying water through them.
 This can be done either by standpipe or pumping direct to mains that only supply that part of the city, and in either case
 will take considerable time before relief i can be furnished should the work be com a,,I tc toll if,,y,n ,nr- tant and urgently needed that I respect fully recommend the matter be taken up
 at once with view to furnishing the
 same protection to that as to other sec tions of our city.
 Trusting that this will meet with your approval and cooperation, am, yours
 respectfully, A. V. BENNETT, Chief Fire Department. q I q