Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-27
FIRE FIGHTING NEW STYLE
Flood Of Water Put on Tap by High
Pressure.
NEW YORK's LATEST STEP AHEAD
Figures Showing New Of
Firemen In wholesale Dry
Goods District-PrOtectiOn
of Skyscrapers.

service as a chtld over a new toy. Al
last he has found a weapon that VIII re-
duce a fierce blaze to subsection, com
pletely smother II and drown out the last
Pickering spark In less time than was
formerly required 10 wet down a little
me alarm blaze.
Although II has been in operation only
six months the system has made good In
every detail. In the opinion of the fire
men. has fulfilled, even exceeded, every
contract requirement. specifications
called for two supply stations contain
ing ten electrically operated centrifugal
pumps, each one capable Of delivering
800 gallons Of water a minute at a pres
sure Of 500 pounds to the square inch.
At the official tests each pump delivered
800 gallons q minute at a pressure of
$50 pounds to the square inch. Further
more, the distribution mains were com
pleted well within the time limit and the
cost of installation was considerably be-
low the appropriation.
Three-alarm fires are now a thing of
the past. The old fashioned steamer with
it's gaHfoping horses, footing whistle and
changing bell will soon be a memory in
certain parts of the city. Individual
bravery on the part of the men in the
ranks will not be the prime requisite un-
der the new order that it was under the
old. Technical training will be the main
qualification demanded Of new men.
A. a Modern Fire.
A few days ago d fire broke out in the
heart of the dry goods district on lower
Broadway. For a little while, a very lit
tie while, 1t threatened to develop into
a good old fashioned three-alarm blaze.
But as soon as the new high pressure
service got going the flames gasped, flick
cred and died out in short order.
During the squeIching process a row of
b1ue-coated firemen stood disconsolately
along the curb across the street while a
handful of men at the nozzles of half a
dozen high pressure lines poured 5000
gallons of water a minute into the blaz-
ing structure. One of the d~isgruntled
smoke eaters spat disgustedly and, turn
ing to a companion, said:
Huh, this amt no place for a fireman.
There's not enough doin' here to keep an
old maid awake"
He was right. There was no excitement,
no shouting OF orders. no scurrying around
of battalion chiefs and lieutenants, no hand
to nahd battle with the flames. No, in
deed! Fire fighting under the new order
is a cold blooded business proposition en-
tfrely devoid of the old-time picturesque
features.
The change will no doubt arouse regret
In the hearts Of the blue clad men to- whom
the smell of smoke was as the breath OF
life. But from a purely unitarian stand
point the new method of fire fighting Is
a vast Improvement over the old. Insur-
ar ce rates win be substantially decreased
in the near future. Fewer men will be
required under the new system than under
the old. Steamers will be superseded by
tenders carrying hose.
Some of the most important engine COM
panies in the downtown district have al
ready been disbanded. More will go the
same way. All this n cans a large saving
to the city in the cost Of maintaining the
fire fighting force.
District Under Protection.
The district at present protected by the
high pressure service extends from Twenty
third street on the north to Chambers
street on thu south and from the Hudson
river to Fourth avenue, the Bowery and
Park row. When It Is borne in mind that
one idea Of the new system is to provide
a means Of fighting fire In tall buildings
one is inclined to wonder why the high
pressure service has been installed in this
midtown district. where there are COM
1 BdI lew uAaNAAAb ONCA ~ " -
stories in height. instead Of in the financial
ana office building district OF the lower
end of Manhattan island. where twenty
story buildings are common.
The reasons for this are many. First of
all. the buildings between Chambers and
Twenty-third streets are not, as a rule,
of fireproof construction. On the other
hand, the new downtown s~kyscrapers are
OF fireproof construction. They contain no
combustible material except office furni-
ture. They have their individual systems
OF fire protection. and do not, as a rule,
require outside assistance except in the
event OF a big blaze.
A modern office building has automatic
| sprinkIers, a standpipe running its Iull
height and reservoirs at several levels. The
fire apparatus in such a building Is ready
for service almost Instantly and is aole
Ito cope with an ordinary blaze unassisted.
In very high buildings like the Singer
tower. water is not raised from the base
ment to the top floor in a single standpipe,
but is forced to successive levels ten or
fifteen stories apart by easy stages. At the
top of a building and at each intermediate
level are large storage tanks and pumping
engines. The tanks supply water for ordi-
nary purposes by force of gravitation: the
1 pumps Hidittldth a tbtHidiil II tdEn
| supply point and in case of fire are able
TO raise the pressure in the st~andpipe to
several hundred pounds.
system Not Completed.
1t Is only a matter of time before the
high pressure mains will be extended as
far south as the Battery and Individual
systems suppianted by the city supply. A
direct connection can then be made be
tween standpipe and hydrant and the blaze
fought at close range.
A fire In a high building can be fought
successfully only from the inside. A stream
OF water from a hose on the street level
or from a sixty-foot water towner connec-
ted with a high pressure main could easily
reach to the roof of a building ten OF
twelve stories high. but could not penetrate
into the interior for more than a few feet
because of the angle. To be effective a
stream from an outside source must be di-
rected on a level with the windows 1t pene-
trates. A skyseraper fire can be readily
subdued from adjoining skyscrapers. II
%standpipe connections are available.
II IL is possible to shoot a stream of
water seventeen stories into the air from
an ordinary sixty-foot water tower-this
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