The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-11-28
GARY OFFICIALS PLAN
FINE FIRE EQUIPMENT
Look About For Man Who
Can Lead Fire Fight
ers of City.
BOSTON MAN RECOMMENDED
Officials Are in Chicago Today to
Buy New Equipment for
the Plant.

After months of delay, the Gary town |
officials have at last taken steps which |
Will lead to the organization of one of
the most efficient fire departments in !
Indiana. The city which now has the |
poorest fire protection will soon have
the best.
That the city officials are determined
to have their fire fighting force under
the command of an experienced fire
fighter is shown by the fact that the
office of chief of the fire department is
not to be disposed of in Gary as a
juicy political plum, but is to go to a
fire fighter of recognized ability.
The two candidates who are being
considered, and from whom the selec-
ton will be made, are Joseph Weber.
the assistant chief of the fire depart
ment of Boston, Mass, and Joseph
Fealey, formerly a captain in the Chi
cago fire department and now a man
ager in Montgomery Wards big mail
order house.
VIII Be High Priced Men.
It is expected that if either of these
men are secured for Gary, they will
demand a large amount of money for
their services 1t is thought by the
members of the town board, however,
that the money will be well spent if
the fire department of the new steel
city is organized by an experienced fire
| fighter who will save the city from
many of the costly mistakes that a
young and growing city would be like
| ~ to make.
Joseph Fealey of Chicago is highly
recommended by chief of the Chicago
Fire department James Koran, who
says there Is not a better or more
scientific fire fighter in Chicago than
Fealey.
| The chief Of the Gary department
will be selected at the next meeting of
the town board and five regular city
| f1remen will be hired at the same time.
Want Experienced Men.
1t is the purpose of the town trus-
| tees to hire men who have either had
some experience in fighting fires or who
appear to be susceptible to training. It
will be hard task for the new chief
to take green men and make firemen
out of them, and so it will be the pur-
pose of the town board to give him the
best material possible.
When the personnel of the new de-
partment is determined, the next step
will be to provide the equipment with
which to fight fires. The first thing
that will be done will be to erect a
temporary fire department in the rear
of the Victoria hotel, which is on
Broadway.
The new fire station will be built fol-
the purpose of fighting fires in the
business and residence district in thu
first subdivision. In this locality is
the greatest amount of property to be
protected and it will therefore be giver
the best protection.
Buy New Equipment.
The new fire station will be "a BY
40 feet and will be equipped with
new hose cart and 1900 feet of hose
This, in addition to the 600 feet which
the city now has, will make total o.
1900 feet of hose with which the de
partment can fight fires. This will en-
able the department to run four line
of hose to any fire in the business dis
t trict.
8 There will be a horse and a regula
drop harness to go with the new out
fit and this is expected to be sufficien
for the present needs or until the ney
fire chief can organize the department
and make known his further needs.
President T. E. Knots and Truste,
NJ. A Caldwell went to Chicago toda
for the purpose of purchasing the extr
! equipment, and they outlined the plan
for the new fire department.
For the time being, the south sid
: is to be protected by the chemical out
> fit, which will be housed in a littl
shed at Thirteenth avenue and Wash
: ington street.
Man Instantly Available.
= A man will be hired to stay with til
: chemical outfit all of the time and
r telephone will be placed at his bed {
y that he will be instantly available
case of fire.
- 1t is hoped that when the provisio
is made for the organization of tt
new fire department that the insurant
men will promptly revise the insurant
risks and that the rate will be mad
as low as they should be in a eli
where there are so many fire pro,
buildings as in Gary.