The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-12-08
FIRE BOARD MAY NAME ASSISTANT
 CHIEF OF DEPT.
President Crawford Favors Stringent Building Code Cause of Increase of Running Department.

"If the city had adopted a stringent building code 12 years ago. in my opin- ion the expense of maintaining the fire department at present would be s5o.o00 a year less with no extra haz- ard." said President George E. Craw- ford of the fire board. this morning. President Crawford would like to see & good building code established in this city. He considers it a ruthless expense of money to keep increasing the expense of the fire department without making some attempt to re- duce the fire hazard by restricting frame buildings and tenement house construction.
 The principal increase in expense has been in salaries. Four years ago the salary list of the department was increase is principally due to chang ing from a call to a permanent de- pertinent.
 President Crawford is of the opin- ion that the expense is going to con- tinue to increase as long as the city continues to grow as a big frame town without regulation of the kind of buildings that are put up.
 There are 119 permanent men in the Bridgeport fire department and A call men. The call system has almost passed away. The chief under the call system had three assistant chiefs. He now has the help of one captain who acts as assistant chief.
 The permanent department is com posed of one chief one superinten- dent of machinery. one superintendent of fire alarm. two linemen, one fire alarm operator. one blacksmith. one hydrant inspector. one extra driver, IF captains, IA lieutenants. engineers, assistant engineers. 23 drivers. 5 hosemen and laddermen, and one hose man detailed.
 The call force consists of two cap- tafns. engineers. assistant engin- eers, 6 hosemen and laddermen. and 6 hosemen and laddermen detailed.
 Within the past four years there has been 60 permanent men added to the force or more than half of the permanent force. President Crawford said today that he was willing at the meeting tomorrow night to vote to purchase the automobile fire en- g.ne and to have it located perma- nently at No. engine house in East Bridgeport providing that his collea- sues on the board were ready to agree to purchase the apparatus at this time.
 The fire board will probably hold several meetings between now and the first of the year as it has got its annual budget to prepare and oth- CT business to clean up before the expiration of the terms of President Crawford and Commissioner Charles Lee.
 The board had held the appoint ment of a second assistant engineer in abeyance for over a year because the aldermen have failed to fix the salary of he assistant chief It is understood that some of the commits sioners are now ready to fill the va cancy and let the aldermen fix the salary of the office when it gets ready to do so. Among the candi- dates for the place are Captain F. J. Freyler, Captain Jacob Horkheim- CT. Captain Michael J. Daley, Capt. Burns. Captain George Rutherford. and Capt. George Beardsley
 All of the candidates have had their friends at work and one of the can didates has even been able to in- yoke the President of the Taxpayers League to get out and hustle for him.