Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-12-09
NEWARK LEADS
WHOLE STATE
IN Fm|RE-ESCAPES.
Board of Tenement House SUI
peryisiOn C0mmends COndi-
tons in This City.
PROPERTY=OWNERS
COMPLY WITH LAW
Annual Report Gives interesting
Statistics of Essex and
Other Counties.
Especial to the Newark start


TRENTON. Dec. 9.-Work done by
the Board of Tenement House Super
vision to compel compliance with the
law regarding fre-escapes forms an
interesting chapter in it's annual re-
port. which was submitted to Gov
Fort today. 1t shows that the
board mas caused the erection of such
safety appliances on 602 tenements, in
each case the escapes affording a di-
rect outlet from each apartment. Of
this number 1923 were existing tene-
ments and the balance on new tene-
ments. Since the organization of the
board 1888 tenement houses have been
thus equipped under it's supervision.
Special effort has been made to COM
pei the erection of flre-escapes on old
tenement houses and particularly i'll
congested districts. In the last few
months the board has referred sixty
three cases In Jersey City and twenty
five cases in Newark to the attorney
general for prosecution. In this con-
nection the report notes that in the
numerous cases in which IT has be-
coma necessary to prosecute the board
has had the hearty cooperation of the
NOoi .. III Gfci llSltICt VI a flOAd-
ton of this sort a penalty has been
imposed, the usual amount being $25
and costs. This, the minimum fine,
vas imposed because the courts ac-
cepted the statement of the owners
that the condition complained of would
be remedied Immediately.
Discussing this phase of the work of
the board, the report says:
tCt-@. A. - a. IL
partment the inspectors have super
vised the erection of 1888 fire-escapes
on tenement houses. This does not
mean that only that number of tene-
ment houses have beer equipped with
fire-escapes during the six years that
the department has be IN in existence.
In more thar 800 cases the fire-escapes
span a party wall: tht,t is. one stack
to accommodate two tenement houses,
in buildings In which there is but one
family on each floor, The Microscopes
being so placed rs to afford direct
egress from each apartment.
Newark Leads State.
''Ths number of fire, escapes erected
during the las six yeats, as the direct
result CT the work CT this department,
provide emergency eg ,ess for 1880
families, a~ggregating g.. 900 persons. al
lowing an average of five persons to
each family. In the record of cities
Newark leads the Stair with 844 fire.
escapes erected since the inception of
the work. Next on the list is Jersey
City, with 67S. Hoboke a. with 1926 fire.
escapes erected at the order of the de-
partment, is third on the list. West
Hoboken has erected 57S fire-escapes;
Paterson, "A; Bayonne. 65; Union Hill.
So; Passaic, 46. and the others scat
tered among the various municipali-
ties of the State.
"The fact that Newark heads the
list is not due to n special effort
made by the department in that city
over other places. { The same number
of notices have been served in New
ark and in Jersey City, but the own
ers in Newark were apparently more
willing to comply with the law than
those in Jersey City, where rpany
owners refused to erect fire-escapes
until they were brought into court, or,
at least, threatened with suit for nom
compliance with he law.
ut is the fact, however, that by far
the greater number of notices of con-
tracts for the erection of fire-escapes
now on file in the offices of h board
relate to Jersey City and Hoboken, as
the result Of the action of the depart
ment in proceeding against those own
ers who had refused or neglected to
comply with the law.
This is, perhaps, better shown by
the fact that during the last year Jer-
sey City led the State in the number
of fre-escapes erected and approved,
the total in that city being 27e, while
Newark, next in order, has put up 1O4.
These figures do not include a number