The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-10-21
FIGHTING FOREST FIRES.
An Advance Step in That Direction
Has Been Taken by the North
western Line.

,nt year were very dry indeed. The
ain fall was much less than the av-
,rage; and on account of the hot
Try period the green grass burned
RELY and fires were easily started
throughout the region covered by
he Chicago & Northwesteri's various
ines in northern Wisconsin and the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The effort and labor necessary to
keep bridges and buildings from be-
ing destroyed, and to save the prop
,rty of the railway company. is diff
icult to estimate or describe, and
The origin of many of these fires is
difficult to place.
The responsibility for such fires is
usually laid at the door of the rail-
ways but this is not always correct,
for fires are frequently discovered
burning one or two miles away from
the railway track, which finally
reach the track and destroy railway
property These fires are started by
settlers who are burning up brush
and cleaning up their land; or by
hunters, campers or occasional vag-
rants. Often a neighbor is burned
out and he in turn looks to the rail-
way company to pay the bill for his
damages, presumably for no better
reason, in many cases, that that the
railway is the only party able to do
so.
The division staff of one of the
Chicago & Northwestern divisions
in the territory referred ito has, in
it's effort to meet the serious situa-
ton Of providing means to protect
its own property and that of it's
neighbors, recently devised an equip
ment for fire fighting that is unique
and Of unusua! efficiency
The equipment is the product of a
situation that demanded strenuous
action. The emergency of fire fight
ing must be met in the most com
plete manner. Roadmaster Cornell
of the Ashland division, who in his
long experience in fighting forest
fires, appealed to his division super
intendent, and the outcome of their
plans and conferences was recently
described by the state fire inspector
as ga most interesting development
in railway fire protection and one to
be most highly recommended. y
The equipment consists of three
tank cars and a steam pump, with an
ample supply of 1-2 inch fire hose.
The tank cars have a capacity of a.
600 gallons. They are connected by
2-inch hose and stand ready filled to
be hurried to any point on the divis-
ion. An enfiine stands in the round
house, fired up and ready to couple
on to the equipment and the loco
motive not only furnishes motive
power for pulling the tank cars, but
also supplies steam to operate the
pump. A suction hose forms part of
the equipment. so that The water sup
ply may be taken from any river,
pond or tank.
The apparatus was tested recently
for the Wisconsin state fire depart
ment and the test is reported by
Mr.. Mack, state fire inspector, as be-
/ ing very successful. At IS pounds
water pressure, an effective fire
stream was thrown 100 feet with
such force as to require the best
efforts of two men to control the
nozzle
With is fire in the timber coun-
try can be gotten under control in
an hour or two, and thouands OF
dollars worth of property, both OF
the railway company and of the
farmers who property is near enough
to be reached by the APPARATUS has
been saved by this invention of ar
experienced fire fighter.
The equipment is inexpensive ir
comparison with the saving it effect:
1
being absolutely reliable and can b
put into action upon moments no
tice.
The great North Woods countr!
Of Wisconsin and Michigan is par
ticularly subject to fires. Sports
men are especially careless abou
leaving these fires after cooking thei
meals or for other purposes, and fai
! entirely to realize the great damage
liable to be caused, especially whel
the wind is blowing, to the propert.
or adjacent farms, and claim is of
ten filed against the railway com
pany although they are in no wa.
to blame for what has been done b,
the guilty party; in fact, their ow,
| property is very likely to have suf
fered together with that of the farm
i ers.