The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-06-25
Fire Projection for Small Towns and
Villages.

start that the subject to be dealt
with in this paper is one of vital i'm
portance to the villages and towns
OF our State, as the columns of the
press recording frequently, yes too
frequently, the disastrous ravages of
the fire fiend, in our small towns and
villages establish the fact that too
little attention is paid to fire protect
ion by the authorities. Too late do
they realize their utter helplessness
when the cry Of Fire is heard in
their streets, and they have to stand
by and see thousands Of dollars of
property swept away by consuming
names in an hour or two. 1t is true
that the insurance companies ne in
and have to pay large losses, but
owing to the lack of fire protection
the rates Of insurance is necessarily
nigh, consequently losses over and
above insurance are in almost every
case more than enough to equip and
maintain a small fire department for
several years, not taking into account
loss OF time to business interests and
| the removing Of taxable values from
the tax books. Our people willing
| ly tax themselves for school buildings,
| public buildings, street and other
| public improvements, which I do not
| M
| but when they are asked to supply
a small amount Of money for fire pro-
| lection Of tcese same public utilities,
the lives and property of their town,
the objection is at once raised cit
| costs too much" That money spent
| for fire protection Is returned four
fold to the people that have main
| tained fire departments is a fact that
cannot be disputed. In passing I
may say that this lack of interest in
fire protection applies not only to
our towns and villages, but also to
many of the cities in our State. In
making up their expense account for
the current year every Department Of
! City government is provided for be-
fore the Fire Department is thought
of, and then it has to take what is
left, If any at all. They have been
getting their protection through their
volunteer Departments for such a
long time for practically nothing. that
| City officials do not seem to grasp
the idea that as the city grows that
expenses in the line of fire protection
grow along with it. Fire equipment
costs money but the municipality that
supplies its fire department with the
facilities for quick and efficient work
and encourages it's firemen in their
efforts to keep up their organizations.
whether it be the city with it's full
| paid department or the town with
Its volunteers, will be amply repaid
for any amount Of money expended.
| What equipment is necessary for
small towns and villages with popu-
lation up to 5000?
1st. 1 would suggest a two wheel
one cylinder As gallon Chemical Fire
| Engine
End. A hose reel with capacity for
| 400 feet of hose.
Srd. A light Hook and Ladder
Truck to be hauled by hand and
|, equipped with detachable ladders, two
| chemical gallon tanks, and the
| necessary hooks, axes, ceiling OPEN
ers generally carried on apparatus
Of this kind.
4th. 1000 feet good hose.
AS towns of size mentioned above
are not generally able to support
| paid men and the Department is to
pe volunteer, I would suggest three
! companies, one for each piece of
equipment, composed of the young
men of the town. These organiza-
tions can be kept up by companies
| charging dues and assessing fines for
absence from fires, meetings, drills.
etc, the town assisting by a small
| annual appropriation. Let represen-
| tatives from each of these companies
together with town council annually
| or bi-ennially elect a chief and as
sistant chief, who shall have absolute
charge at fire and whose authority
shall be supreme at that time.
The cost of equipment mentioned
above will be about $2,5OO which
amount the town authorities should
easily be able to pay off in three or
four annual installments, and right
here 1 am satisfied that long before
the equipment is paid for, a Depart
ment equipped as above, will have
saved to the town making the invest
ment four-fold Of its price.
Now as to the water question for
w