The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-09-21
SMOKE EATING IS MADE EASY
FIRST BLAZE SUCCESSFULLY
 FOUGHT WITH NEW DEVICE.
Enveloyed Hose Men-SmalI Tubes on Water Conduit Minimize Fire mems PeriIs-Device Pleases De- partment.

New York, Sept. 21.-James D. Halloran, a fireman who is on tenn porary duty in Engine Company 20,
 which lies in the heart of the cellar fire zone, has invented a fresh air contrivance for fighting flame in the thickest smoke. It had it's first test
 early yesterday morning and u it
 proves as satisfactory in really frac-
 tious fire they will start making du-
 plicates of the invention at the Fire
 Department repair shops at once.
 Acting Chief Joseph Martin car
 ried such a favorable report to Com
 missioner Johnson that it was decid-
 ed immediately to extend ,Halloran's
 time of duty in the smudge fire re-
 zion for another month.
 Tt did everything that was needed
 at the fire this morning" said MT.
 Johnson yesterday, "but that blaze
 wasn't as severe a test as think
 we ought to have, so have ordered
 another month and if it is still sat-
 isfactory, and I see no reason why
 it should not be, we shall adopt it in
 the department"
 Soon after the Commissioner took
 the job relinqdished by Rhinelander
 Waldo Halloran came to him and ex-
 plained his invention. He said that
 he had been working on it for a long [ time and that it seemed all right so
 far as he could tell by the experi-
 ments he had been able to make in
 the repair shops. He wanted to be
 sent somewhere in neighborhood
 where they had lots of smoke. So
 the Commissioner took him from
 Fifty eighth street just off Broadway and sent him to Lafayette street not
 far above Spring street.
 That was on August 21 and ever ci ho irs for a test fire. It seemed that cell lar smoke was a long time coming. But when the new automobile hose cart rolled out to fire in a. tene- ment at 62 West Houston street yes- terday morning Hailoranis device went with it.
 The invention consists of three small calibre tubes attached to the nozzle of the fire hose.s through which small tube air is drawn, fNm without the burning building by the suction of the water through the hose. Nose and mouth pieces attached to the small tubes are fitted to the fire mems faces and supply them with fresh air, captured by small cowls, like miniature ships ventilators, in the tube. It is believed that no sci entific principle exists which would prevent more than three hose men from obtaining air in sufficient quan- tity. Capt. Biggers .andA Firemen Me Grath and Saunders grabbed two of the rubber mouthpieces in their teeth and went into the tenement fire. They stayed half an hour without coming up for air and when they came out the fire was eXtinguished ls They had fresh air all the time from the garden hose that led out to the pavement. The difficulty with former smoke <l~ I,< h. v1,~ sx7~ Helmets that obscured the eyes and
 covered the head made it impossible to properly appraise the blaze.
 We don't mind it in our eyes, 7 said McGrath yesterday. ssIt doesn't take long to get used to that, and our faces" But what's to prevent. fire from burning away the garden hose ?' an other fire fighter was asked.
 We never pass fire" was the ans wer. That's first principle. Put it out as you go or you don't know how quickly you may be cut off. We never leave a blaze behind us.''
 Halloran has been careful to patent his contrivance. Twice before he has invented things that have been taken from him. One he conceived 1 might be termed painless regularity blew out the gas in this city. The | feature of the device consisted of a pair of metal points that remained l apart as long as the gas was burning l but joined as soon as it was blown out. When the points met spark went off that lighted the gas again. It is not known how many truly ru- raIs have blown and blown and blown until their breath was exhausted and they were forced to turn to more cas- l fly recognized methods of extinguish- 1 ing the combusted gas. Halloran's other invention was de- signed to prevent persons from cheat ing gas meters of the coin slot va- gas company at that time.
 His smoke device came, in meas ure, from an idea of a Russian count,
 he says who, he had heard, tried to keep water out of his gold creek in the Klondike. He used hose full of steam to form a siphon to pump up water. Halloran thought he could use water where the count used steam and air where the Russian us ed water.
 It was learned at the Commission CTS office yesterday that because Hal loran was city employe when he got his idea the New York Frre Depart ment will be able % use his inven- tion as long as it likes. But if it's ! finally successful there's no reason why he shouldn't sell it to the govern- ments of other cities.
 PARK CITY LODGE, N. E. o. P. -