Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-14
DRILL OF RECRUITS
Instructing New Members of
the Fire Department.
USING P0MPIER LADDERS
Learning How to Climb Up the Out.
side Of Buildings.
JUMP INTO THE LIFE NET
Drizzling Rain Prevents the Per-
Torrance Of Many More
Difficult Feats.
JUMP INTO THE LIFE NET

Eleven recruits in the fire department
| risked their lives today to learn some
| thing about saving other mems lives, the
| instruction taking place on the skeleton
tower next to No. engine house, on
North Carolina avenue southeast between
9Th and Sth streets. Eight OF the men
| had never handled the pompier ladders
| which were run up to the top of the
| tower under the instruction Of Deputy
Chief A. ]. Sullivan. The drill was the
| first of the season. Weekly drills are
scheduled from now until fall, and every
| fireman Of less than five years service
will be sent to the tower from time to
| time to learn by actual experience what
1t means to drag q twenty-six-pound
pompier ladder to the top Of building,
what it means to crawl down a ladder
with man on the shoulders, and what
sort OF nerve it requires to jump from
the top Of a building into life net held
| by q dozen men below.
Rain Prevents Other Feats.
Had 1t not been for a drizzling rain
which set In about the time the pompier
ladder drill was half over the men would
have been put through many more diff
icult feats than were attempted. AL
though 1t sounds foolish to say that a
fireman was hindered from scaling lad
ders because Of little rain, the reason
was obvious when Chief Wagner, who
was an interested spectator at the drill,
| said:
There Is no use in rislking mems lives
because of a slippery rope or ladder.
These men are new at the business, and
although they are displaying just the
lit ne ktS0k nlS>r
we would not want any Of them hurt
on their first trial. A slippery ladder is
| terrible thing for q fireman to handle,
End it is our policy to give the men
instruction with all the apparatus in good
shape. SO that they will be well grounded
in the rudiments Of climbing up the out
side Of buildings" }4- -
Pompier Ladder Drill.
The pompier ladder drill was first at
tempted A ladder Of that kind is a
whippy piece Of hickory with an iron
hook on one end. The hook is thrown
over a window sill and the fireman starts
upward. The ladder bends and sways
like fishing rod. When near the top
Of the ladder the men hook themselves
to it by means Of the life belt and raise
another ladder over their heads to the
window in the floor above. In that way
the men scaled the tower in remarkably
quick time this morning, Deputy Chief
Sullivan standing below and shouting in
structions to the fremen as they clam
bered upward. At times he would make
the men strap themselves to the ladders
by life belts and lean out as far as they
could.
Coming down one Of those timber POM
pier ladders IL as ticklish a job as one
could want for q mornings pastime also.
Ills speciai style Of ladder is little used.
but IT. IS sometimes an essential in fire
fighting.
The extension ladders Of tho truck
companies have been able to reach any
| reasonable point on burning buildings
in this city, but Chief Wagner and
today that there may be a fire some
day in the back OF building, where q
truck cannot get, and the pOmpters Will
be the only thing to save it.
Jumps Into the Life Net.
After the ladder drill two men were
| sent up midway of the tower and told
| calmly by the deputy to jump of. They
did it, too, as if they had been jump
ing into life nets for an appetizer
every morning. The life nets carried
by all truck companies are very large
| affairs, and a dozen men can easily
group around the outside.
In the middle of the net is a large red
spot, a target toward which the huffman
missile Is supposed to shoot If there is
time to do any aiming. However, no
| matter how big the life net is. it looks
| about as large as the head of a toy
drum when one is up in the air with
instructions to jump square into the mid
die and fall on the back.
The class in tower drilling will be con-
tinued by Deputy Chief Sullivan until
the men are proficient. From every COM
Dany in the city men will be sent weekly
all during the spring and summer Chief
| Wagner said today he was about to order
| some new dummies" made to resemble
| a man in weight and size. and ''life
| saving will be taught with these imple-
ments.
The men on the tower today were f.
Bruff, truck 1; ]. Sartain, engine 1;
F. s. Baber. truck 8; N Chichester,
truck 6: +. Burger. engine s: J. w.
| Tiffany. engine O.; +. w. Cheney, truck
8; c. Bartlemas truck 4: r. F. Phipps,
truck Z: W. Lamp, engine 6, and E. ].
Wissman, engine 3.