The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-08

hose wagon at the Palma station are
in such bad shape that II is feared
that these vehicles will completely
break down at any time It is sug.
gested that this dilapidated apparatus
be replaced by similar combination
chemical engines and wagons AS were
ordered as above.
Motorized Equipment.
To bring the City Fire E1uIment
up to the same standard Of efficiency
which is shown in mainland cities
of the same size as Honolulu, all its
apparatus should be motorized. The
heavy expense involved in making
such a change has been considerably
overcome in other cities by the use
OF the Chassis Of Tractor wh'rt is
both practical and efficient, consisting
Of single-wheeled motor device,
equipped with steel tires, which can
be attached to any hOrse-drawn en-
CINE or heavy four-wheeled trucks the
the combination making a fve-wheeled
motor-propelled vehicle. These Trac-
tors can be purchased from $275000I
to S325O.00 each, varying from forty
to sixty horse power, with from sixty
to $50 horse power transmission. By
their use, the same advantages are
secured in the way of economy and
efficiency as in standard automobile
engines, trucks, etc, Tractor doing
the work of a horse at half the ton
mile cost. A ladder truck, weighing
$500 pounds, equipped with a Tractor,
can attain an average speed Of twenty
miles per hour, and as high as thirty
miles per hour on good grade.
Comparison of Maintenance.
Since the adoption of the motor
propelled fire engine, the task of fire.
fighting has been greatly facilitated.
The whole of the New York Fire De
partment, and the Fire Department of
other American and European cities
are rapidly being equipped with motor
propelled equipment. The argument
it is advanced from the expense rec
ords of the New York Fire Depart
ment, is that it costs from $4,000 to
$4,000 a year shoeing and feeding
the horse equipment Of an engine,
while the total cost of the upkeep and
operation of a motor-propelled engine,
as indicated in the cost bill of the
truck and hose carts already Install
ed in the New York Department, is
from $1,000 to $4,000 a year, includ
ing gasoline and oil. A further point
which has aroused keen interest among
fire officials generally is the speedy
service, when speed has an enormous
value per minute. Motor Fire engines
only consume gasoline when in acutal
service and thus tha amount OF fuel
used in the course of a year makes
a small total, while, on the other hand,
the feed bills and other expenses in
connection with the upkeep of the
horses, accumulate at all times. The
other apparatus at a fire will keep
the fire confined to a small area, often
times a matter of grave Importance.
Motor-propelled fire equipment pays
for itself mainly by limiting the dam
age done by fire in larger meas
ure than horse equipped engines could
possibly do, and with the adoption
of the right class of fire equipment,
the cost of maintenance has been
shown to be forty per cent less than
that of horse-propelled vehicle.
City Savings BY Motor Equipment.
The cost to the City and County for
the year 1911 for the upkeep of the
fire apparatus in use, consisting OF
five engines, four hose wagons, one
chemical engine, and the two automo
biles of the Fire Chief and his Deputy
respectively, (the Hayes hook and lad
for reasons before mentioned), togeth-
er with the cost Of running the stables,
was $S492.96. On a motor-propelled
basis, this maintenance charge would
have been, approximately, $4,000, a
saving of $3390.O0 for that year alone
or more than the cost of $50 horse
power transmission Tractor; the total
economy in operation in seven years
would more than pay for the placing
of the whole Of the present equipment
on a similar basis, Independent of the
sum of 100000 which could be real
lied from the sale of the horses now
in use.
insufficient Fire Protection.
There is a serious lack of fire pro-
lection in the city, which our City
Fathers do not appear to rightly ap.
preciate. Attention to this matter
should no longer be neglected, as 1t
is false economy to evade the issue.
In the practical and efficient dlspens-
ing of public moneys, the protection Of
life and property is always first con
sidered and fully provided for. Not
until ample provision has been made