The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1912-08-02

occasion. A fire between walls of a
building is an ugly customer to handle.
1t is difficult to locate and harder to
get at. When you have once definitely
located the base of the fire, you have
won half the battle. The fire can then
be fought from below or above, or
both, as the circumstances and the
geography of the building may sug-
gest. Don't throw wafer against the
wall and thereby food the building,
but go right after the fire itself. Cut
a hole in the wall either above or be-
low the base Of the fire and put water
to the flames in steady stream, and
everything will soon be in shape for
the insurance adjuster 70 come around
with his smile or his frown as the oc-
casion demands In all events, there
will be but little "water damage" to be
paid for or reckoned with.
The water damage is necessarily
greater when the base OF the fire is
located in the ceiling. That is one
time when there is obliged to be more
or less damage caused from water.
1t is understood that there are hun
dreds of gallons of water throw: at a
fire that do not actually hit the. res,
and that water has to go somew1 ;.
In this instance, the water flows
through the ceiling to the floor beneath
and generally causes considerable
damage to the contents of the build
ing. All you can do in case Of this
kind is to minimize the damage by not
throwing any more water than IS ac-
tually necessary to extinguish the
flames. When you have put out the
fire, cut off the water.
,, No fire department can do good and
efficient service unless it is equipped
with the best and modern apparatus
for fighting fire. Loyalty, enthusiasm
and ability in fireman can count but
little when he has to fight fire with an
inadequate water supply, rotten hose
and imperfect nozzles. A town that is
so penny wise and pound foolish" as
to attempt to economic on its fire de-
partment sooner Or later pays dearly
for it's mistake. 4 fire department is
like a Texans pistol, he doesn't need
it often, but when he does he needs
good one and needs it quick. Most OF
the towns in this State that have up-to-
date fire departments have been taught
that lesson and have paid the price.
A department that is equipped with
modern apparatus can and will reduce
the water damage" to such an extent
that the amount saved would pay for
the> equipment in few years.
Another way to help reduce water
damage is to keep outsiders out and
away from the building so that they
will not interfere with the work Of the
fremen When fire occurs in a small
town, the fremen are almost run over
by the crowd and are prevented from
doing the efficient work they could 9TH
erwise do. When the pipe-men are
pushed and showed about by the crowd,
it is a physical impossibility for them
to put the water where they ought to
put it and the damage frola water is
increased to that extent.
In case you reach fire in its in
fancy, such as an explosion of a lamp,
or a small fire in a store, it is best to
use chemical extinguisher or small
nozzle, size about 3-8 Of an inch.
Nozzles of this size are made in con-
nection with the regular shut-off noz-
zles and either can be used independ-
CuLly VI lu6 OLuSI. Dy tu1S ASouS q
confagration can be effectively pre-
vented with little or no water damage.
! These suggestions are grounded on the
supp0sition that you have reached the
scene of the fire before it has gained
much headway. Of course, if you reach
building when it is on fire from Gel
lar to roof, there is nothing to do but
to sail in with gloves of, regardless Of
water damage" or anything else, ex-
cept to extinguish the flames and keep
the fire from spreading to adjacent
buildings.
The duty of a fireman is two-fold,
viz: to protect property and to save
lives that may be imperileds His aim
should be not only to extinguish a
fire, but to do so in such a manner
as to keep down property loss to the