Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-03-20
No More Are to Be Bought by
New York City.
Apparatus VIII lie Sub
s~tituted-In about seven Year, the
Thrilling "Run' VIII lie a
Thing of the Past.

@ NN 'D'' "" IL " ' lNt Woulu ne
eliminated as fast as possible and auto
mobile apparatus substituted.
This does not mean that New Yorker,
who have grown accustomed to the sight
of horse drawn engines dashing along
to fires, pulling smoke belching machines
men hanging precariously to every
part, are to be deprived all at once of
the familiar thrill. II will be five years
before the last of the old fash
type of engine will be "junked."
as the fremen say. But the horses will
become fewer and fewer. for as fast as
money is appropriated motor driven
and hose carts will be put into
There are now 1,5OO horses in use. A
hundred motors have already supplanted
the four-lcgGed power vehicles, and by
the end of this year another 100 will be
put into service al tho rate OF 10 each
month. Eight hundred and fifty pieces
of apparatus is the equipment now, and
allowing for Increases in rapidly growing
parts of the city, considerable time will
be required to put the department entire
" on a motor basis.
Horses die or 60 out Of service in
other ways AT the rate OF from 40 to
20 a year. As fast as they 60 they
VIII be replaced by motors. The era l.
ual conversion will cost about 1900.
600. and Commissioner Johnson SAYS
that there is no doubt this sum will
be forthcoming at the required time.
HORSES LAST SEVEN YEARS.
The average term OF service of a
ore, -, So. uf.s
seven years. though some Of the motel
animals in the department have lasted
much longer than that As fast as
money is secured for more motors the
horses which these replace arc sent
to other sections of the city. At the
end a few horses may remain and will
be sold, but the probability is that
practically all of them will bc dead.
There are two attractive features to
tho motorization Of the fire depart
mcnt. says the sun. one is that
though the initial outlay may be great
Cr the ultimate cost is less. The other
is that the fire loss will be consider
ably reduced because the motor driven
engines can get to Il place quicker n
begin work on a blaze before 1t has
hal It chance to get the Roadway 1t
acquires under present conditions.
The best horse in the business can't
travel more than Ii or Is miles an
hour and at the end of two miles even
that speed is greatly reduced. The
automobiles can make forty miles an
hour and keen 1t up as long as the
motor runs. The upkcep OF the auto
mobile engine is abouc one-third as
much as that of the horse drawn ma
chine.
The life of the fire engine is long.
Some now doing service were built 40
years ago. The automobiles will last
even longer than that for they viii
not travel as far in 20 years an the
ordinary motor truck goes in six
months. And then too they Will have
the best of care from skilful mechan-
jos.
MOTORS WILL LAST LONGER.
The wear ard tear on motors is less
than on tho horses, but much greater
efficiency is secured The parts OF the
city which will le most benefited by
the change are Richmond and queens,
In the suarscly settled regions of these
boroughs many houses are destroyed
before the ere apparatus can reach the
spot, because OF the Ions distances
and sometimes the bad roads. Mo-
tors will surnount these difficulties
and practically nullify the matter OF
miles.
In addition TO the motor engines the
fire department has trirl out another
and cheaper method of beating out the
horses. That Is to use tractors, when
can be attached to the present horse
vehicles and pull them along almost
as fast as the regular automobiles can
go. This. of course. is cheaper and will
probably always be necessary. Twelve
Of the tractors are now in service, II
more are to be delivered soon and con-
tracts have been made for IS others.
On the sentimental side the passing OF
the fire horse means a great deal, not
only to residents who enjoy seeing ar
old time run" to a fire. but also tc
numerous firemen who have come tc
love the animals that served them.
BRENTWOOD A NOTED HORSE.
There is hardly a more interesting
figure in the whole department IMAM ole
brentwood. the 27-year-old bay, that doe:
his share In pulling engine A. up In thu
Bronx. Though a little "~swayback" from
age. he can travel as fast as any OF th'
YOUNGSTERS. and he knows the streets II
| he city like a book. Brentwood was sen
down to the budget exhibit as part of th'
ldepartment's contribution and carried of
the chief honors on that occasion, III
has a habit OF nuzzlinE down into you
nockets TO see IL he can Ind something
to eat. and once he stole n spectaci'
case from "A city official who went Il
nat him and who couldn't for the III
of him imagine where his glasses wer'
until one of the flremen rescued ana re
turned them.
Over in Brooklyn there was a pat
talon chief, who has since gone hishe
In the department, h had a very In
telligent horse to pull his buggy. one
this man arrived at a big blaze ahea'
of most everybody else, behind king,
as his nag was named.
The deputy chief who was there mrs
looked on tho equipage with amazemen'
You don't mean to tell me you cam
here like that, do you?" he inquired.
II certainly do" vas tho answer
"King pulls Just as good with his mout
as anything else. and my arms ain
what you call weak
He hadn't stopped to put on traces
but had been pulled II blocks on tn
bit,
UNCLE SANS PROPERTY.