Arizona republican., 1913-01-27
ONE BAD FIRE
 FOR YEAR 1912
Annual Report of Chief Peter Sullivan Shows That Last Year Was Nearly Record for Small ness of the Losses.

According to a report covering fires and fire losses in Phoenix during 1912. just completed by Chief Peter Sullivan of the Phoenix Fire Depart ment, and about to be presented to the National Board of Fire Under writers. the twelve months embraced in 1912 witnessed a total loss by fire in this city of $91,030. divided into losses of $3S,000 on buildings and $53, ,030 on contents Of this total nearly if not quite s5O,O00 was occa- stoned by the fire which on August r destroyed the structures occupied by the Fair and HerZberg Bros, and practically destroyed the New Dennis building and much of thes contents of the hardware concern and suit house occupying the store rooms of the first floor.
 It was a remarkable year and had i. not been for the single fire in which the entire loss was greater than the combined losses of the other fires, it would have been record in point of the smallness of loss coverini a period of many previous years.
 Taken by months. the number of y, ary. ,: March. A. April, }; May, s; June. 16; July, 9; August, 9; Sep tember, 4; october, 4; November, 3; December. S. This makes total of s4 calls for the department during the entire year
 Of the eighty-four calls five were for burning automobiles, five flues, six grass fires, two spontaneous com bustion. two chimney, six gasoline stoves. three incendiary, three from cigars and cigarettes, two from live wires. six false alarms, three calls outside of the city and forty-one from unexplained causes.
 That the department is most eff fective in it's work is indicated by the fact that there was but one other serious fire than that of the New Dennis building this being the in cendiary fire which destroyed the West End school This building car ried an insurance of $10,000 and was completely destroyed.
 In this connection it was finally discovered that this fire and the two others of undoubted incendiary origin were started by three small boys. who were apprehended follow
  ing the burning of the school build ing, One was released because ot his immature age, another was paroled during good behavior, while the third. who was seemingly the Sing- leader was sent to the reform school at Benson.
 One of the unusual features of the vear was the discovery of plot
 ,1a nf the purpose of seeing the horses run" This originated with a party of girls employed in an office build ing. who conceived the idea of calling mn the fire station and announcing that a fire was in progress Tn some section of the city It was invariably arranged that the location o1 the sunnosed fire wis such that the wagons must pass the building where the girls were employed m answering the false alarm. Careful work on the part Of Chlel Sullivan finally resulted in the dis coverv of the false alarm trust ana the severe lecture read to the ialr offenders effectually put stop to i the dangerous practice
 Chief sullivan feels that consider | inc the apparatus with winch ne mas 1 to work and the number of men he l is allowed to employ, that his de- partment has done wonderfully ef- l fectual work. Upon more than one occasion during the past year he and his department have been rendered the thanks of property owners, and | upon one or two occasions small gifts have been made to the fire mans fund, all of which have been appreciated by the members Of the department. both paid and volunteers. l Chief Sullivan was reelected to ms office about two weeks ago at the regular meeting of the F1remans $ as l sociation of Phoenix.