Arizona republican., 1915-10-18
TO URGE ALARMS
 ON FIRE BELL
Phoenix Volunteer Depart ment to Ask City Com mission and Fire Chief to Resume Practice of Sounding Fire Alarms

1 When a fire occurs in the city of 1 Phoenix and the department is called are not the citizens entitled to know l that such a fire is in progress and 1 be informed of it's location by means
 of the big bell in the city hall tower? | As d safety measure should not the | big bell be sounded when the fire | trucks are about to be sent through | the crowded business streets or into | the residence districts? Can there not be police regulations, city ordin- ances if necessary, that will control 1 the practice Of automobile drivers Oc- cupying streets along which fire ap- paratus are rolling, thereby hinder ] ing the department both in reaching a fire and in getting into action when the scene is reached.
 These are some of the questions that will come before the special meeting of the Phoenix Volunteer Fire department at a special meeting called for this evening at s o'clock
 in Firemen's hall, second floor of the
 city hall building. The present sen
 timent of no small number of the
 members or the organization is such
 that there is every probability that a memorial will be addressed to the city commission, City Manager Craig and Fire Chief Wright requesting
 that the bell be rung as in other
 days and that the number of the
 box be sounded as has been the
 practice for years.
 On the ground that the fire ap-
 paratus was hindered in making runs t. fires, Chief Wright with the
 consent of Manager Craig recently
 "cut ont the big bell Since then
 the only alarm given has been
 three blast signal upon the whistle at the pumping station. This, how
 ever, gave no Indication of the dis trict in which the fire was located. It was the opinion of Chief Wright that by receiving only still alarms that automobiles and other convey ances would not be sent scurrying into the streets along which the ap- paratus must proceed. As far as this belief is concerned it has prob ably been proven correct.
 But the volunteer firemen, and in fact no small number of citizens have raised 2n even more important point It 6 claimed that when the appara tus starts out without q warning having first been given that it is about to roll" there are often nun Greds of machines moving in various directions that are in dire danger Of encountering the apparatus without opportunity to get out of the way of the big trucks. Right minded drivers of machines. aware that q fire is in l progress and that they are in the l district into which the fire apparatus | is about to come. will either seRd | their machines to the curbs or will | in some other manner get out of the ] way, giving the machines free | passage.
 In the larger cities there are no | big bells to sound an alarm. but in | the downtown districts there are To- f cated on every corner a series of alarm gongs which begin sounding | often several minutes before the ap- paratus puts in an appearance. This | is a signal for all traffic to stop and | the police are instructed to see that i the warning is observed The vol unteeT fremen claim that an alarm for tha big bell in the city hall tower could be made to answer this pur- pose and that in short time dricers of machines could be made to under stand the purpose for which it is being rung.
 There are many other matters of special importance to come before to- nights meeting of the volunteer de partmnt and a full attendance is de- sired
 Trieste, in Austria, is a center of the ! m aq rSpl1nO1 r,inp in1VStry