Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-11-07

while fifty feet Of hose was bought
and wound around the drum Of
| hand hauled hose cart When the
barber shop fire broke out the alarm
was sounded and the volunteers re
sp0nded, the majority leaving their
regular employment to perform their
volunteer duty. for which they were
paId $15O for every hour they We're
actually at work on the flames
The consequence was that the
flames in the Stout shop were soon
eNtmguished with comparatively small
/ loss Had 1t not been for the vol
unteers it Is probable not only the
shop would have been destroyed, but
possibly all other buildings in the
| block.
Then Paid Force
| In 1904 the volunteer department
was made much more efficient by the
addition of material and apparatus.
/ All members We're required to indulge
| i'm weekly drills, and for every hour
/ they were thus engaged they were
| paid so cents. Those who preferred
| not to drill We're either fined or fired
| bodily r.. g. Alder was one of those
most Interested IN the volunteer de
/ partmeut He seemed to make spe-
cial study Of fires their cause and the
/ best methods Of handling them IT is
not extraordinary, therefore, that
when the time came for the creation
! Of the city's first paid fire depart
|ment that Alder should be considered
as the best man for the position Of
chief
Some time prior to November 81,
| sos. the city council took up the
matter of establishing a fire depart
mcnt with determination to DO
something. II was realized that
| Tulsa was growing rapidly and 1t
would be only a matter Of short
| time before "a department would be
| necessary Alder was i'm attendance
at this meeting and at his request
| the formal passage OF the resol luton
for a fire department was deferred
until at such time as Alder inycsu-
gated rates Of insurance and other
/ important questions relative TO fires
November ;, 1908.
, During the council meeting of No
I vomber o, 1905, therefore, the first
paid fire department Of the city or
Tulsa was organized and its four
members. including Alder, who was
made chief, furnished with what at
. that time was considered one Of the
finest combination chemical and hose.
wagons i'm the country and a pair OF
dapple gray horses.
From that date fires in Tulsa have
. been conspicuous only because Of
their scarcity. The fire headQuar-
ters was i'm a barn on North Boston
avenue. Chief Alder and his men re-
ceivcd $40 monthly The first fire
fought by the new department broke
out January ], 1906, at f. and Elwood
streets. II was insignificant.
Today there are thirty-three men
under the direction of Chief Alder,
distributed among four stations, two
i'm the residence and two In the busi-
ness districts. II was through the ef-
forts OF Chief Alder that the Came
well system Of fire alarms was in
stalled In Tulsa, the first city Of Okla
homa to realize the absolute necessity
| Of this system to make is fire depart
ment efficient in every particular.
The Gamewell system now has almost
one hundred alarm boxes on its cir
cult. The equipment Of headquarters
and other stations is calculated to
fill the needs OF the city several years
to come. or until the population is
increased to eighty or hundred
thousand.
Per Capita Losses.
The average per capita fire loss OF
thirty-five cities OF the United states
with $4,000 population is 1856, while
the average per capita expense IN
such cities Is S1.74. The per capita
fire loss in Tulsa during the past eight
years has been about ninety cents.
with an average maintenance cost Of
about $l.1O.
The Tulsa fire department is con-
Quoted solely on a civil service basis,
Iolitics having no part in its man.