Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-12-17
DRIVING OF FIRE APPARATUS

Comparison Between Motor Driving
and Horse Driving.
A motor fire truck takes the place
Of four fire horses and two wagons,
gives better and quicker services, and
is maintained considerably cheaper.
These facts were brought out in a
we'll prepared paper which was read
at the firemen's banquet last night by
Mr.. ]. Furman Greer, assistant chief
Of the fire department and driver Of
the motor fire truck.
Mr.. Greers subject was Motor
driven apparatus against horse drawn
apparatus"
The paper reads as follows:
In the fire service greater strain is
placed upon the apparatus than on
any other conditions, but in spite Of
this handicap there must be quail
fication Of reliability.
A number Of departments in the
country have in the past, with view
Of economy, purchased horse drawn
equipment built by concerns entirely
unfamiliar with conditions in fire SER
vice, only to realize that while the
first cost was slightly less, this was
more than Offset by the expense Of
keeping same in repair. The appara-
tus was frequently out Of service,
pending repairs, and for that reason
alone it did not measure up to the
same high standard Of efficiency Of the
properly designed types, and as be-
tween inefficiency and efficiency there
can only be one choice in a fire de-
partment.
It's been demonstrated beyond any
question Of doubt that this feature Of
proper construction Is so important
with horse drawn apparatus, then one
must acknowledge that it applies with
considerably greater force to motor
driven apparatus due to the fact that
there are problems and complications
mot found in the former.
Utilizing a pleasure or touring car
chassis for this purpose has been found
serious mistake and this applies as
we'll to a commercial truck chassis.
The explanation is not very difficult as
it lies in the fact that neither was de-
signed for that character Of duty
the former cannot carry the necessary
weight and the latter was designed
for slow speed, incident to commercial
usage.
In order to bring about the desired
results and be in a position to sue
cessfully manufacture this type of
apparatus, it has been necessary to
build up a very efficient organization
for the purpose. Special machinery
had to be procured and while the ex-
penditure has been tremendous, there
Is no doubt that the result will amply
justify the outlay. 1t can hardly be
denied that after all this effort car
should be procured possessing many
points of superiority.
Automobile engineers all agree that
car to be successful in fire service
must embody the following essentials:
The truck must be wide, center OF
gravity, perfect balance, and materials
of the very highest grade.
In drawing comparison between
the relative cost Of horse drawn ap-
paratus and motor driven the most i'm
portant factor cannot be estimated in
dollars and cents. 1 refer to the in
creased efficiency Of the moter driven
apparatus. In the first place. it reach
es the scene Of the fire in quicker
time. That in itself should be suffici-
ent to give it the preference over the
horse drawn type, for this means that
it is effective in saving more property,
and in many cases lives, and can also
cover a longer distance.
The actual cost Of maintenance be-
tween the two types, If we cover such
items as can be definitely figured,
would compare about as indicated in
the following tables though this is a
very conservative estimate: