New Britain herald., 1917-10-11
to provide protection commensurate with the size of the city.


 of the city in providing adequate an reliable fire alarm service. With tn growth of the city and @ correspond ing increase in the number Of alarm large per cent. of which are by tele phones. the items criticised in 191 become more important and addition al improvements are necessary. Tn non-fire proof and seriously expose headquarters building, the lack o registering devices at headquarter and use of unsatisfactory ones at fir stations, the extremely slow speed of operation, the continued use o boxes of obsolete and unreliable type the absence of red lights to indicat the location of boxes, and the prox unity of overhead circuits to higl tension wires are all features requfr ing early attention.
 For satisfactory service in city of this size the absence of specia alarm circuits to fire stations and o some one on duty at all times to re- ,ceive and transmit telephone alarm: may result in serious disaster, par ticularly where the other unreliablt features are prominent, the number of boxes are inadequate and the num- Der of alarms are increasing.
 "The removal of wires to under ground ducts is @ material improve ment, but less reliable form of con- struction Is used than is generally found in other cities.
 "A material increase in the annual appropriation is necessary to remedy the conditions found deficient
 Structural Conditions and Hazards.
 Under the heading as above the conclusions were as follows:
 "The requiring of the building 1n- spector to devote his entire time 10 the service of the city is command able feature, but at present he IS par ticularly handicapped by the lack of adequate building laws, which With a few exceptions are the same as noted at the time of the former re- port. This condition may be rem edied if the committee appointed to revise proper provisions for safe building and for protection from fire. The fire limits have been considerably extended and within these limits it is not now permissible to repair shingle roofs. There has been little i'm provement in construction in the principal mercantile district and con- ditions from fire prevention stand point are still weak"
 Explosives and Inf1ammables.
 '"The regulations governing the storage and handling of explosives and substances are very in- complete and deficient. Local con- ditions are generally fair, except for the storage of dynamite in the mer- J ;e%,. ..14 tidy conditions regarding combustible rubbish and papers in and around buildings. The burning of rubbish the provisions proposed by the city to regulate the burning of rubbish in containers approved by the chief of the fire department is not satisfactory. The only safe manner in which to control this hazard is to require or provide that frequent collection of rubbish be made and subsequently, be disposed of in safe manner.
 Electricity.
 'The inspection of electric wiring except in factories is under munich pal supervision. The superintendent has now an assistant, which should permit him to carry on a compre- hensive inspection of the old wiring as well as new work. The condition of the new work Is mainly good, but much of the old wiring needs exten- sive overhauling. The national cleo trical code is the standard used by the department for electrical con- struction, but this is not embodied in the ordinances. An underground dis trict which covers the business sec tion and considerable of the side streets has been established and is a commendable feature; wires are now underground in these streets. There has still been considerab ble trouble experienced from electrolysis on water and gas mains. The street railway company has recently done considerable rebonding and welding of rails which is hoped will relieve some of the trouble. As the munici- pality makes no test to determine conditions this matter should be given immediate attention by the city
 Conflagration Hazard.
 Tn the principal mercantile distric construction is particularly weak ano good proportion is of frame con struction. Window protection is lack ing, vertical openings are unprotected There are too many large areas an( the streets are of only fair width, st that the potential hazard as a whol, Is high. There is good accessibility tt block interiors. Wire obstructions arr not numerous and high winds are in frequent; although the fire depart ment is undermanned and handicap ped by deficient engine capacity and water system of inadequate capacit. at pressures permitting direct stream from hydrants, good outside aid i quickly available and a fire should, il general, be confined to the block o origin. In the manufacturing dis tricts, on account of the mainly goo' construction and private protection