Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-12-31
NEW SYSTEM TO
ADD 2O8 FIREMEN
Two Platoon Plan to Be In
augurated Jan. s.

Installation Of the two platoon system
in the Indiapap olis FIRE department will
be started Sa day, Jan. s. when the
personnel Of station No. 10, POI English
avenue, starts working ON the two shift
day plan, Fire Chief John c. LoucIs
announced today. The thirty one stations
viii be operating under the new system
by July ], one or two being converted
each week after the start.
Plans for the conversion were COM
pleted last night at conference of Chief
Loucks with the board of public safety.
The arrangement calls for the addition
of total of POS men to the FIRE force
by July 1. This will give the department
a membership of $50, the present strength
being 3S1. The addition Of POS men pro-
yides for manning the two new hrehousea
which the board proposes to build and
nave in operation by the middle Of the
year. If these houses are not built the
number Of new men viii be cut by thirty.
1t is estimated by the board Of safety
that the increased personnel will add
approximately S275,0Oo to the fire de-
partment pay roll In 1927 and approx
mately $4,000 each year thereafter
BOARD TO NAME
NEW LIEUTENANTS.
The board intends To have each sta.
tlon In command of either a captain or
lieutenant both day and night. There
are at present forty-two captains and
fortysix lieutenants. The number OF
captains will not be increased but ten
new lieutenants probably will be appoint
ed by advancing men now in the ranks.
-Four new battalion chiefs will be appoint
ed before the system is completely in
stalled, 1t being the plan to have four
such officers on duty al all hours
The shift hours were tentatively fixed
at ten for the daF force and fourteen
for the night. This, however, may be
changed before Jan. S, it was SAID.
The order in which the stations will
be converted to the new Plan was de-
cided by lot at a drawing held at the
central fire headquarters Wednesday
evening Each station appointed a rep
resentative TO attend the drawing Sta
ton No. Is drew first place. The others
come in the following order: 2s %, 25.
"a, 3, 10, 9, l, 20, -. y. 20, %, 10. 10,
10 and %
Chief Loucks stated that there prob
ably will be no additions to the force
until the board Of safety meeting on
Jan. 10. There are approximately sew
enty fve applicants on the waiting list.
The force at station No. Is will be
Increased from seven to ten men when
the two platoon system goes into effect.
Five men VIII be on duty in both day
and night shifts. The decrease in the
force constantly on duty from seven to
five is made possible by the fact that
one Of the new 900 gallon Stutz motor
bumpers has been assigned to the sta
ton, ii was stated.
NEED MORE MEN
on NIGHT SHIFT.
The plan of having an equal number OF
men on duty on both the day and night
shifts is not in accordance with the
recommendations OF the National Board
OF Fire Underwriters, a representative Of
whom recently told the board that il has
been found throughout the country to
be better 10 have more men on duty at
night than in the day time because Of
the greater number Of fires and the
greater difficulty in fighting them in the
dark.
The board, in contemplating the In
crease Of the department strength to $50
men, also goes beyond the recommends
ton Of the underwriters, who state that
a force Of J44 could we'll handle the local
situation. The underwriters. likewise.
condemned the plan 20 install two new
stations, recommending, on the contrary,
that three OF the present houses be
abandoned in view of the fact that the
motorization If the department Will make
them unnecessary.