The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-12-10
Topeka Firemen Do Not Enjoy
Cold Weather.
Motorized Apparatus Makes 1t
Much Easier for Them.
WARMER CLOTHING IS WORN
Department Is Not Bothered
With Frozen Hydrants.
More Fires Reported During
Cold Weather, Reports Show.

Topeka firemen, as well as the fire
men of other cities, do not look upon
the coming of winter with any par
ticuIar enjoyment. Fire-fighting in
winter is always unpleasant, and
sometimes filled with desperate suf-
fering. And the fireman can't decide
to drop his Job and go home if things
get too uncomfortable
Every possible preparation in the
way of clothing, is made. but there
are few firemen VIII. lean toward any
new tangled ideas in winter clothing.
ITS up to the boys themselves.
what clothes they decide to wear, and
they dress as do most other men who
have outdoor work to do in the win
ter time" Assistant Fire Marsh Il
Joseph Waidelich says. Some of
them have wooden underclothes, and
some of them stick to B. V. DIS the
year round, Just as the Workmen in
other lines do. OF course we have our
flannel shirts, and they are very warm
and comfortable"
They Wear Flannel Shirts.
The flannel shirt for outdoor winter
wear has been tested for generations
in the north woods and in the noun
tains. and it has never been replaced
by a satisfactory substitute. The
colder the weather, the more coats
the firemen wear, as rule. And
they usually take more coats to the
fire than hey wear on the way. 1t
is coming back that they bundle up
the heaviest.
There is but one form of hand COW
ering which will serve the fireman.
No leather or cotton glove is any pro-
lection when working in water which
freezes where it touches. "Only a
very heavy wool mitten is any pro-
lection at ALL" Chief Waidelich says
Even if such a mitten gets wet AID
frozen, there is enough insulation to
keep ones hands from freezing alto
together"
Use Heavy Slickcrs.
The heavy slickers which are part
OF the firemen's uniform. are worn
more steadily in winter than in su"l-
mer. In summer a duclIing is duck
ing and that is all there is to it, but
in winter a ducking means that IN
fortunate recipient will in a very few
minutes be cased in ice. Therefore,
the slickers.
Every fireman is equipped with
one of the leather helmets and has
orders to wear it at every fire. but
he doesn't always do it," Waidelich
says. 1.-The miserable things are heavy,
uncomfortable. and stand up SO high
above the head that they are always
being knocked off. But they are a real
protection against falling beams and
the like. I have seen more than one
man who would have been a corpse
If it hadn't been for his helmet"
Motorized Apparatus Used.
The care Of motorized apparatus in
winter is easier than the care of the
horses. which were formerly used to
draw the machinery to the fires, Chief
Waidelich says. In the fire stations,
the motors are kept warm by steam
heat or by stoves. SO that there Is
never delay in getting them started.
The hoods of all pieces of apparatus
are kept covered during the coil
weather. and extra covers are put on
during extra cold spells"
But at a fire, in zero weather or
below, motor covers don't help much
So a driver is detailed to go from
piece to piece of the apparatus and
keep the motors running just enough
TO keep them warmed up for instant
action.
In the old days, with the horses,
it was pretty hard. When we arrived
at a fire the teams had to be I'M
hitched, blanketed, and then tied up.
Fire horses, with the pep which they
have to have. are hard to handle on
a frosty, cold night, with all the ex-
element about them Chief Waid-
elich said. Ard it was pretty hard
ON them anyhow. To take them out
of n warm stable. run them at full
speed for mile or more. and then