New Britain herald., 1921-05-12
FIRE DEPARTMENT
 WORK INCREASING
249 Calls During Year, Compared
 " to t79 in 1919

record and filed with the commits Ti"nerS, tx ns follows. including Depu- ty Chief Eugene Barnes report on hre prevention and also the frc boards suggestions:
 During the year tho depart mcnt has responded to sixty-nve hell alarmst l79 stHl alarms and five false alhrnts. making a total of 2Ia calls ns against ITO |aJIs for the last ycar. Tn" total fire losses on build ingE und contents were sI2O.455.S .S9. Thu tutul huiilincs und contents ut risk were S3.5IS.265. The fire pre- V"ntioIr bureau work has been ear ricd on as effectively us conditions rcrmitcd. Schools and public in stltutiOns in the city should have pri- vntc fire alarm boxes. The department is uow carrying on H. regular schedule of drills and the various operations are being made uniform and standard according to the best practicn. and usage. As further means of in- 6rcasing the efficiency of tho men Of tlN department. would recommend that the city consider tho ConstruC- ion of e proper drill tower. as it is badly needed and. would also rccom- mend that the building adjoining No. . house on Elm strccL..bc rCmodeled to bc used as a work shop. Would recommend that the horsc-drawn ap- paratus at No. house he changed into g motor driven which could be equipPcd and, used as am auxiliary. Would also recommend the remodel ing of No . house. which k in very bad condition and has been in NI.G .H4 l..
 Fire Prevention. '' -'-
 Fire prevention bureau. report by Deputy .'hief Eugene F. Barnes:
 This being the, third annual re- port Of Shis- bureau we feel that we have done azgrcat deal of good in the past year in-tha- line of cleaning upr Of haza rlOggs conditions and bet tor conditions of exits in tenement houses and -JpusinesF buildings. We hnve had several Improvements made at the different theaters. making it as safe as possible -far tho people attending. Life ropes and rcd exit lights were plaeea--in hotels and rponing houses where needed. At the New Britain General hospital fire es- capss have been erected at different points. sprinklers installed in the hOllcf ioOnh unu Ttu=8 Al@AltS plaCtu at all of the exists AS to waste paper and waste mRteriaI it is our aim, tp ksep. This cleaned up as much us possible.
 Total inspections. s5s; re-inspec- tions. 3I7. buildings. Sal: persons af- fceted.. 2s.935: yards and allcyways. G3t." at @ at. e%#3 .-.
 Commissioners. Report.
 The report and recon mcndations of tho commissioners:
 The one out standing feature in the years activities was the acceptance hr the citizens of the two platoon system following sa recommendation by this board for its adoption. We have made d careful study of this method ot tiru service, from all angles. Ma hAtBi RUne Into the matter tbOr- ouzhiy with cities which nave under gone tho tran~ition from the old To the newer system and have come 10 thel conclusion that .thc substitution of any makcshift requiring a much lesser number of men than that sug- Lcptcd bN tho commissioners in their recommendation would be detrimental to the city and would defeat the "n- tire purpose Of the two platoon sys- tenn,
  ytrueted ffrc house. No. G. was turned over hy tue city and was formally accepted by tho board of fire com missioncrs October II. 1920. The com ! pauy at present in charge of the sta tisn had been formed some time prior l to' the completion of the house and had been held in rcadineSs itt No. | ! engine. house at Commercial street, so that delay was experienced i'm | making the instaIlnticn.
 The ire prevention bureau is still doing as effective and as satisfactory work as can bc accomplished under ' Inc existing system. The present | -chcmc calls for tho appointment of | two men Casually the captain and l one other man) from company who l shall act as inspectors for approXi- | mateIy four to four and one-half | hours over a given area. some par i ticuIar day designated by the fire pre- ' ventiou chief.
 |, The ideal method 10 l." employed f in the opinion of this board. is tn | attuCh one or two men permanently | tn each company whose sole duty shall he in tho interest of fire pre- | vcntion work Notwithstanding the I fact that the number of fires dur | lnA the year was moro than double | that of previous years. Wc are con | vinccd that the efforts of the fire ! prevention bureau. because directed | toward the cause, ,-haYc averted fires which would otherwise have swollen tho number tp greater proportions T We strongly advocate the buildinp of n drtu tower. During the, past
 year considerable progress has been