Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-02-12
FIRST LEXINGTON FIRE
RECALLED BY WO0Ds0N
'sOId.Timc Photographer Tells
Of Blaze in Summer
of 1871.
SAVED ny ALARM SYSTEM
Every Company Responded Ia "Thrcc
Si1e&- With Result that Flames
Were ExtinEuishrtl auickIy-west-
crn Union Man Congratulated.
ny Frank $. wood~on.

Speaking OF the Lexington Hotel
hciccaust-and that is the principal
thing Richmond people have been
speaking of for the last several days
An oldtimer is enabled to call UP
some recollections.
Just nifty years ago last spring
Richmond put in It's electric fire
alarm system. While, like every
thing else. 1t has undergone marked
improvements in a half century.
Practically 1t is now the same syS-
tenn that ]. II. Dowcll superintendent
OF the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany and Il. NJ. j. Paynter. manager
Of the Richmond Western Union Of
fec, put in for the city In the early
days OF 1871.
Previous to the Inauguration OF this
system fire alarms were turned in
in haphazzard way-any old way.
Whoever discovered n fire ran TO the
nearest bell and rang il with all his
might. Then the volunteer fire COM
panies would rush out with their fire.
lighting apparatus and find the blaze
as best they could. Sometimes they
got on the scene In time TO do some
good. but otteher than otherwise the
house would hurn down before they
reached tho scene. il was generally
understood that the principal bust
ness of the Fire Department was to
Keep CONGREGATIONS from spreading
End burning down the whole town
II was hardly ever expected that the
house in which the blaze started
would he saved.
II was claimed that the new cleo
trio alarm system would change ALL
OF this; that II would not only wake
up the fire compa MES in jify, hut
would tell them right where 10 rush.
and thus they would get there in
time to stop blaze before II could
get well started. Old folks. MANY
Young ones too, shook their heads
ana sara Inc Thing was impossible.
Results Are Watched for,
Naturally Messrs Dowell and Pawn.
Ter, after they had put up the wires
and established the alarm boxes and
printed whole lot OF instructions
10 the Richmond Dispatch. and in
hand bills. TO tell the people how n
work the boxes. etc. watched for
results with kind OF nervous inter
est' And so did everybody else abou,
me western Union Offices, all OF
the people there from office bows and
messengers up to chief operators
managers, etc, being devoted to
Superintendent Dowell and Manager
raFnter. two as fine bosses rs eyer
came down the pike.
was then cub telegram ono
rator hanging around the Western
onion offices and doing what In tb,t
oHN and time was called relief mr.
u'ii!'y work. that is keep ever ready
mop on the job OF any operator
VINO happened to set sick of for o,bcr
ause was out OF the way for dav
Two Operators were not as
US IN those days as now. and
una every large office "relie,
~, we're necessary. When was
No' DONG relief work Mr. DoroI,
usually found some Kind ~ cI,r,
Work for me TO do in his office IT,
!ike everybody else around ~,
oi"re' became intensely interas,nd
'"e new hre ala m system and ,.a
Just crazy for big fire to .break mr.,
work. ~ "ouid
S"e h'Sht in the summer NJ 1s--
cannot remember the date) ,bera
sure enough alarm abou, IN
'o!t"wed by general alarm
an" three skies" pcrhaps I, ,b,
oes had been Invented then Tha
vas great exc!temen, in the Wes,ern
MN cmces and everybody rusb.J
80 twelfth and Main Streets. wher.
me new system had told us III. sra
w." me IRE hadA.s.artea in one
80. IA story. -roems Of the then
,ba ~" ana handsome building a..
me southwest corner later ana mi,
now known as the I.exinptnn 49, IL,
Building wa ''o'e'
New system Successful
ne new system had ,,nr,,.,
'hhrM- II brought the en,ir. d.
parShtht 10 the scene in an lncr.1.
snort time and the little lIaz.
MhlSh aid not amount to much any.
va was Knocked out betor. Won
'omia say Jack Robinson. so 10 snIak
me next morning the papers mad
S"P"'r STORIES a! tn. whole business
IN" ne" system worked 50