The evening world., 1922-05-18
Fire Fighters are Trained
Thrilling "Stunts That Test Man 8
Courage, NerUe and Muscle; Ordeal
Rookie Must Pass to Be
Accepted for Department.

In here and absolutely 20 TO pieces
and on the other hand have had dry
goods store clerks come In here and
make good, because they were good
athletes and had a fair amount ol
nerve.
II have found that lot of so.
called fearless strong men forget owe,
night what was pounded into theil
heads the day before. This fire jot
Is not all muscle, you know; It Is q
great deal muscle and a proportionate
amount of intelligent thinking. Lot,
of chaps holding down boolSkeepers
chairs. but who were active in ath
letlc competitions. have gone through
this school with flying colors."
Just then a rookie fireman nlisse d
the window sill with a scaling ladder
weighing thirty-five pounds. He was
Juggling the snaky ladder under DIFF
ficulties and the Chief spied him.
up. up, up tell you. boy" the Chief
yelled at the top of his deep Celtic
voice. The youngster on the ladder
was fired with renewed determination
to hook the sill above him, and when
he did the six-foot Chief, in a fatheriy
tone, exclaimed, That's the boy; 60
on up now and make that next
window"
do they ever quit Chief?" was
the next question. ...-t.. ...s. ...
Now and then lad comes here
and he has no idea, Of course, what
he Is in for. He stands the gan for
day or two and then he doesn't
come back OF course he absents
himself without leave and is dropped,
but there are others who give vent to
their feelings right on the spot and
they are man enough to say 30. Time
and again some Of the boys. tired and
more stage frightened than actually
nervous, have told me to my face:
ITO h with this. left a better
job than this"
What do you do with them?"
"Well. I make set to keep Just as
cool as they are hot and have told
not a few Of them to Go over there
and sit down--think It overland
don't get up till tell you. and would
you believe 1t, they invariably change
their minds. They see the others
SOlHB tHiouSh tho o'uhtS anu tHeu'
feeling more ashamed than angry,
they decide to carry on. could name
lots of good firemen to-day who. II
they had been permitted to. would
have walked out of this job before
they were actually in it,
Sliding down the back wall Of old
Fire Headquarters is the least relished
of all the manoeuvres by the pro.
oationers, Chief Larkin said as he ex-
planned how the ambitious blueshirts
are taught to take two turns Of the
roof rope in the snap hook Of theil
life belt and with the rope grasped IL
their right hand. they hop orr oval
the cornice and slide to the giant ne
below
When carrying a comrade down or
the rope, three turns instead of tive
are taken in the rope and the momen,
tum of the fall is controlled by the
pressure exerted against the rope
which slides between the rockies
right thigh and right hand. In tha,
wav he breaks" the speed OF his
body in descent.
The only enjoyment. however, IN
rope sliding Is that gained by the
Riddles in the New York Foundlins
Hospital across the street. Tho
youngsters have a daily matinee from
front porch chairs every day the fire
school Is In session.
Shooting the life line is anothe,
phase of the school important In tb,