Putnam patriot., 1924-09-19

This question of whether or not the Putnam fire apparatus should be al- lowed to leave the city in response to call for assistance from a neighbor- ing town. is one that has been brought up at all recent meetings of the com mon council of the City of Putnam and on which many of the aldermen n, the mayor and the Putnam fire chief have expressed an opinion. Fms seems to be d matter in which those in charge cannot let their humanitar- ian motives get the better of their good business sense.
 Of course. Putnam could not stand by and see the village of Pomfret, for instance, burn up, but t IS a question of whether in doing neigh oorly kindness in running to fires Tn surrounding towns the Putnam de- partment Is not being imposed upon. There is no doubt but that the chief of the department is using good judgment in what out of town calls he accepts. but he is only human and may answer alarms when the per son calling is so excited as to mag nifty chimney fire into house burn ing down.
 Not Even Thanked
 Often when the department has re- spoaded to calls from nearby towns such cases as this have been found. On another occasion the person giv- ing the call did not fix the location of the fire clearly in the iiremen's nial and the apparatus made l run to no avail. Many times upon reaching the scene of an ont of-town f,e the one in charge of the appara- tus is told that the blaze has already been put out, and often does not re eeive even q word of thanks. The chief trouble in responding Co out of town calls, however, IS that after arriving at the seat of the trouble tae apparatus is able to do little or no good because of the limited water facilities.
 Protect on For Thompson
 That at least one town has real .Led the situation in which tie Put nam fire department is placed in re gard Co answering ala.ms from the nearby territory is shown by the ac- ton of the villaee of Thompson a short time ago in designating three .ae. upon %nose eail tife apparatus from Putnam will respond. Either Of these three responsible citizens may determine whether they deem the fire dangerous enough and the water facilities sufficient for the Put nam department te be of any assist ance. Provision is made that the city shall receive payment of fifty dol far fne Fais. anFhs sah ha paratus makes.
 At the last council meeting John r. Grosvenor, proprietor of the Ben Grosvenor Inn of Pomfret made ar engagements with the council for the 15otecti5n of his property from fire. On the grounds of the Inn there are several standard guage hydrants and in the event of their responding to call from the hotel. the fire depart ment of Putnam should be able to siye real assistance Mir Grosvenor has agreed to give the city whatever compensation 1t feels Is proper for such trip.
 Greater Hazard Here
 The majority of the aldermen seem to be opposed to accepting out ef town calls. The wear and tear on lhe apparatus, the uncertainty of being able to accomplish anything and the increased danger of Putnam. which is left with smaller degree of things except as in the case of opinion. Mayor Chapdelaine Is also dead set against the present scheme of things accept as in the case of the Town of Thompson and Mr. Gros- venor. lt is very probable that the