Evening star., 1925-08-04
TRUCKS TIME LIKELY TO STAND.
FIREMEN TOLD WITH GIFT OF CUP
Record of Eight Seconds Made by Company 6 Prob
ably Will Never Be Equaled-Trophy Will
Be Permanent Property of Winners.

Told that their feat probably would
never be equaled by any similarly
equipped company in the world, the
men OF truck 6. who broke all records
! for fire truck companies by speeding
out OF thei'' quarters on alarm In
eight seconds. were last night pre-
! sented the Merchants and Manufac
| -ureTs' Association cup in token OF
! -hei" achtercmcnt.
! The ceremonies Of presentation
which were held a the conpany's sta
| ticn. on P3rl; road near Fourteenth
street, marked the end of the official
est recently held TO determiue tbs
| aler.nesS OF the District Of Columbia
Fire Department under typical emer
gene" conditions b. comparison with
he fire departments OF other cities.
Two Records Set.
The results Of the test were the es
abl'sflnlent by al least two companies
# records h II certainly never have
reer ecualed by an American FIRE
.onIpan dur ng in official test. and
/ is connden IS believed by those who
conduc ed the trials under exactly
the same conditions used. in other
large cities. constitute real world rec
ords for speed and alertnes3.
These We're the times made by
truck 6 and engine 90. the latter hav.
ing won The Evening Star cup by
beating all contenders when it flashed
out OF its quarters in las seconds
which lowered the best time ever
made b. Baltimore'S crack company
- almost three full seconds, and en-
led the company to claim the DIS
tinction OF being Americas fastest
Ere companr.
The feat OF Truck 6, however, was
almost more amazing than that of En-
sine %. Lieut.. 6. c. Fling command
ed the truck at the time the judges
arrived. Pvt. l.. W. Fitton drove and
Pvt. McNamee handled the tiller. The
apparatus is one of the department S
huge siX-wheel trucks, equipped with
self-starter and all modern appliances
To bring such a heavy machine clear
of it's quarters in s seconds is regard
ed by officials as feat that probably
will never be equaled.
Wins Cup Permanently.
Maj. Cen Anton Stephan. who rep
resented the Merchants and Manufac-
turers' Association as its vice presi-
dent, presented the cup to Commits
sioner Frederick A. Fenning, who in
turn handed 1t over to Capt. Ernest
Howard, commander Of the company.
The trophy becomes the permanent
property Of Truck 6, the Merchants
and Manufacturers Association hav-
ing announced its intention of present
ing a similar trophy to the fastest
truck Jay here each year.
In a brief address Gen. Stephan
compared the men Of the Fire Depart
ment to soldiers in time Of war: They
must always be ready-prepared to
take the firing line on seconds no
tice and ready to die in then tracks If
necessary to stem the advance of the
foe, he declared. And to accomplish
their work, both must be trained up
to the minute and alert for every sign
of danger, Gen. Stephan continued.
ITO the Merchants and Manufac'
turers' Association" he said, 1.-The
Fire Department holds a deep and
personal appeal. You men are guard
ing the very lives and the property OF
the citizens Of Washington, and we
are proud of you. / want to say that
v7e believe the wonderful achievement
of this company-the men Of Truck
6-has been an inspiration to the peo-
pie of Washington, and it is very
likely that the record you have estab-
ushed will never be eQualed.
1T is, therefore, with genuine pride.
Mr.. Commissioner, that I hand you
this cup, commemorating for all time
the work Of this company, and ask
YOU to present 1t to those who so de-
seryediy have won It. 1t now be-
comes the permanent property OF
Truck 6, and each year a duplicate
will be presented to the truck com
pany in Washington making the best
time. II you win again next year
you will get a second cup.
Fenning Praises Achievement.
Responding, Commissioner Fenning
said:
'It was a very generous act of the
Merchants and Manufacturers Asso
citation to donate this beautiful cup
TO the truck company establishing the
best record in the recent competition
This is similar to the cup recently
donated by The Evening Star News
paper CO. and won by an engine com
pany, The members OF the Mer
chants and Manufacturers Associa
ton live in this District and their
large business interests are cente1eo
here. 1t follows, therefore. that the
members of this association are par
tfcularly interested in the Fire De
partment, for 1t is to the Fire De-
partment that they look for the pro
lection of life and the preservation OF
property in times Of conf1agratlon
The fact that the Fire Department
has been rendering efficient service
is attested by the presentation of this
cup by the Merchants and Manutac
turers' Association.
I'm the fair competition recently
conducted the best record was made
by Truck Company No. 6. then under
the command of Lieut.. Fling. in max
ing a getaway from its house in eight
seconds. This record clearly shows
the alertness of this company. 1t In
dicates the company's responsiveness
to the call Of duty.
"As q. member of the Board OF Com
n,tssioners of the District OF Column
hia I accept this cup, Gen. stephan,