Douglas daily dispatch., 1928-03-11


making division of the population
comparatively young city, even in tht
William J. Nemeck, chief of the'
Douglas fire department, came with
in an eyelash of finishing in the
group of pioneers in Douglas that
belong to the class of iirst settlers
here. But he missed that, so
dropped into the class of pioneers
as indicated in the second group,
having become one of the pioneers
in building the municipal services.
so essential to the growth and de-
velopment of city. He came as a
pioneer in the development of the
fire department of the city and just
missed being the first and only
chief to date by a matter of one
year and three months. That was
ill luck, because it was due to sick
ness in his family. However, he
recommended the man who came as
the first chief, w. w. Armstrong.
Record Basis for Popularity.
The Douglas fire department has
been under the direction of Chief
Nemeck now, for little more than
10 years, and its record has been
so fair and so satisfactory to the
taxpayers and people generally that
if this were q position to which the
chief was elected by popular vote,
and this was the year in which to-
elect fire chief as well as presi
dent of the United States, it would
be a fair forecast that there might
be scramble, as is the case, for
the presidential nomination, but it
10 e,a1r NV nIoYp of
without waiting to hear teither from
Kansas City or Houston as to what
the republicans or democrats
thought about it.
Records of the fire department
hold the key to the statement that
the taxpayers are satisfied with
Chief Nemeck's handling of the de-
partment affairs The records COW
ering the period from Feb. /, 1909,
to Feb. /, 1928, an even 10 years,
show that the department responded
to 1860 alarms, or an average OF
SIS ga each year. Putting it on an
other peg, that would be approxi-
mately five a month for the entire
period. The fires causing those
1860 alarms did property damage
of $235,O65, or an average yearly
damage of but $12,372, which, for
a city the size of Douglas since
Nemeck took charge of the depart
ment, is regarded by insurance peo-
pie as an extremely low average.
The figures stated above do not
include the loss caused by the de-
struction of the Gadsden hotel, be-
cause that happened since, the last
date covered Feb. /. But putting
the Gadsden loss into the total it
still would be seen as a. favorable
record as to the average yearly loss
for the city.
His Doctrine of Procedure.
chief Nemeck makes no claim
that he is a wizard that possesses
any unusual charm when it comes
to controlling the flames or that he
uses any necromancy in the work of
fighting fires. He puts his record
on another and a, more sensible foot.
He contends that fire fighting must
be conducted according to carefully
thought out methods that are the
result of a combined experience Of
all departments, plus the best OBJ
tainable equipment that man has
produced. He contends, further,
thAr it u the duty of those apon
whose shoulders rest the responsi-
bli1ty of protecting the city against
losses by fire to keep abreast # 'he
tide by knowing what otaer cities
are doing ~ such work and that il
is the duty of the city to equip it,
department with the proper ma
chinery for fighting fires. And the
chief gives Douglas credit for hav-
ing enjoyed the services of men il
the councilmanic and mayoral Iosi-
tions who saw their duty a,onG ex-
actly those lines.
'Get them when they're young
and treat 'em rough" has been a
laugh-maker for the comedians in
vaudeville, but there is more than
a laugh in it when it comes to
fighting fires. That brief express
sion which may not be a classic in
literature, even though emphatical.
ly expressive, connotes with some
precision the views OF Chief Nemeck
as to the best means of handling
fires. Prompt action is the thought
he holds ever in mind. Getting his
men to the scene and getting those
operations in progress that viii