Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-29
Reasons Why Chiefs Cars
Must Make Speed to Fires

The accident last Tuesday, in which
q Young woman was killed by fire
chiefs motor, is deplorable in its re-
suits, both with respect to the tragic
outcome and to the possible effect 1t
may have on the morale and activities
of The fire department. 1t is certain
that no greater feeling of sorrow will
be found than is present among the
membership of the department. Only
those who come into more or less
familiar association with the men OF
the department can learn the under
lying thoughts of these men as they go
about their daily duties. During one
of the false alarm epidemics one of
the men expressed the thought in this
fashion:
Each time we leave the house in
answering a box call, we go with no
certainty of return; some auto or be-
wildered pedestrian may block our way
and in attempting to avoid disaster
the driver may run into pole. a
tree or other obstruction at high speed;
a tire may give way with disastrous
results, due TO speed and heavy weight
of the apparatus; wet spot on the
street may lead to capsize. These
are but a few Of the conditions we
face when running to the box, and are
present with each run We make"
These are conditions present in an
swering the call end do not consider
the hazards Of the fire itGeIf-they
are the conditions which none OF us
coneider-We think more of the
conditions 90 the FIRE ITSELF. And vet,
in line of dirty, these men are on the
n,,i v!!e every n7inufe Of the d7v and
ni2hr, ~ 'nsied - take The cnancc-
80 the .,aie'V q; life su1 properly o.
tie people OF Washington.
It Is safe to say that had there been
the opportunity to swerve the buggy"
(the term used to distinguish the car
of the chief away from the inpend-
ing catastrophe, the action would have
been taken by the driver without
moments thought of the possible result
to himself or chief-and he would have
been commended by his chief for the
action. That is the spirit of the men
of the department, as has been made
manifest repeatedly. Frequently. on re-
turns from runs. the conversation has
turned to lucky escapes" and the re-
marks indicated the course which had
or would have been followed.
1t is because of this that such an
accident affects the morale. The fear
may have become dulled because of the
carefulness of the past~-the reality Of
the present accident brings the ineVi-
table result. it IS not the fear Of the
fire hazerds--it is the fear that life
may be taken in reaching the scene of
the fire. These men are trained to
save life, and not take it-even though
it involves personal sacrifice. And be-
cause Of this we can glimpse the depth
of sorrow present-life has been taken
instead of being saved.
In your admirable editorial of We'd
nesday, statement was made suggest
ing that the car of the chief be made
subordinate to the apparatus for traffic
conditions. since the question of time
seemed unimportant; I am inclined to
think the suggestion was made through
possible misunderstanding of conditions
The details of the f1re-f1ghting system
are not generally known and under
stood, and we may be led to wrong i'm
preSsions if We depend simply on the
visible aspects presented by the appara-
tus dashing along the streets, or in serv-
ice at the scene of the fire.
Each alarm box falls within the
three-company of the accompany
status-the selection depending on the
danger possibilities of a rapid spread
of the fire. The company boxes
call out three engine companies, a truck,
a chief, and, in some cases, the rescue
squad; the four-company boxes add a
fourth engine company, an additional
truck and an additional chief. These
respond to the first alarm Since each
engine company includes two pieces of
apparatus, the call places at least
pieces OF apparatus on the streets at
once-and this may be increased to Is
pieces with the company boxes
.fsrf,~r
takes the fire" and takes the closest
plug. The responding companies ar
rive generally within range of few
minutes, excepting where succession
OF alarms brings up the matter of fill
ing In" conditions.
AS the remaining companies arrive
they take plugs as close as can be
found, in case of service. And. where
the fire Is such as to call for two or
more companies to go into service, it
becomes obvious that some system
must be used in fighting the fire: each
company is commanded by a captain,
lieutenant or sergeant, fully qualified to
handle the work of the company-and
needed for this service-and no hap
hazard method of leaving the COM
pany to decide for itself the work it
Is to perform could bring successful
results. Some officer Is needed to di-
rect the activities of the companies; to
coordinate the work of the separate
companies into an efficient machine
and this must be done without delay,
since the first few moments of attack
may determine the question of a small
ire or a conflagration. This is the work
OF the battalion chief, since no company
commander, located at specific point,
could determine the strategic positions
or other companies without affecting
the command of his own company.
From this 1t can be understood why
1t is essential that the chief reach the
scene of the fire as quickly as possible.
His quarters may be far from the scene,
but, unless he is present to take COM
mand as the additional companies ar
rive, the haphaZard conditions would
prevail until his arrival, and with pos
Sibly dangerous results. His car may
need to travel the greatest distance of
all OF the apparatus, but his presence
is needed as the supporting companies
arrive, and sufficiently early for him to
make that rapid survey of possibilities
which will enable him to start his at
tack most efficiently: he may find the
need OF changing his plans because of
unseen conditions, but he must make
that initial decision at once and sta
ton the men accordingly. Only the
highest training enables this to be
done efficiently. and the chiefs are
picked men for this service. This is
why We see the chiefs car dashing
ahead OF other apparatus-why he is
equipped with light. high-powered
car. and given the right of way over
other apparatus. He must be on the
scene to fashion his machine as the
machine parts-in the form of the COM
panies-arrive in response to the alarm
An additional duty is placed on the
chief because of this condition-the
determination as to the need of help
through the use of additional alarms
He cannot base his decision simply on
alarm has stripped
the neighborhood of its apparatus, and