The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-12-28

nances. the fire marshal of Wa ;ferburv herin presents his annual report. dating from December ]. 1892. and ending with November 30, 1883. s...
 The essential duties of the office of the fire marshal are to provide against fire in the city, and to care for the safety and well-be1ng or the people of Waterbury. To. do this, the law decrees that he snali inquire into the manner Of using any building or room in the ety. and to regulate, so far as IS possl- ble. the attendance upon all places of assembly, such as theaters, assembly halls, churches, lodging houses. hotels, rooming houses public institutions where people are housed, and locally, at least, makes him responsible for the en- forcement of such laws pertaining to the same, even though there IS and must be a certain responslpli- ] ity assumed by the state police de- partment. ~ s,uo
 This branch of the city's fire , service has gone along with US 5 building inspections, assisted py various company members, TOT the } purpose of safeguarding the city against fire, and ordering and dl. lecting changes for the betterment af the building in question, in case ef fire. We have also inquired ln- to and personally inspected various fire escapes in some of the lme portant and larger structures ol the city. In several instances we have found them faulty, bolts worn and rusty, and the escape itsell loose and unsafe to use. Ihese have been bettered, under lnstruc- tions of the penalty attached to such vio1ations. In practically avery talk we have had with prop erfv owners. notwithstanding their financial losses of the past few years, they have compiled with . our written request to make this part of the building safe fol. usage 2 in case of necessity. only two complaints have been filed with the prosecuting attorneys, and m both cases, when the law was ex- plained, and they understood the situation better than they did al first, they gladly compiled with the reouests of this bureau. Numerous vacant buildings have been visited and inspected by us, in our effort to safeguard them against fire. Hotels have been inspected during the day and night season and the condition of the premises noted. The law provides and makes It obligatory for the hotel manage ment to have proper exits for the guests in case of fire or any other similar trouble. Tn some cases however, during the night season, we have found parked automoplles blocking a rear exit to a hotel, ana some of these owners have resent ed interference with a long stand ing custom; yet, they forget that such an obstruction is a violation of the law, and would in a serious case, cause them much trouble.
 Gasoline and Its Usage
 Notwithstanding the numerous statements given out of this office' we still find families using gaso- line in the cleaning of clothes. Such usage is dangerous to the person using 1t, and adds greatly to the risk of the household. NOW adays there are numerous cleaning solvents upon the market, ap- proved by the Board of Fire Un- derwriters, and classed as safe to use in the cleaning of clothes. our advice to the householder is not to buy gasoline for this purpose, and moi to allow it to be stored upon the premises. Furthermore, we have found various stores in the city selling it in pint and quart bottles and cans, when the fact IS, they have no legal right or permit to make such sales. Gasoline cam not be dispensed in Waterbury without a permit from the office Of the fire marshal. It's sale without such a permit carries with it a rather heavy penalty, which, in It. self. should be sufficient warning to violators of this particular law. Upon one occasion we found a painter removing wall paper with a gasoline steamer, so-called. He did this without the sanction or ap- proval of this office. Just after he started his work. the gasoline flowed over. reached a flame. and badly burned person who hap 'pened to be in the room. We have since prohibited their usage.
 Suspicious Fire
 We have had few suspicious fires during the past year. But we had