Evening star., 1943-01-17
Lands Says District
Agreed 10 Provide
Trucks for Fire Pumps
Follows Disclosure
81, 900 Worth Is Stored
For Lock Of Equipment

In the wake of the disclosure that
more than $4,000 worth of auxil-
iary pumps for the Districts fire.
fighters is in storage here for lack
OF trucks and hose parts, Director
James M. Lands of the Office of
Civilian Defense yesterday pointed
out the District had agreed to fur
nish the trucks if it got the pumps,
A spokesman for the District Fire
Department said it had not yet been
able to locate vehicles strong enough
to stand the 1,400-pound weight of
the "skid-mount" pumps.
Since the pumps have to be
Installed on the trucks with a crane,
he pointed out, they could not be
taken on and off at will. He said
he had spent several weeks looking
for District trucks that could be
spared on full-time basis but as
yet had not been able to find any
Landis Cites Agreement.
In requesting the pumps, Mr..
Lands said the District had signed
a formal agreement to provide ap-
propriate equipment for such pumps
to assure mobility of such equip
ment." Mr. Lands added that al
though many communities through
out the country have acquired the
use of trucks for these pumps, the
District has not done so.
Questions about the agreement,
addressed to the Commissioners.
were referred to Paul Keen, former
chief property inspector of the Dis
trict and local OCD property clerk.
Mr.. Keen said there was no rush
about finding trucks, since all the
connections for the pumps had not
yet arrived but, once the fittings
come. he said, he assumed that the
District could take care of the
pumps. The District, he added,
has a lot of trucks
Allotments of pumps to the Dis
trict, originally based on the 1910
population census. were increased
to take into consiG ton the ex-
panded population Oh the past year
Districts Allotment.
AS the allotment now stands, the
District gets So skid-mount pumps,
including II for Fairfax County,
Va: SO of the trailer type pumps and
% of the front mount pumps, the
least expensive of the three types
Of pumps. Skid-mounts cost $3.50
each and the trailer type, $500.
Other points made by Mr.. Lands
In his statement were:
/. That the $4,000 feet of 212 Inch
hose with couplings delivered to the
District last September would fit
its hydrants without further ad-
justment,
2. That the skid-mount pumps
would be presently usable" in the
District with the 21a Inch hose if
the pumps were put on trucks.
3. That the 24,000 feet of IL inch
hose Is not usable at present and
will not be until delivery can be
made of "Y" couplings, now being
manufactured, which will permit
the extension Of two Ia inch hose
lines from one 21a Inch hydrant or
pump outlet.
Critical Areas Served First.
4. That there aresparts of the
country considered more critical
than the District and shipments of
these ''Y'' couplings are being made
TO those points first.
S. That it is impossible to arrange
delivery of all equipment to any
point at any particular time, be-
+ cause of vast differences in manu-
featuring and priority conditions.
s. That trailer pumps are coming
off the production line more slowly
than skid mount pumps because of
more difficult manufacturing con-
ditions and are being delivered to
communities in order of their i'm
portance as potential enemy targets
but that the District will get its
own in due course"
7. That the 500 firemen's turn
out" coats, costing approximately
$1,000, delivered to the District, were
described by the Office of the quar-
termaster general of the War De-
partment, which procured them, as
being highly water repellent" that
there was no claim that they we're
waterproof, but that they were man
ufactured of 11.6-ounce twill COM
parable with the regular issue Army
field jacket.
Director Lands also said such
missing parts as suction sleeves and
hose nozzles are similar to those
already owned by the District and
that the ones the District has can
be used on the 2ia Inch hose with
out adapters. Both the suction
sleeves, which draft water, and the
hose nozzles are in production, the
OCD director said.