The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-10-12
le location Id knoNrn ii1stantly.

ing through the streets they won- der just what is on fire and any, how, they travel too fast they say. But just wait until your own home is on fire and then note how long 1t takes for the Fire Dept. to ar- rive. A minute is an hour for people waiting for apparatus at time of fire; the first ten minutes is most important and the next ten will certainly determine just what is ahead for the fighting Firemen. At this point, let us reiterate that Wa terbury has an exceptional fire dept; we are able to again prove our point by the record of the year. We take no credit for the accomp- lishments of the fire fighting unit, because we are not identified with that branch of the service. But we have seen them in action, and we know what they have done not only in the past year, but for many years. The rank and file of our Dept, we mean the fellows in the lower brackets, are strong and able men, 50 of the lot being pre- Pearl Harbor fathers, and just now sub- ject to induction, the same as the younger lot, fathers since Pearl Harbor. A dozen or IS of the rnen- bership is in the armed service and more are on their way. But we have 6 substitute or Call force, combined with the auxiliary force who will take their place for the time being or until they are named permanently to the Dept. You should know when fire takes place Chief Cavanaugh is the command ing officer, and when the chief is not present, you'll find either Deputy Chier Martin Campion, Deputy Chief Bloomfield or acting Deputy Joseph J. Kelly. These are the men charged with the respon- sibility of handling the fire. No one has any right to question them in any action assumed for stopping the progress of that particular fire; they are the supreme authority once fire breaks out in your premises and the Dept. is called, no other Dept. for any cause has any right on that property, unless with the consent and approval of the Chief or his Deputy. This is the law in the premises. And unless this were the law, we would find a muddling of affairs that might bring about a condition bordering on @ great conflagration. There can be only one head in fighting a fire of great consequences, the Deputies report to their Chief, and in this way, the head of the Dept. knows the exact status of the fire, and its pos- abilities, at all times. and issues his orders accordingly.
 The causes of fire might interest you; they should anyway. Cigarette butts stand out in that they figured in A, fires, some of which brought about a serious loss. We have found from our investigations that num- Der of people went to bed with lighted cigarets in their mouths; that they dozed of, and then the lighted butt set fire to the mattress of the bed; and in several instances we have found where these same people had been drinking and were in a condition bordering on drunk enness. But try and prove it; we have not yet been able to do this, and when we did produce some evidence, the higher court found we were mistaken, and entered a nolle. However, few there are here. who try to start fire in a building, most of our fires are due to care less. rather than an intentional act. People express sorrow when we find they are the cause of some fire. and are very penitent. They didn't mean any harm and we believe them. They forget; they smoke in pubyic places, when there are signs forbidding 1t. And then when we speak to them, as a rule they be- come excited and throw their light ed butts away, forgetting to block them. However, we all have our faults and we cannot be too critical.
 Every owner should seek out the fire hazards of his property: and make plans to eliminate them; heating plants from furnace to chimney should be thoroughly cleaned and checked; wall surfaces adjacent to furnaces should be pro- tected against the danger of over heating; electrical equipment should always be disconnected iEnmediately after using: gasoline should never be used for home dry cleaning: many pretty young women have been disfigured by reason Of the friction created ignltlng tho fumes: accumulations of rubbish. old flirfii- tlare. mattresses. in closets and attic and basement are Ilable to spQn- iananals saQlllnn. aNd nlaQ loea ffe1