THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS.

By
-

THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS.

Chief Thomas O’Connor of New Orleans will accept our thanks for an invitation to his silver wedding, which event was celebrated on January 4 at his home, No. 130 Julia street. We congratulate the chief upon the attainment of this happy event in his career, with the hope that he and his good wife will live to celebrate the golden era of their married life.

Chief R. H. Ball of Portland, Me., is desirous that we correct the report that great injury happened to his apparatus in collision with an electric car. The accident, which was a slight one, occurred to the coal pan of Engine No. 4, which bumped into a horse car when the driver turned his team out of the tracks. Some picturesque liar in Portland sent out a blood curdling horror that quite naturally made the chief indignant.

Fire Marshal Mitchell of New York has made to the board of fire commissioners an informal report of the work of the department in extinguishing fires, of losses sustained, insurances, convictions for arson, etc., for the year 1893, up to and including December 30. The force on the latter date comprised 1058 officers and men ; engine companies (including fire boats), 58 ; hook and ladder companies, 22 ; steam fire engines, 92 ; fire boats, 3 ; water towers. 4 ; hook and ladder trucks, 34 ; horses, 405. There were during the year 4132 fires, of which 2763 were extinguished without an engine stream. Of these 1389 caused only nominal damage, 700 did slight damdamage, 177 wrought extensive damage and 31 destroyed the building or buildings in which they started. The estimated loss occasioned was $5,630,937, against 15,060,973, the estimated damage in 1892. The insurance involved was $80,447,194, against $86,517,865 last year. Tne average loss per fire is placed at $1,362.42, against $1,261.77 a year ago. There were 259 telegraph poles and 132 miles of wire taken down during the year.

We extend the compliments of the season to brother Emile Boulier of Louisville, wh® has just been reappointed secretary of the fire department.

There is considerable talk in the Oranges, N. J., over the action of the Orange Fire Department xegarding a fire that occurred in a house on Valley road,West Orange, on Wednesday morning. Chief llodgkinson of Orange, it is said, refused to lend the aid of the Orange Department on account of the treatment that the fire committee of the Orange common council had received from the West Orange township committee when the matter of fire protection for the township was first talked of. The committee held several meetings, but no conclusion was arrived at. Later one of the members of the township committee of West Orange said that Orange wanted a chemical engine and wanted West Orange to pay for it. This and the statement made after the fire at Max Brodesser’s house on Valley road a few months ago, that West Orange could get along without the aid of the Orange Department, caused the trouble. Chief llodgkinson then, it is said, replied that the time would come when he would be asked to aid the township, and then it would be shown how his services in West Orange in past years has been appreciated. The matter has caused considerable talk.

At Hammond, Ind., on January 6, fire caused a loss of $15,000. Within the past four weeks fire has destroyed property in this city valued at nearly $300,000, and this one, as has been the case in all, was the work of an incendiary.

The annual meeting of the Charlestown (Mass.) Volunteer Firemen’s Association was held Saturday evening. The treasurer reported the society in a flourishing condition. Ex-Alderman P. J. Donovan declined re-election as president, he having already served four years in that capacity, and Representative J. J. McCarthy was unanimously elected in his stead.

The loss at the big Toledo fire is much smaller than was first reported. The fire demonstrated beyond doubt that Toledo needs a fire boat.

Chief Hunt’s annual report of the operations of the Seattle Fire Department for the year 1893 is a voluminous document, the principal features of which deal at length with the fire department work for the year. 1’he recommendations made were considered timely, though no action in the way of adoption was taken, the report being referred to a committee of the whole for closer examination. The report, which also embraces the annual report of the city electrician, may be added to and modified in some respects, and will be published in pamphlet form as the work of the commission. Chief Hunt’s estimate of the cost of maintaining the department for February, i8q4, including salaries, light, repairs, fuel, rent of telephones and miscellaneous, is $7314. To this sum the board recommends the addition of $7500 for the erection of a new engine house at Taylor street and Yesler avenue, the work to be done under the supervision of Architect Saunders. Commissioners Kahaley and Jones were appointed a committee by Mayor Ronald to prepare an ordinance providing for the creation of a graded (first, second and third-class firemen) fire department. New men entering the department will, for the first year, be graded as third-class firemen and paid accordingly. With the second year’s service they are promoted both in rank and salary, and so on. It was the sense of the board that Chief Hunt should be granted the privilege of attending the convention of the Pacific coast fire chiefs, to be held in San Francisco during the month of February, and he was accordingly voted a leave of absence from February 1 to March 1.

Our Manchester (N. H.) correspondent writes: Another new manufacturing industry, employing a number of hands, will be located here as soon as a site for a factory can be obtained. The concern will manufacture the Emergency chemical hand fire extinguisher, which has hitherto been manufactured by a company in Lowell, the head of which was S. M. Stevens, the inventor and patentee. A number of Manchester’s capitalists have formed a stock company with a paid-up capital of $5000, and will bring the concern here. The incorporators are W. M. Butterfield, A. D. Huntoon, C. H. Nudd and C. A. Herbert, F. D. Atwood and S. M. Stevens.

Our correspondent at Ogden, Utah, writes: Christmas at the fire station was a season of great rejoicing. The boys took advantage of the occasion to present their worthy chief with a handsome silver carving set in a beautiful case bearing a suitable inscription. The way in which the presentation was made was highly amusing. On Christmas eve Chief Binford had gone up town in company with Mayor Lundy. Assistant Chief Levy telephoned to the chief to return to the central station at once, as there was a free fight going on among the boys. The chief, accompanied by Mayor Lundy, rushed back to the station, and entering with a fierce look in his eye, he demanded to know the cause of the disturbance. The disturbance only began then. Mayor Lundy, in a brief speech, made the presentation, and the boys went wild with delight. The Mayor’s speech was loudly applauded, and Chief Binford was given an enthusiastic reception when he made his reply. The chief then set up the cigars, and compliments were exchanged all round. Last night Chief Binford entertained the boys to a banquet, and presented each member of the department with a beautiful silk handkerchief.

Thomas Dwyer, captain of Engine Company No. 15, Kansas City. Mo., located at the stock yards, met with a fatal accident at the engine house last week. An alarm of fire had been turned in from the Grant, Bragg & Co. candy factory at the corner of 1’enth and Hickory streets, and Captain Dwyer and Hoseman John Crane mounted the hose reel and headed the company in response to the alarm. Dwyer was caught by the large ring at the end of the rope which lifts the harness from the backs of the horses when a hitch is made. He was pulled to the ground as the hose reel was about to go out of the engine house, and fell in such a way that the wheel of the reel passed over his stomach, inflicting internal injuries from which he died in half an hour. Hoseman Crane was struck on the left side of the head and sustained an ugly bruise. Dwyer’s face was slightly scratched from the effects of coming in contact with the hoisting apparatus.

In his annual message to the Passaic (N. J.) council. Mayor Brown criticises the fire methods of that city, and thinks there ought to be a paid department. The management he says is bad, and has been growing worse for years.

The annual convention of the Nebraska State Association will be held at Beatrice on January 16. 17 and 18.

Mayor Rutter of Lawrence, Mass., nominated Michael F. Collins as second assistant engineer of the fire department and the aldermen. 4 to r, rejected the appointment. The Mayor is at present a member of the board of fire engineers, and he desired Mr. Collins to succeed him. The Mayor told the aidermen that he would continue to act as a fire engineer, and, while holding the office of Mayor, at the same time run to fires.

The board of finance of Jersey City has refused to appropriate money for the establishment and maintenance of a paid fire department. The fire commissioners announce that a paid department would be established whether the money was appropriated or not. Corporation Counsel Brinckerhoff notified the board that if the fire commissioners pursued such a course, they were liable to indictment. Mayor VVanser threatens the commissioners with removal if they appoint men before money is raised for the payment of their salaries.

Water Witch Fire Company of Wilmington, Del., have just erected a house at a cost of about $10,000, which was dedicated by the representatives of the fire department on Thursday evening, December 19.

The Mayorof Lynn, Mass., writes: The firedepartment maintains its high rank in point of efficiency and equipment. The city has been fortunate during the year in escaping any large fires. The roll of the department consists of a chief engineer, four assistant engineers, seventy-four permanent men and 101 call men. The department has sixty horses under its control and thirteen fire houses in use. The apparatus and appliances consists of six steamers, eleven hose carriages, four trucks, two chemical engines, one protective wagon and 22 000 feet of hose. A water tower was purchased by the committee on fire department of 1892, and it was added to the fire apparatus last year. The expenditure for this department was $141,818.95.

The total loss by fire in Janesville, Wis., during the year 1893 was $7,2×5.56, which is covered by an insurance of $6,257.56, leaving the uninsured loss only $958. Chief Engineer Spencer has completed his annual report to the common council, giving the above facts. The report states that there were fifty-one alarms during the year, besides two still alarms ; that in responding to these alarms the department traveled thirty-five miles, laid 36.350 feet of hose, raised 642 feet of ladders, and that the department was in actual service thirtythree hours and thirty-five minutes. Chief Spencer gives some valuable statistics in relation to fire losses, premiums paid, and insurance ratings, urging that Janesville insurance rates should be lowered. He covers a period of five years, since the establishment of the water-works and the reorganization of the fire department. According to these tables Janesville has paid the insurance companies in five years the sum of $266,148 21 in premiums ; ‘during the same time the insurance companies have paid losses amounting to only $32,022.99, leaving a balance of $234,125.22. Insurance statistics show Wisconsin as an unprofitable State, her losses being above the average, and, with one exception, her percentage compared with premiums paid being 61.1, while the general average of the whole United States is only 56.5.

The firewards of Newport, R. I., have made their report. The department consists of a chief engineer, four assistant engineers, known as the board of firewards, and 131 firemen ; in all 136 men, ten of whom are permanently employed. There are five steamers with reels, two reels, a hook and ladder truck and an emergency wagon. The losses by fire during the year were $7,507.60, all but $200 of which was secured by insurance.

The town board of Newtown, L. I., at a meeting held Saturday afternoon, accepted the proposition made by the recently organized water-works company of that town to furnish 100 fire hydrants at a cost of $25 each per year. The company agrees to place an additional 100 hydrants for $20 each and for a third 100 at $15. At present Newtown, although it has a well-organized fire department, has no public water supply, and the insurance companies exact a high rate on all the business they take. The water company will immediately place the hydrants.

At Yonkers, N. Y., steps are being taken to have fixed appropriations made during this new year for the support of the fire department and the board of health. Both have hitherto been supported by drafts on the contingent fund, which during 1893 became exhausted.

Chief II. L. Marston of Brockton. Mass., sends a copy of his annual report. From the annual appropriation and other sources the department had $45,530.71 at its command. It expended $41,826.62, transferred to other departments $1350 and has a balance on hand of $2,354.09. This is the best financial showing the department has made for several years. The salaries of the permanent men aggregated $21,070.67, and of the call men $7,807.82. The apparatus is in good condition and the department houses are all right, except that the chief recommends that the stable at the central station be sheathed up to make it warmer. There are twenty-eight permanent men and twenty-four horses connected with the department and it owns x 1,000 feet of hose. There were nine accidents during the year, none fatal. The Firemen’s Relief Association has paid out $2,619.25 in benefits since its organization in 1887. Last year it paid out $695.75. There were 111 alarms of fire during the year. The value of the property where fires occurred, including contents, was $1,119,759 ; insurance on the same, $842,745 ; loss on same, $72,706.36 ; amount of insurance paid, $61,928.36.

Chief Melvin Beal of Lawrence, Mass., has just made up his report for 1893. Whole number of alarms for the year. 107; value of buildings and contents, $369,450; amount of insurance, $209,764; damage to buildings and contents, $22,633.63; amount of insurance paid, $20,463.63 ; total loss over insurance, $2170; total expenses for the year, $35,140.03; pay roll, $25,620,75; running expenses, $9,519.28; assessed valuation of property, $32,240,000. Manual force—Permanent and uniformed men ; Chief engineer, 1; captain, 1; lieutenant,1; drivers of engines, trucks and chemical, 5; drivers of hose wagons, 4; chief’s driver, 1; spare drivers and hosemen, 3; chemical pipemen, 2; total, 18. Call men: Engineers, 2; captains, 4; lieutenants, 4; enginemen, 4; assistant enginemen, 4; hosemen, 28; laddermen, 13; substitutes, 19; total, 78.

The Decatur (Ill.) volunteer firemen are making active efforts to secure the holding of the next Illinois State firemen’s tournament in Decatur. Committees have been appointed and merchants are responding liberally to provide a purse of $1500 for cash prizes. The locating committee will meet at Effingham next Tuesday to decide the question. Decatur will have two delegates at the meeting.

An insurance agent at Montgomery, Ala., writes : “ Something should be done toward the education of the members of the fire department. They fight every fire as would some village department, throwing water without regard to the character of stock even after the fire has been controlled. In some instances they tried to force open the fire doors and shutters of exposing buildings, displaying a lamentable ignorance of the value of this protection. It has been charged that the firemen were drinking heavily during the recent fire, but this has not been sustained, though it was commonly rumored. With the high taxes, poor construction and dirty condition of many buildings, I am satisfied there never will be much money made in this town. Careless underwriting, however, was responsible for the small loss we sustained.”

Columbus, O., has purchased a water tower from the Fire Extinguisher Manufacturing Company of Chicago for $4500.

Mrs. Elizabeth Brown, wife of Chief Joseph Brown of the Elizabeth (N. J.) Fire Department, died suddenly January 7 at her .home. No. 121 Broad street.

Alderman Perry of Utica, N. Y., has prepared a bill to authorize the police and fire commissioners to obtain from the city $15,000 for immediate use to procure new apparatus; also increasing the police and fire fund to $70,000 per year.

With reference to the precautions which are taken to prevent the destruction by fire of the snow sheds of the Central Pacific Railway, a correspondent of The Scientific American says that in addition to the usual provisions for safety, “a watchman is located high up the mountain side, at Cisco, from which vantage ground he has in view almost the entire line of these forty odd miles of sheds. Part of his apparatus consists of a dial, with a pointer so arranged that in case of fire at night, by bringing the pointer in line with the blaze and then consulting the dial, he is at once able to locate the fire and give the alarm to the fire train at Summit. The enormous cost of the structure causes the company to take every precaution to guard against its destruction.”

The annual report of chief of the Columbia (S. C.) hire Department,Vandy Myers, is out. He reports thirty-six alarms during the past year, with losses estimated at $25,000. He urges the granting of a request from the Palmetto Company for a new horse, and of the Columbia Company for a new ceiling in its engine house. The only big fires were the burning of the Haskell mansion and Sidney park church, the losses on the two being $24,000 out of the $25,000 estimated.

The Hoboken (N. J.) board of fire commissioners at their last meeting rescinded a recent resolution giving Clerk Kirschner and Sergeant-at-Arms Alderetta annual presents of $100 and $25 each. The action of the board was prompted by Mayor Fagan, who insisted that they had no right to give these annual presents.

On Saturday as Chief Kennedy of New Haven was tilted back in his swivel chair at fire headquarters, the mechanism snapped and he was thrown backward, striking on his head and neck. He was knocked senseless, but soon revived.— Westporter.

Chief Downing of Lynn in his next report will recommend that his first assistant be made a permanent officer, and that two first-class engines and two chemical engines be added to the service.

Haverhill, Mass., claims to have removed its fire service from politics. Chief Gordon contemplates but few changes this year. The expenses last year amounted to $41,100.16, against $32,793 in 1892. The fire loss last year was $36,671.53.

Lowell has maintained its high rank in point of efficiency the past year, and has not had any disastrous fires. The service consists of a chief, 4 district chiefs, 74 permanent men and 100 call men. The apparatus consists of 6 engines, II hose wagons, 4 trucks, 2 chemicals, 1 water tower and 1 salvage wagon. The expense for the past year amounted to $141,818.95.

Saco, Me., had one solitary fire last year.

The fire service of Pawtucket, R. I., cost $15,600 last year, which included a new truck at a cost of $1700. The estimate this year for fire department purposes is $18,500.

Mayor Olney of Providence, in his inaugural address last week, says: “ I am convinced that the time has arrived when the force should be composed of entirely permanent men. There are but 54 call men in the service and they should be transferred to the permanent force without delay. Providence, with a population of 150,000 and with increasing fire hazards, has certainly outgrown the combination system of a permanent and call force.” He favors the appointment of a practical board of fire commissioners and a pension system.

It is estimated that Boston’s fire service will require $1,035,000 for expenses this year.

Truck 1 of Everett, Mass., is to be rigged for a three-horse hitch.

Springfield (Mass.) firemen have had an increase of pay.

Somerville, Mass., will have a new fire station and a chemical engine this year.

J. H. Roberts of Lynn, Mass., has been appointed a district chief.

The salary of the chief engineer of Fitchburg, Mass., has been fixed at $1000 a year.

Mayor Batchelderof Everett, Mass., has appointed Columbus Corey chief engineer.

Ex-Chief Hough of Malden, Mass., has been appointed a fire commissioner in that city.

Mayor Turner of Salem recommends the sale of the new truck and the purcase of a chemical engine.

A new first-class engine, hose wagon and truck will be added to Fall River’s fire service this year, and all captains are to be made permanent men.

New Bedford, Mass., has come to the conclusion that it needs a chemical engine.

Chief Marchant of Gloucester desires to have the fire alarm telegraph extended and asks for 2000 feet 6T new hose.

The appropriation for Brockton, Mass., will have to be increased this year as another steamer and a new house for it are wanted. The expenses last year were $72,706.

Taunton firemen responded to eighty-five alarms last year. The losses will be found not to exceed $15,000. The committee on fire department reports an unexpended balance of $3.14 of last year’s appropriation.

The annual report for Kansas City shows that the total loss incurred by fire during the year was $763,715, of which $253,928 was on buildings and $509,786 on contents. The insurance involved in these losses amounted to $4,970,000. Of the 749 alarms, eighty-five were due to the explosion of gasoline stoves, 120 were from unknown causes, forty-five were of supposed incendiary origin and ninety-seven were due to defective flues and flues burning out. Nineteen persons were burned by exploding gasoline, three of whom died. Seven persons were burned by carelessness with fire, four of whom died. Water alone was used in extinguishing 230 of the fires. 547 streams being employed, chemicals alone were used in 257 cases. Six fires were smothered with blankets and sixty-two were extinguished with buckets of water alone.

Chief of the Bureau of City Property Eisenhower of Philadelphia has in contemplation the erection of a number of new fire stations during the coming year. So far he has settled upon four, one at Otsego and Moore streets, another at Twenty-sixth and York, another on Fourth above Girard avenue, and the fourth at Twenty-first and Market street. That at Fourth and Girard avenue will be built to accommodate an engine and a hook and ladder company as well as a district engineer, while that at Twenty-first and Market streets will accommodate an engine, a truck, a chemical engine and the water tower, which it is proposed to introduce, and a district engineer.

Rutland has instituted the first paid fire department in Vermont. Two hose wagons, recently purchased, have arrived.

At the annual meeting of Middlebury, Vt., January 3, C. A. Piper was elected chief engineer of the fire department, and B. B. Hope, water commissioner. The matter of selecting an assistant engineer was left to the village trustees and chief.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS.

By
-

THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS.

The first fire of any magnitude at Pulaski, Fla., occurred on December 24, the Osborn House being destroyed by flames. The fire was of incendiary origin, and when the department, under Chief J. Q. Buchheit, arrived a rousing conflagration confronted them. With rare good judgment Chief Buchheit massed his forces and confined the fire to the hotel. The danger to adjoining property was very great at times, and well calculated to discourage the firemen. The chief was so well satisfied of the origin of the fire that he began an investigation, which resulted in the arrest of one A. W. Moss, who was indicted and put under bail. The recent re-election of Chief Buchheit shows that the people know when they have a good man in their service.

Our Oakland (Cal.) correspondent writes : “ The name of L). D. Hayes is known all over the land because he is the inventor of the Hayes extension tire ladder which is in use in many of the fire departments in this country. Dan resides in Oakland and is considered possessed of a healthy “ wad ” in bank. He is naturally inclined to speculate in anything that flavors of fire department, and a few months before the big firm of J. W. Girvin & Co.-dealers in hose, rubber goods, etc., in San Francisco, with a branch house in Oakland-failed, Dan was offered a chance to get an interest in the Oakland house at a cheap figure, lie put up his note for $2500, and when Girvin & Co. failed the note was assigned to V. D. Foote with the other assets of the defunct firm. Foote has sued Hayes to recover payment on the note. But Hayes don’t propose to be downed without an effort, so he will put in an answer in which he alleges that Girvin well knew he was insolvent when he sold Hayes the half interest, that he didn’t get any interest in the firm nor a dollar out of it. Hayes even denies there was ever such a firm as J. W. Girvin & Co.

The action of the Pottsville (Pa.) council at its last meeting has not given the expected assurance of continued first-class fire protection, and the four big companies feel that the borough council has not acted in good faith. These companies have done, and are ready to do, the bulk of the fire service. Their expenses arc far beyond the appropriation they receive, and council’s committee on finance has reported that their request for an increase is just. In the face of all this council appointed a committee ©f seven to meet a representative from each company in the town, to try to do, what ? Three of the companies in town do not need any increase. They do not now need what they receive, for they have never yet expended their appropriation in legitimate fire service expenses. The four companies with horses have for many months been meeting council committees and laying before them the actual state of their financial affairs, and pleading for an increase. They alone need it, for they have been paying out of their own pockets the necessary funds to maintain their high standing of efficiency. Perhaps a solution of the problem would be the reorganization of the department on a permanent basis.

The loss by fire in the city of Boston last year was $5,300,000, and all but about five per cent of it fell upon the insurance companies.

There were 308 fire alarms in Newark, N. J., last year. The total fire losses will amount to about $350,000. The fire losses by months are as follows: January, $40,000; February, $17,000 ; March, $16,000; April, $i3,ooo; May, $50,000; June, $23,000; July, $20,000; August, $45,000; September, $4000; October, $55,000; November, $11,000; December, $60,000.

The Troy Observer says : It is to be hoped that when the estimate is made up this year that the board of fire commissioners will place in it sums sufficient for the purchase of, at least, one new first-class engine, a water tower, more hose, a new hook and ladder truck, and the building of a new truck house in the lower part of the city. Money for some of these things has been previously asked for, but has always been disallowed by the board of estimate. These are much needed essentials, and the board of estimate should carefully consider these items before they pass upon them, for it is believed that by their disallowance the department will be sadly crippled. The particular weak spot in our fire service is caused by only having one hook and ladder truck, and this has long been recognized by the chief of engineers, who have in their annual reports for years recommended the purchase of a second truck. There is no question but a city the size of Troy should have two trucks.

Our Dayton (O.) correspondent writes : It is doubtful whether the citizens of Dayton and owners of property possess the proper realization of the nature of the protection they receive at the hands of the Dayton Fire Department. Although it is generally conceded that excellent work is done by the department, it is not infrequent that criticisms are heard during the progress of a fire. If such persons were given the opportunity of comparing the work of this department to that of other cities, a little more caution would in all probability be exercised before venturing harsh judgments. July, 1880, marks the date of the growth of the Dayton Department. Prior to this time it was comparatively a small affair, and extremely limited in its strength and usefulness. It was in 1880 that an enterprising board, consisting of John S. Miles, J. K. Mclntire and E. L). Pryor, took charge of the department, and brought to this city D. C. Larkin, placing him at the head, which position he has ever since filled with credit to himself and in a manner satisfactory to the community. At this time the department consisted of 11 horses, worn out from long service ; 1600 feet of hose, 29 fire alarm boxes, 19 regular men, 6 hose reels, r engine and 6 houses. Since that date the growtti has been gradual and rapid, until at the present time there are 12 fully equipped houses, 110 fire alarm boxes, 65 regularly employed men, 33 horses, 20,450 feet of hose, XI hose wagons, 4 hose reels, 4 fire engines, 3 hook and ladder wagons, 2 chemical engines and other equipments, which aggregate a total value of $177,952. The work accomplished by the department is in no way more forcibly illustrated than by a comparison with other cities, and this comparison is enabled by the statistics of fires in American cities having a population of 50,000 and upward. The statistics for 1891 and 1892 place Dayton at the head of the list with a loss per capita for 1891, of 55 cents, and for 1892, of 68 per cent. Cincinnati, which rightfully boasts of a first-class and fully equipped department, in 1891 sustained a loss per capita of $5-37, and in 1892 a loss of $3.20. In nearly all the cities named, the loss per capita ranges from $1 to $5 per inhabitant. The number of fires in Dayton as shown by the statistics is equal, and in many instances in excess, of those cities where the losses are two and three times as large. These figures are in themselves sufficient to justify the statement that the Dayton Department is giving excellent service, and merits the praise of the community.

With commendable zeal and a readiness to help peculiar to their calling, the paid members of the Paterson (N. J.) Fire Department have decided to each give one day’s pay toward the relief of the poor, the amount to be turned over to the citizens’ committee. There are about sixty-six paid firemen connected with the department, not including the chief and his assistants. These men will average over $3 per day, which will amount to over $200. The matter has been agitated among the firemen for several days past, and met with a ready acquiescence from the crews of all the engines. The matter came to a focus Tuesday, and Chief Stagg, who was one of the prime movers in the affair, was notified of the result. The firemen have thus set the pace for the police force and other city officials and employees to follow, and there is little doubt but that the rest will fall in line.

Capt. E. M. Carell has become the active chief of the Nashville (Tenn.) Fire Department. He has made no changes in the force, and does not know that he will make any for the present. Capt. Alexander will be assistant chief without the command of a company, and the present assistant chief, Green Carr, will probably be returned to the ranks. He was formerly one of the engineers. He is a very efficient engineer, and as such received a larger salary than as assistant chief. Under the new arrangement, whicli relieves the assistant chief of the command of a company, it will not be necessary for both the chief and the assistant to respond to an incipient fire as heretofore.

Genesee Hose Company of Wellsville, N. Y., has disbanded. It having been discovered that card playing was being carried on in the company’s rooms on Sundays, the president of the village caused a lock to be put on the door and the rooms locked up. The company demanded that the lock be immediately removed or they would disband. President Brown refused to remove it, and the company disbanded.

The appropriation for the Nashville Fire Department is as follows : Chief of fire department, $1800 ; deputy chief, $1200; superintendent of fire alarm, $1500 ; assistant, $600 ; pay roll six steam companies, three chemical companies, one hook and ladder and one hose company, including a captain of the hook and ladder company, new ; and two new men for Northeast Nashville, $55,000 ; helper to superintendent of fire alarm, $3to; driver of chief’s buggy, $480; hose, $2500 ; four fire alarm boxes, $500 ; wire, $400 ; feed, $3500 ; rent hook and ladder company, $500; fuel. $1000; repairs, $1200; substitutes, $1200; horses and harness, $1500; fire alarm telegraph, $700; miscellaneous, $1500.

A Lockport (N. Y.) special says : At the meeting of the common council a protest against the proposed fire commission was presented, signed by the chief engineer of the fire department and his assistants and the officers of five of the six companies. The principal reasons given for opposing it are “ that its creation will be inimical to the best interests and disastrous to the voluntary impulse that actuate and govern the actions of the department by intervention and restriction,” and that “ it will ultimately burden the people with additional taxation.” The sentiment among a majority of the aldermen seems to be in favor of the commission, and that of the community at large the same.

In future coal wagons will respond to all alarms of fire in Boston requiring the aid of steamers.

At the next town meeting in Natick. Mass., Chief Engineer Morse will urge the selectmen to extend the fire alarm telegraph.

It is estimated that $3000 will be required to complete the fire alarm telegraph of Northampton, Mass.

The Lincoln Truck Company of Dover, N. H., had its sixty-fourth banquet last week.

There is to be a vacancy in the Manchester (N. H.) board of engineers, and Clarence R. Merrill of the N. S. Beane Engine Company is mentioned for the position.

At an alarm of fire in Portland. Me., last week, four engines, four hose wagons, two trucks and a chemical engine responded. As they neared the box an electric car came between them, engine No. 4 was upset and the driver thrown off and fatally injured. The chemical was completely demolished. All the other apparatus was injured and the men more or less disabled.

Brockton, Mass., had 111 alarms of fire last year, with a loss of $72,706.36. The expenses of the service amounted to $43,176.62. Chief Marston recommends the purchase of a new truck, hose wagon, hose, the erection of a fire station and that the office of assistant chief be made permanent.

Newburyport, Mass., proposes to make the Mayor responsible for all the city’s doings. The new city charter proposes some radical changes, the principal one being reorganization of the fire department with more modern apparatus and permanent men. It is thought that a night patrol will be established and rules adopted similar to those in Boston.

Gloucester, Mass., is another city that is looking for a new city charter and a better fire service. They see the necessity of securing direct responsibility ; the citizens favor it, as it gives the Mayor the direct appointment of all the city’s servants. The firemen think the proposed change means a more efficient fire department and better pay.

The fire committee of Norfolk, Va., and the special committee on the needs of the fire department have awarded the contract for the new engine to the Amoskeag Company at $3900, It will be a first grade engine, outranking any of the machines now in the department. The contract for the hose cart was awarded to Peter Ainsley of Richmond. There is a disagreement in regard to the award of the hose, which will be settled at the next meeting.

Editor John R. McLean of The Cincinnati Enquirer on Christmas made his annual present to the firemen. Each officer received $io, and each fireman and operator $5.

We are obliged to Secretary II. A. Hills for a copy of the compiled reports of the National Association of Fire Engineers.

Three chiefs of the Philadelphia paid fire department were all members of the volunteer department. They were William H. Johnson, Goodwill Fire Company; John R. Cantlin, Franklin Fire Company, and James C. Baxter, Jr., Northern Liberty Hose Company.

The Baltimore (Md.) Fire Department has inaugurated devices by which the fire department’s hose is carried over the tops of cable cars, and thus there is no delay during a fire.

At the recent firemen’s meeting held in Queens county, N. Y., the following officers were elected : Gilbert S. Creed, president; Charles Schmidt, vice-president; W. E. Thornton, secretary.

The entire block on the east side of the public square at Hillsboro, Tex., in which were located many of the largest mercantile houses of this city, was entirely wiped out by fire December 30, causing the destruction of the business of a score or more of firms. The loss is $275,000, about one-third of which was covered by insurance. The Hillsboro Opera House, one of the finest play-houses in second-class cities of the State, is destroyed. Many narrow escapes from burning buildings are reported. The origin of the fire is believed to have been incendiary.

A new Holloway truck has been added to the Baltimore Department.

The annual banquet of the Exempt Firemen’s Association of New York will be held on the evening of January 8, when officers will be elected for the ensuing year. Among the guests expected to be present during the evening are George W. Anderson, president of the Veteran Firemen’s Association of New York; Hon. John Vrooman, trustee of the State Firemen’s Home ; Colonel Charles S. Rogers of Hudson, and a number of other persons prominent in fire circles.

The fire escape law went into effect on January 1 in Connecticut.

The officers recently promoted by the New York board were assigned to duty as follows: Chief of Battalion James M. Nugent te the second battalion ; Foremen Henry P. Reilly to Hook and Ladder 5, M. Donohue to Hook and Ladder 7, Wm. J. Cook to Engine 3, Thomas F. Connelly to Engine 28, Patrick O’Brien to Engine 30; Assistant F’oremen Eugene F. Terpeny to Engine 1, Francis McGinnis to Engine 17, Patrick F. Lucas to Engine 3, George L. Ross to Engine 18, and Patrick H. Aspell to Hook and Ladder 8.

They are telling this story in Troy : The other evening one of the members of the Albany fire board was out for a little time, and he was so unfortunate as to loose his false teeth. This was a pretty mess, for he had to attend a banquet and make a speech the following evening. What was he to do? He couldn’t borrow a set. The next morning he was in a barber’s chair getting shaved, when in walked a cabman, who blurted out: “Is Commissioner-here ? ’’ He was told that he was, and then before a shop full of customers the cabby shouted : “ Well, commissioner, here is your teeth. I found them in my coach this morning.” 1 he commissioner borrowed the barber’s razor, but in the meantime the cabby made his escape. The commissioner had to treat all of those present, and after he done so begged of every one to keep the matter a dark secret. Someone, however, let the cat out of the bag, and now for the first time it gets into print.

The number of fires in New York for the year 1893, to December 30, was 4125. being an increase of more than 100 over the year 1892. The estimated loss is $55O000O.

The Williamsburgh (L. I.) Volunteer Firemen’s Association last week held its regular meeting. After the routine business had been disposed of, the meeting was turned into a Christmas jollification. President Jacob F. Becker occupied the chair and Secretary William Miller kept a record of the proceedings. Ten new members were enrolled and the committees appointed to arrange for the annual ball of the organization, announced that preparations were complete and the tickets ready for distribution. During the evening tne association was presented by a delegation from the Veteran hiremen’s Association of the Western District with a brightly polished and handsomely decorated engine. A brass trumpet was also contributed by James Logue, and Peter Fitzgerald added a set of silver lever taps. The organization resolved to parade with the Kings County Firemen’s Association on Washington’s Birthday.

It is not likely that councils of Allentown, Pa., will seriously consider the proposition to build a city hall on the Market House site, since it would require an increase of the tax rate several mills to make up an amount sufficient to pay the cost of the building. The question that confronts the city fathers then is, will a central fire station be built on the Market House site ? This will cost about $5000, deducting from which $3500, which is the lowest price that can be obtained for the America hose house, leaves $1500 to be raised by but a slight increase in the tax rate.

The members of the Boston Fire Department have a mutual fund for the benefit of the widows and orphans. The death assessment is $2 each member. During the current year an unusually large number of firemen have died, and the demands have been so great that the monthly assessments average about $4 per member. Chief Webber, the secretary of the organization, reports that the tax has been a severe one, but the “ boys ” responded without a murmur. His annual report is as follows: Balance on hand January 1, 1893, $1714 I received during 1893, $32,066; total, $33,780; paid in benefits, i balance December 31, 1893, $98 ; number of members December 31, 1893, 866.

Herman Steck has been elected chief of Fort Benton, Mont. The Jersey City Board of Fire Commissioners have decided to ask the board of finance for an appropriation of $42,000. in order to make the department a permanent one. Of the 212 members of the department 126 are men at call, who only do duty at fires. A new company, to be known as Engine Company No. 14, was organized. It will have headquarters in the house of Hook and Ladder Company No. 3, in Webster avenue, and will be manned as follows : Lester A. Townsend, engineer ; John Bowen, stoker ; Samuel Smith, driver ; James McGuire, driver of tender ; Edward F. Rochford, hoseman. If the board of finance makes the appropriation asked for fiftyfour additional members of the department will be appointed.

The contract for extending the fire alarm system of Niagara Falls and placing a number of new boxes throughout the old district of Suspension Bridge, which has never had any alarm system, has been let and the Gamewell Company will put in the improvements.

The annual report of the Holyoke (Mass.) Department was submitted to council Tuesday. The manual force has been increased by the addition of three permanent members on the aerial ladder truck and a spare driver. The list of permanent men now is as follows : Chief, superintendent of fire alarm, fourteen drivers, tillerman, three men on hook and ladder ; total, twenty. The call force has five assistant engineers, five engineers of steamers, five stokers, 137 hose and ladder men and twenty substitutes; total, 192 men. -The new La France steamer and several small appliances have been secured to increase the efficiency of the department. The complete list of appliances now is six steamers, seven hose wagons, one aerial ladder and two hook and ladder trucks, five exercise wagons and a wagon for the chief. There are 15,000 feet serviceable fire hose.

The little folks of Atlanta, Ga., will have occasion to long remember the Christmas of 1893, when Chief and Mrs. Joyner turned headquarters over into a headquarters for Santa Claus. In fact the firemen’s Christmas tree was something marvelous in the way of newness and design. In the rear of the house stood a tall and gloomy-looking Christmas trees, and upon it could be but faintly seen the festoons of pretty things, and the yellow glory of the oranges showed but faintly, though they were in deep contradistinction to the green boughs. The happy-hearted little ones started back half-frightened at the sight of such a weird Christmas tree. No candles upon- nothing, and everything was dark and cheerless. The older sisters held their little brothers by the hand and all looked on in disappointment. But it didn’t last long. Mrs. Joyner, the wife of the chief, gave a signal. Foreman Emmel, his face wreathed with smiles, pulled a little switch. Magic had been invoked and the Christmas tree was fairly ablaze from the light of forty brilliant incandescent lights. They had been so artfully concealed in the branches that the little ones had failed to discover them, but when the electricity was turned on the tree was one halo of intensified brightness. The long strings of festooned popcorn glistened like the very snow and the oranges blended most harmoniously with the gentle yellow tinge that the lights cast about. And the children laughed and clapped their hands for joy at the sight of such an unexpected illumination, which had taken place just when they were sure the tree was a disappointment, not to say a failure. Then began a happy romp, which ended in the distribution of the many gifts which hung upon the tree in loads. And smiling over the whole stood Chief Joyner and his wife, enjoying most thoroughly the scene that they had been the prime movers in bringing about, and of which they were the presiding geniuses. It can safely be said that the firemen’s Christmas tree was the handsomest one ever seen in Atlanta, and none was ever enjoyed more.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR