THE FIRE FIGHTER OF TO-DAY 323 



shals, the men in command at fires, are such for no other reason 

 than that they are good firemen — they know their business, and 

 all of them have been, and are still willing to be, in the same 

 predicaments to which they send their subordinates. 



In the career of a fireman this thing of knowing your busi- 

 ness is as essential to success as it is in any other walk of life. 

 But the knowledge involved is not confined l^etween the engine 

 house and the sudden fire. For instance, the captain and 

 lieutenant of a company will, if they are devoted to their 

 duties, make it their business to become acquainted with the 

 district in which they are to operate. To know a district 

 means more than to be sure of the location of buildings, the 

 conditions of streets and alleys, and the situation of the fire 

 hydrants. It means also a thorough and continuous famili- 

 arity with the construction of every house, the disposition and 

 character of the contents of every establishment, the arrange- 

 ment of fire escapes, and the points of vantage from which a 

 fire may be attacked. 



It is not possible to exaggerate the value of this informa- 

 tion ; for the commanding officer of a company of firemen has 

 something more than the saving of property on his hands. 

 The lives of his subordinates may, some day or night, depend 

 upon his absolute knowledge of the style of construction and 

 the character of the contents of some building. To master all 

 of these details requires time and careful investigation, and the 

 officer or man who expects to be of the greatest and most last- 

 ing service to the department will find, if he is industrious, that 

 there is plenty for him to do between fires. 



It will not do to depend always upon the captains, lieuten- 

 ants, and other higher officers for this superior knowledge; for 

 occasions may arise in which the regular commanders are ab- 

 sent or off duty, and in such an event the authority over a 

 company may descend upon one of the firemen, subject of 

 course to the instructions of the battalion chiefs, and, finally, 

 the marshal or assistant marshal in charge. The public of the 

 big cities are apt to fancy that the fireman's work is done when 

 the 'ffire out" signal is sounded, but that is not true. The fact 

 is that every fire engine house in the city is an informal training 



