224 JOHN CAMPION 



school for the men whose business it is to save from flames the 

 property and often the Uves of taxpayers and residents. 



It is a fact that few men who adopt the career of a fireman 

 do so merely for the pay. Nine out of ten of them are bom 

 firemen, and they bring to their work something more than the 

 common ability to work hard. They have a pride in their work 

 which is not apparent in many trades. Their courage, their 

 physical strength, their everlasting readiness, are regarded by 

 themselves as matters of course. But, as a rule, they go beyond 

 this. The fireman in the ranks, if he has the proper spirit, if 

 he means to excel, is likely to know all about his district. If 

 he is serious about his work, he will know where the blind alleys 

 are and, either by personal investigation or by dint of conver- 

 sation with his comrades, he is almost sure to know a great 

 deal about the layout of every fire that may occur in his neigh- 

 borhood. 



Of course with the marshal, the assistant marshals, the 

 battalion chiefs, and the captains and lieutenants of companies 

 this is an absolute duty — this work of personally investigating 

 buildings and their contents and the streets, alleys, fire hy- 

 drants, and surroundings of the sections under their control. 



Perhaps no branch of public service requires more of the 

 time and attention of its men than the fire department. They 

 must not only be ready for the call of duty during the day, 

 but they must sleep at their stations at night. For more than 

 thirty years I have not lived at home. There are hundreds of 

 firemen in Chicago who live similar lives and who have ac- 

 customed themselves to forget their private wishes and com- 

 forts in the desire to fulfil their duties. 



Besides the work of fighting fires there is an unending 

 routine of less interesting work about the company houses. 

 They must be kept clean and orderly ; the horses must be cared 

 for and trained; the apparatus must be maintained spotless 

 and ready. Fire drills, physical training, the always changing 

 conditions of the buildings, streets, and alleys of the city give 

 the energetic, industrious firemen plenty of occupation, and, 

 as a rule, these less heroic details of their duties are not neg- 

 lected. 



The system of safeguarding districts from which the 



