320 



• KNOWLEDGE 



[Oct. 17, 1884. 



The Water Tower. 



located below the floor, and which is so connected as to 

 withdraw the bolts holding the halters of the horses, who 

 dash forward to their places under the harness. The same 

 impulse of electricity has sounded the alarm upon gongs 

 in the sleeping apartment on the second-floor and in the 

 reading-rooms on the third floor, and the men come sliding 

 down the brass rods. The time of receiving the alarm is 

 recorded by a small clock that is stopped at the first stroke. 

 Before the gong has ceased ringing the harness has been 

 dropped and clasped, the driver is belted to his seat, and 

 the men are waiting for the doors to be rolled back. 



So far each company in the department has gone 

 through these operations, since all are compelled to hook 

 up at every alarm. The boiler of the engine is directly 

 connected with a coil of pipe in an ordinary egg-shaped 

 stove placed in the basement. Low down upon the rear of 

 the engine are two pipes which are attached by telescope 

 joints to two pipes leading up from the coil. When the 

 engine is to go out, two valves which prevent the escape of 

 water from the boiler are closed by moving a lever, and a 

 rod pressed down through a hole in the floor. This rod 

 operates four valves ; two which close the pipes leading 

 through the floor, and two which open pipes leading to a 

 small tank in the ceiling, in order that the coil may be 

 supplied with water during the absence of the engine. The 

 rod also raises the lid of the stove to deaden the fire. 



The strokes upon the joker might be compared to a series 

 of dots and dashes sounded quickly — thus, two strokes and 

 a pause, three strokes and a pause, and five strokes would 

 indicate that the alarm came from box numbered 235. 

 These strokes are repeated two or three times by the joker, 

 and are then told oflT, but much more deliberately, upon the 

 large gong. This arrangement is to save time, and while 

 the men are hitching up they are counting the strokes, 

 and if there is any doubt about the number they wait 

 until the signal is given by the big gong. But it 

 generally happens that the engine is on its way to the 

 fire lefore the second gong has begun its work. 

 After the exact number has been ascertained, all those 

 companies which are expected to respond to that 

 number start for the scene of the fire, while the other 



companies, after waiting a short time, unhook the horses 

 and place the ajtparatus in the condition it was before the 

 alarm was struck. We thus see that one stroke places the^ 

 entire force of the department on the alert, and fifty-four 

 engine companies (nine of which are double ccmpanies, and 

 are provided with an extra engine and a large number of 

 men), seventeen hook and ladder companies, and the tw& 

 water towers are ready to turn out at every alarm. Many 

 of the companies are frequently out of their houses in three, 

 four, or five seconds, and at the last horse show in Madi- 

 son Square Garden, this city. Engine Company 33 hitched 

 up once in 1| sec, once in l|sec, atd once in 1| sec. — or 

 three consecutive times in less than two seconds. 



The most important item in the time question is getting 

 the horses in harness. The horses are placed in staUs as 

 near the pole as practicable, and are kept bridled. The 

 harness is attached to the engine, and is raised to such a 

 height that the horse has no difliculty in passing to his place 

 beneath it. It is suspended from a Y-shaped frame of tubing, 

 at each end of which is pivoted a downwardly-curved hook,, 

 upon which the harness rests. The reins pass through a 

 catch in the centre of the frame, so that by pulling them 

 the hooks are released and the hirness allowed to fall upon 

 the backs of the horses. The collars are hinged at the 

 middle, and one free end is provided with a bolt which 

 enters a socket in the other end, in which it is held by a 

 S[iring catch. The hinge is made wide so as to prevent 

 lateral movement and insure the entrance of the bolt when 

 tlie ends are brought together. 



The forward fire-engine shown in the illustration is from 

 the Clapp i Jones works, and is what is known as second 

 class. The plunger is 4| in. in diameter, and the engine? 

 (double) are 8 by 7 in. The boiler is 6-i in. high, 35 in. in 

 diameter, has 120 drop water pipe tubes, and 40 smoke 

 flues. It is capable of throwing three streams, two side 

 ones 2A in., and a centre one 3^ in. in diameter. It is 

 not necessary to notify the engineer of the amount of 

 water required, since the quantity can be controlled by 

 the man in charge of the nozzle. In the nozzle is a conical 

 shaped plug that can be moved longitudinally by turning 

 a screw collar, and by this means a stream can be obtained 



