14
8
THE SUN, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1914.
"THINK
Fire Commissioner Gives
Some Measures to Be
Followed to Make
Every Day a Fire Pre
vention Day
F"
'inn prevention 1h tho keynote ot
it report scintillating with hu
mnn interest which was sub
mitted rtcently to tho Mayor by
Flro Commissioner Robert Adamson.
It tolls of ft groneral campaign to make
lodging houses, buslneis places, private
residences, theatre, moving picture
show places nnd film storage plants safe
from fire.
"Tho lodging houses and film storage
placen were singled out for special In
vestigation," says Commissioner Adam
son, "because the conditions In the lodg
ing house nre particularly dangerous
ana tho film storage places represent
extra, fire hazard. The attention given
to theatres nnd moving plcttrro placen
In Incidental to tho annual Inspection
preliminary to the granting of licenses,
but the phtn which tho Ilureau of Fire
Prevention has now adopted Is much
moro comprehensive than heretofore
and han resulted In making Amusement
places safer than ever "
The Flro Commissioner also reports
that through a special hoard he has
been making ft thorough Investigation
of conditions of every school building
n tho city from n tire prevention stand
point
The city of N'ew York olwerved Octo-
bar 0 ns tiro prevention day. Fire
drills were held In ull public schools.
Mayor Mltchel Issued n proclamation
In which he stated that during the past
yoar 15,000 tires In this city, entailing
great waste of property and costing
many lives, could havo been prevented
by ordinary earo.
In his Kutcincnt requesting every
on to cooperate In removing the causes
of fires the Mayor said:
"An Investigation by the Flro Com
missioner shows :hat the reason for the
great number of tires In New York
city la to found, not In the character of
our building construction nor In the
hazardous no-tur of business nnd the
Industry carried on, but In the careless
und negligent habits of .lie people."
After enumerating the principal
causes of fires the Mayor urgs the fol
lowing precautionary measures In the
hope that practical evidence of co
operation on tho port of the public may
make every day a lire prevention day.
Clean up nil rublih such as papers,
rags nnd other Inflammable material.
Keep matches where children cannot
get them.
Do not throw away lighted cigarettes
or cigars.
Keep careful watch on furnaces, chim
neys nnd heating pipes. See that all
flues arc free of fire dangers.
Protect motor In all shops against
sparking.
Provide ample exits and have metnl
boxes for waste In factories.
Clean up wnsto In packing divisions of
deportment stores.
Do not look for gas leaks with lighted
matches.
Do not hang lace curtains near gas
Jets.
Do not till keriiene lamps after dark
or near the fire.
In a letter which was read In twelve
hundred New York city churches Fire
Commissioner Adamson urged the public
to "think lire beforehand," and reminded
them that "an ounce of fire prevention
!n tlmo Is worth many tons of water
fiom the tire engines afterward."
Precautionary measures, stated In
plain language, arc now being displayed
In all public meeting places and the
Commissioner Is endeavoring by every
possible means to drive home the obli
gation of the Individual to observe all
the Mmple rules of fire prevention. I'p
ward of 50,000 circulars Issued by the
department under tho caption "Don'ts
and Warnings for Fire Prevention" have
been distributed In the public schools,
chambers of commerce, boards of trade
and civic societies In tho city of New
York.
As a result of an Investigation Insti
tuted by the Fire Commissioner the fact
has been established that careless prac
tices, both in factories and In houses, nre
th" main causes of most of our fires,
"Despite nil th efforts of the de
partment," according to Commissioner
Adnmson, "there Is n vast amount of
publlo disregard of simple precautions
Hgalnst lire, ns Is shown by an analysis
of tho reports of fires for the year Just
closed. For Instanre, glancing down the
list of tho principal causes of fires, It
sppears that cigars, cigarettes and their
careless handling caused no less than
1.079 fires last year, with an estimated
loss of $308,335. The careless handling
"f matches caused a property loss In
(Irenter New York of J131.8RR, the total
number of such tires being 1,175, While,
on the subject of matches nnd their
careless handling It might be men
tioned that children playing with
matches caused 5SS fires last year with a
loss of $32,245. which must bo ndded to
(he match damage, mnklng n total from
thin cause of $ I C 4.133.
"AnoMier fruitful source of careless
and entirely avoidable fires was the
bonfire nnd tires from brushwood Ig
niting fences. Tlieso Urea numbered
InHt year 1.05. and cost (Irenter New
Vnrk $IV.'30. Thus, out of n total of
ICtTiS fires for the year 1!U3. wn havo
3.000, or more than an entire third,
caused by culpable negligence,
"Talon" the other main causes of
fire, such as careless hnndllng of gas
lights nnd llliimlnants, stoves, furnnces
and steam pipes, the misuse of In-nzlne,
the number of tires In chimneys from
failure to clean flues, and such Items,
It appears that thoughtlessness and
lack of niro cover practically the entire
llt wjlli the exception, perhaps, of
i hose ilres which were dellberatnly ct
for
the purpose of arson or through
pyroniaiiln -the dlsenso fur setting Ilres
I'nrlunulc y. many persons are begin
ning t'j 'thnk tire beforehand' and to
need the thousands of warnings which
i ive been sent nut by tho Fire Depart
ment. This Is shown In tho fact that
we have had In this city 2.C7S fires less
n 1013 than there were in 1012, with an
'I'lniatcd monetary saving of $l,floi,5K3.
"Despite the decrease In the number
itf flfer, however, there are still lnrse
nnml'ers of careless fires, There Is 4o
ri ii-un shii-.eer why New York should
FIRE
r i
Motorized engine. The change
of power was effected by sub
stituting an engine on wheels
for the two front wheels of the
old apparatus.
have 12,958 flrei In one year, as was the
record for 1913. The estimates of
monetary Joss hero given do not Include
the economic loss, or the less of em
ployment from Ilres and the consequent
lors of business; nor' do they Include
deaths and Injury by fires. If all these
elements were Included In the calcula
tions New York would be ustoundcd nt
the total flto has."
Olio of the prevalent and peculiar
causes of tires as stated In 4he report
of the Commissioner U what Is known
as "spontaneous combustion" ti cause
of lire which accounts f r a loss during
1013 of $I32,83, The number of tires
attributable to this cause Inst year was
202. This mysterious sort of fire arises
In oily wasto used In w.plng machinery,
lamps, Ac Tho waste, after use. Is
carc.essly thrown uslde Into borne cup
lMard or closet or left In some corner
of the room, perhaps near a warm
radiator or stove. Kxperts now admit
that spontaneous combustion does take
place and fire Investigators have too
often witnessed Its depredations to
doubt Its existence.
Commissioner Adamson uolnts out
that tires from this cause could lm
readily prevented by simply havlnir
metal receptacles with lids In which
Bttch waste material could be deposited ,
ufter use. And yet In hundreds of ma- '
etune shops and In other places in this '
city highly combuntlb.e. waste Is left
to lie ubout In odd corners. When fires
occur In theje places no ono seems to
know the cause.
"If carelessness in ,.lie cause of more
than CO per cent of our Ilres, cliMinllness
mignt im called the remedy," says the
Commissioner. "If our great factories
unu otner places of Industry could be
Induced to keep their floors, counters,
machinery and storo und work rooms
ckan, half tho battle against fire would
bo won. it Is aha untidy habit that bo
gets the conditions which make tires.
This particularly Hpplles o fires which
occur In tenements. Hnlf of our fires
ox-cur in tenements, and In nearly very
instance it Is found that thes flees are
cnused by carelessness. The. whole .sit
uation might Is? summed up In one
word -'neglls-ence,' with tho exception,
of course, of Incendiary- Ilres and those
that might be said to be directly due to
lightning."
The new regulation of the depart
ment culling for Inspections by the
uniformed forco has greutly overcome
the difficulties resulting from the In
adequacy of such Inspection by other
city departments. During the past few
mouths hundreds of thousands of In
spections have, been mado by the Fire
Department.
"Many conditions throughout the city
havo Ven remedied," sayn the Fire
Commissioner, "and the general publlo
Is beginning- to wake tip to tlu dangers
from flro that prevail. A campaign of
education has been utartcd by the Fire
Department which Includes wldo dis
tribution of lltimture, auch ns 'No
Smoking' signs nnd various 'Don'ts for
Fire Prevention,' Knforcement of the
laws against moklng In factories and
other regulations nre having a salutary
effect. Iiecturo centres art also being
established and ifho public echools will
soon have a course of tire prevention
studies. Appliances havo been Intro
duced in innumerable places to extin
guish fires In their Inciplency. These
includo fire extinguishers and lire palls,
nose nnc on noortj; and, most Import
ant of all, automatlo sprinklers."
Commissioner Adamwm further
states :
"Another Important point In fire
safety which is now being attended to
Is tho provision nf adequate means of
egress from nil hulldlnirs where num
bers of workers dr other persons are
engaged. Not only aro wo Insisting thnt
properly built flro escapes and fire
towers bo provided, but wherever pos
sible, owncrw uro compelled to construct
fire walls running through tho ntlre
extent nf their buildings so that work
ers In ono part of the factory may walk
to safety through thot.e walls by means
of proper tiro doors, closing automati
cally In case of lire, Huch fire stops
In buildings nnd the use of what Is
called tho horlzontnl exit from one part
of n building to another will prove nn
enormouH life saver wherever Installed.
This Is ono of tho most effective nnd
economical means of flro prevention, ns
It not only Insures tho safety of tho
workers hut prevents tho spread of
lire,"
According to tho roport, flro pre
vention Inspectors were assigned dur
ing tho pnst six months to Inspect
every lodging houaei in the city licensed
by the Hoard of Health, Many of these
lodging houses were found to bo of slm
liar construction to tho lodging houso
In HoBton the Arcadia- which was
burned In December, with ft loss of
twenty-seven lives. Hixteeu New York
lodging houses were found to be owned
by the same, syndicate which owned
nnd operated the Boston lodging house
and which own nnd operatic oomo
twenty-seven other lodging houses out
side of New York city. A very largo
number of lodging houses were In
cluded In this Inspection, among them
fifty on the Uowery, nine on Park llow,
BEFOREHAND,"
I'hoto hr 1rad!jr Studloa.
New Fire Department motor messenger. Fireman
Looney is doing the work formerly done by ten men at a
cost of $14,000.
Above Robert Adamson, Fire Commissioner.
four on Chatham Square, twelve on
Third iivntie and a large number of
others through the K.ist Side, along
the river front and elsewhere.
Tho inspectors found the conditions .
In a great many of thes cases e-
ceedlngly dangerous. In one lodging I
hoiif-c on the Dowery the rear fire es
cape wus found to terminate In a court.
In general, tho orders issued by Uhe
Fire Commissioner provide for tho fol
lowing safety meoaurerf for lodging
houses:
Knclosure of stairways.
Self-closing fireproof windows on all
flro escapes.
Installation of Interior electric alarm
systems.
Installation ot time detectors.
Ouords nrottnd stoves.
Four feet alsle.s.
Removal of obstructions to fire es
capes. l'lovldJng otalrsj to roof from the top
ot bilconlrs of fire escapes.
The. foregoing orders Issued against
theso lodging houses! 1ia,ve either been
complied -Alth or aro In process of be
ing complied with. In each one of the
sixteen houses owtiod by the Boston
syndicate tho inspectors report: prompt
compliance with tho Are prevention
orders.
In tho matter of theatres, moving
picture showB nnd danco halls, Commis
sioner Adamson and Chief Ilammltt of
the Flro Prevention Ilureau adopted
a new plan to make theo places
safe from fire. A thcatro must bo 11
censed by tho Pollco Commissioner,
who requires a certificate from the Fire
Department that tho thcatro has com
plied with the regulations of Itho lat
ter beforo tho Issuance, of tho license.
Effective cooperation between the
Uccnso Ilureau and tho Flro Depart
ment has boon secured by an arrange
ment whereby, the licenses for moving
plcturo theatreH nnd dnnco halls which
fail to comply with rennonablo prompt
ness with tho orders of tho Flro Deport
ment nro revoked and not reissued until
tho conditions havo boon reported by
tho Flro Department to bo aatlsfaotory.
This plan has worked o well that the
Fire Department is having little dim.
culty with moving plcturo theatres and
danco halls. In effect tho Ideense Hit
reau haa become nn enforcing bureau
for the fire prevention orders In those
places.
Tho number of flro prevention order
compiled with since January 1, lfH,
shows an increase of 74?i per cent,
Through the reorganization of tho hu
rcnu tho Flro Commissioner estimates
that Its working capacity has been
practically doubled.
Another Important section of Com
missioner Adnmson'H report treats of
the changes nnd economies which havo
been mado In his department slny tho
first of tho yenr. The Fire Cdmrnls
slonor shows that he has nlready
efTecled a total saving of $HS3,7fil,0? nn
a result of tho open market purchase
of supplies, tho readjustment nf fire
companies due to motorization, tho re
leased equipment for new companies
and tho turning over to the city of
Flro Department buildings valued at
nbout $300,000.
All this has been accomplished In
splto of the tremendous Increnso In tho
volume of work done by the depart
ment; tho number uf fire prevention
orders complied with hnvlng increased
by 74; per cent., nnd the uniformed
force having made nearly hnlf a mil
linn flro prevention Inspections of a
kind never beforo undertaken by tho
department,
Tho Flro Department budget for tho
year 1815 will bo J:'6,120 leas than the
budget for tho year 1914, notwlthetand
ing it provide for tho men nnd equip
ment nf twenty new companies with, an
average salary payroll of $37,000 each,
ceedlngly dangerous. In one lodging messenger, and by reorganizing and f Hl
a. total of ,"-o,000. Commissioner
Adamson explains thitt this lias been
accomplished by revoking the details of
eleven men In tho llurenu of Fire Ire-
vetition and of various messengers,
eluding tho Commissioner's privi
messenger, and by reorganizing a
equalising the various companies. II
s;nts that tho. budget for tho yenr 1M
mado an nllownnce for nn increaeo o
only twenty firemen over tho year 191
with tho understanding that when th
twenty new flrehouses were opened
and tho new llrelxmt William .1. (lay
nor went Into commission the Hoard
of Kstlmate nnd Apportionment
would makn provision for tho additional
men necessary. These new companies
will require about 300 men nnd ofllcers
to command them.
Commissioner AdaniBon says:
"liy the revocation of details, read
justment of companies and motorization
wo have been nblo to savo In firemen's
sulnrlus something like $260,000 In 1914.
Whou wo get through there will be
twenty additional companies In the ser
vice und one flreboan, not only with
out any increased cot to tho city but
with art actual reduction of $25,420
under tho 1914 allnwanoe, notwithstand
ing twenty fwlary increases aro provided
for in the budget and an increased staff
In tho lira prevention bureau at an
additional cost ot $32,000,
Orcnt attention haa been devoted by
the Flro Commissioner to the question
uf supplies and ho has been nblo to cut
down expenses In this direction nlono
to tho extent of $173,753 for tho year
1915. Thufl tho department will rxpena
on supplies that much leja money than
during tho present year despite the
fact that thcro will bo twenty new com
panies, the average cost of supplies for
each company bolng nbout $2,500,
Following special ordern Issued by the
Commissioner with referetico to the
purchase ot coal for the. engine houses,
a great envlng hotr been effocted. In his
letter to tho company commanders Com
missioner Adamson stated that ho would
hold them strictly accountable under
tho rules for the correctness of tho fuel
reports which thoy render thechleX of
tho department, lie mid:
"Heretofore somo of thene reports
havo been cnroles nnd slipshod to tho
last degree This -will not be tolerated
any longer. Tho fuel ropnrtu must cor
rectly reflect the amount of coal re
quired and consumed and responsibility
for tha correctnetu ot these report la
placed directly orv tho company com
manders. It Is clear that many of the
company commanders have merely
guessed at the quantity on hand und the
quantity required. With such reports
It Is Impossible for thin department to
keep uny accurate records or to enforce
proper economy In tho consumption of
coal. Ah an example of tho careless
method In which theso reports havo
been prepared I call your attention to
tho fact thnt tho reports from ulna com
panies show that 1S7.20Q pounds of coat
wcro consumwl from Slay 1 to June 1,
101-1, whereas accurate estimates show
thnt tho qunntlty consumed should not
havo been In excess of 80,1)5(1 pounds.
A curoful study shows that 125 pounds
per duy for a single company nnd l$p
pounds per day for a double company
In a liberal allowance,"
Ono of tho most Interesting features
of Commissioner Adanuon's report Is
that which deals with tho readjustment
of fire companies, mado possible
through tho motorization of the depart
ment, which nas resulted in a saving of
24 officers, ! engineers. 2 niiots. 4
stokers and 119 firemen, who havo been
or aro to tie sent from the old com
pnnle. where they are found in h nn
longer needed, to new rompanlen. Tne
loiai aaiarie or these men per year
SAYS ADAMSON
amount to $225,2S0. In his report to th
Mayor, describing how this saving b)
readjustment of the force was made, tne
Fire Commissioner said:
"You will lenllr.e that making econo
mies by a reduction of forco Is not
posslblo so far ns tho two principal
branches of this department are con
cerned. On the contrary, on Jnnunry 1
I wus confronted by the fact that loth
the uniformed force nnd tho fire pre-
In- 1 1
ate l BBIimillllllK?'
Chief Larkin demonstrating use of fire life line.
ventlon bureau stood In urgent need ot
a mibstnntlnl increase of men. For ex
ample, only 20 additional firemen were
allowed In the budget for 1D11, although
20 new flro houses were to be completed
during the year, requiring on an averago
of nbout 15 men ench. or 300 llretnen in
all; and 1 now lire boat, requiring a
complement of at least 22 men, was to
bo placed In commission. In addition
to this need of men to man the new
companies tho chief ot tho uniformed
force reported a uhortage n the neces
sary men to man the- existing companies
properly, nnd there wu a more or less
widespread agitation throughout the
THE WAR ILLUSTRATED!
Start your collection of wonderful
war pictures to-day by saving the
Fifth Section of this issue of The
Sunday Sun. The pictures you
find in that section are examples
of the remarkable illustrations
The Sun is obtaining of thrilling
incidents of the great conflict.
Pictures sketched on the battle
fields by Europe's most famous
illustrators are reproduced in an
. EIGHT PAGE SECTION
EVERY WEEK WITH
The SUNDAY SUN!!
unlfnrmed forco for additional tlmo off.
"In view of tho strong pledge of this
administration to economy tho problem
heforo mo wan to perform, If possible,
tho work of the? two bureaus without
applying for additional appropriations.
Ho far tills has been done, although tho
fact that wo hnvo nbout seventeen fire
companies to he organized In a short
tlmo make. It probablo that additional
mnn will havo to be asked for In the
uniformed force."
In order that tho Fire Department
may havo the benefit of tho Ideae nnd
experiences of Its 6,000 trained ofllccra
and men, nnd for tho purpose of en
couraging the study ot fire problems by
tho rank and file of the department,
Commissioner Adamson hai. announced
that a medal, to bo known n tho "ad
ministration medal," will be awarded
annually to members of tho uniformed
force making the best suggestions for
too Improvement of the efllclency of the
service. Two hundred suggestions have
been received during the past two
inontliM. Many of them nro splendid
and have already been adopted by the
department.
Commissioner Adamson early In the
present administration appointed a
special messenger for the department
und provided him with a motor car.
Tho now Fire Department motor mes
senger Ih doing tho work formerly
dono by ton men at a totnl cost of $14,
000 a year. The ten men doing messen
ger duty whom he replaced have been
HROOKLTN AnVKnnSKMENTB,
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STON 8T.. HHOOKLTN.
On Mock from llorouib, Hall Bak. ata.
Wi. Orar nnru rueuiuoe Ptaau
It Ta.ra UrLfl CltniHOO 4H1 U.la i
sent back to flro duty. I In makeo tho
rounds of ad tho division headquarters
twice a day. In the morning bringing In
tho dally reports to hendqunrters and
In the afternoon delivering olllcla
orders and communication to the
vurlous division headquarters.
A good fcuggestton which has 1een re.
reived from one of the flro captains
outlines a plan which will afford the
5.000 firemen In the service the oppor
tunlty to take dally athletic cNcrclses,
thus maintaining the high standard of
physical efficiency In the Fire Depart
ment force.
Tho Fire Commissioner deslre to
consolidate all ot the repair shops of his
department Into ono largo central plant
and If posnlblo, get all of the olher
city departments to unite In th con
struction of this plant. If this Is done
flvo available buildings now used In
connection with the repair work and
training Uab'cs can be turned over n
the city nnd sold. One of these build
lugs has a frontage nf 500 fret on WeM
Fifty-sixth street and cover a totn
area of 74,250 square fef It ,s on the
water front nnd In a section of tho elf
where property Is In great demand,
The Flro Commissioner's Idea Is tn
purchase a Rite central to nil of the
boroughs, preferably near tho Queens
end of tho Quoensboro Itridge or the
Hrooklyn end of the Williamsburg n
Manhattan Uridge, and consolidate t'
repair activities of all of the city de
partments. This would enable the var
ous city departments to dispose of map'
other pieces of property now used f''r
repair ichopH and for storag" purpose.
Tho Fire Commissioner Is confident th '
ho can buy a slto nnd erect a plat"
large enough for nil of the city depar'
ments out of the proceeds of the- sab.
of tho Fire Department property nlnne
which Is now used for repair shops and
training stables.
$90 Bradbury $3
115 Pease 4
125 Lohmann 4
135 E. Gabler 4
150 Arion 5
165 Kring 5
175 Weber 5
180 Schleicher 5
190 Wing & Son 5
195 Lindeman & Son 5
210 Shoningcr 6
250 Steinway & Son 6
1