Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/247

FIRE with the central office and all the stations of the depart ment. They are small iron boxes about a foot square, numbered in order and placed conspicuously on telegraph poles, or on the side of a building at corners of streets. Inside of each is a simple clock-work, which is set in motion by the pulling of a handle, and which records at the central office the number of the box. To guard against false alarms the outer door of the box is locked, but keys are kept at hand and are in the possession of all policemen and firemen. The Automatic Signal Telegraph gives instantaneous notice at the headquarters of the fire department, or at the nearest Fia. 4. Ladder Carriage. engine-house, of the existence of a fire, by the action of the fire itself, and records there the number of the building and the room in which it occurs. The apparatus is very simple, and may be fully relied on. It consists of a small tube, called a thermostat, about 3 inches long, containing a spiral strip of metal, so arranged that the expansion due to a rise of thirty degrees above the ordinary temperature of the room in which it is placed, will close the connexion between the two poles of a battery, and produce an electric current, which, passing through a small iron box containing a clock work and circuit breaker, called a " transmitter," at once .strikes a bell and starts a register at the nearest station of the fire department, which records the number of the build ing and the room in which the fire has broken out. The thermostat is placed upon the ceiling of each room at intervals of 25 feet throughout the building, the trans mitter in every room that requires a separate signal. The signal is transmitted even when the wires are broken. This telegraph has been adopted in New York and Boston. The electric arrangements connected with the fire brigade iu the city of Glasgow, which have been devised by Mr R. S. Symington, telegraph engineer, have been carried out on a scale of much efficiency and perfection. The city is divided into six fire districts, all connected by telegraph with the central principal station. There are also placed throughout the city 80 " electric fire alarm boxes," at the corners of the principal streets, and the occurrence of fire can through these be instantly telegraphed to the nearest " fire station," and at the same time to the " central station." On the arrival of the first detachment, the "box "from which the signal was given is by an ingenious arrangement immediately converted into a "telegraph station" (for the time being), connecting all the stations, and enabling the firemaster to command the whole "staff." The fire- master, as also the principal men, reside on the premises at the central station ; and men and horses are summoned by an electric bell system leading into each man s bedroom. Besides the above arrangements there are placed in many warehouses and extensive establishments throughout the city about 2000 electric thermostats, by which the rising of a mercurial column causes a loud gong to sound, at once drawing attention to unoccupied or shut-up premises. ORGANIZATION. The organizations of Paris and Berlin ace similar, and are based upon the idea of small detach ments of men, lighter machines, and a large number of stations, and on the presumption that no fire will have got beyond the control of the small detachment before it is dis covered and made known. The results have been generally satisfactory under the conditions existing in those cities. In London larger detachments and fewer stations have given good results. In the principal cities of the United States different conditions have necessitated a proportionately larger force of men and more effective appliances. London. The metropolitan fire brigade is a force of about 400 men under the control of the Board of Works, but under the immediate command of the chief officer." The city is divided into a number of districts, each under a "superintendent." Within each district are fire-engine stations properly equipped, each under an "engineer." The force at these stations is the unit of organization. Each engineer has independent telegraphic communication with his superintendent, and he in turn with the chief officer. 26 steam fire-engines and 8G hand-worked engines are in use. Floating steam fire-engines protect the river front. The chief officer has absolute command at fires. Paris. The firemen are a corps, "sapeurs-pompiers," attached to the War Department, but at fires the corps acts under orders from the prefect of police. It is under the immediate command of a colonel, and is divided into 12 companies, the company being the unit of organization. Fire stations, manned by three men and provided with hand- pumps and fire-escapes, are distributed throughout the city. If the three men of a station, with bystanders impressed into the service by the police, are unable to extinguish the fire, men from other stations of the same company are sum moned. Additional companies are called out by orders from headquarters of the corps. Hand-engines are the main re liance, but in 187G five steam fire-engines were in use. Berlin. The department is subject to military discipline, and is under the command of a "fire-director" with subor dinate officers. The city is divided into four inspection districts, with an officer in charge of each. Each district has numerous fire depots, according to its needs, and each depot is in charge of a fireman and four men, and is fur nished with a small hand-engine, a hook and ladder, and a fire-escape. The principal stations are connected by tele graph. New York. The fire department of New York may be taken as the type of the best system now employed in the United States. It is on a military basis, under the control of a board of commissioners appointed by the mayor. The active force is under the immediate command of the " chief of department," and consists of 10 battalions, each of 6 companies, in all about 750 men. Each company, whether engine or ladder company, has its own house, where the men live and the apparatus is kept. The whole force is at all times on duty and in the bouses, except such small detachments as are on street patrol or at their meals. The horses stand harnessed in their stalls, which are placed im mediately in the rear of the engine, and are loosened by a