enter name and hit return
OUR FIREMEN : THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE
BROOKLYN FIRE DEPARTMENT
CHAPTER IV
THE PAID DEPARTMENT
- FIRST ATTEMPTS TO ESTABLISHMENT
The movement toward establishing a paid Department for the city of
Brooklyn dates back as far as 1858, when Alderman E. J. LOWBER introduced a
resolution providing for such a Department. The resolution was referred to
a committee consisting of E. J. LOWBER, Edward ROWE, Edward S. RALPHS,
Martin KALBFLEISCH and William H. JENKINS, who in reporting favorably
expressed the opinion that a reduction in the number of fires would follow
upon the abolition of the volunteer system, as they were of opinion that
many fires of incendiary origin were " started by the adherents of different
companies in order to get up an excitement," much as a company in Utica had
fired a church steeple to demonstrate the throwing capacity of a favorite
engine. It was expected that the introduction of the Ridgewood water (then
under way) would give a stream from hydrants with a pressure sufficient to
carry one hundred feet through a 2" -inch hose, and that except for high
altitudes no engines would be required, and for those the purchase of two
steamers would suffice. The resolution was not passed.
- JUDGE MASSEY'S SUCCESSFUL, 1869
In 1869, several prominent citizens of Brooklyn called upon ex - Judge
Fred S. MASSEY, who had always been in favor of better discipline in the
volunteer ranks and pledged their support if he would endeavor to organize a
paid Department He was then Foreman of old Engine Co. No. 14, in Pierrepont
Street. He consented and drew up a bill which was presented to the
Legislature by Andrew B. HODGES, representing the Eighth Assembly District.
It was entitled " An Act to Reorganize the Fire Department of the city of
Brooklyn."
When the original bill was passed, in 1869, visions of a more complete
and efficient Fire Department, which would handle fires more expeditiously
and with less bickerings and squabbles, arose before the eyes of the
citizens. They thought well of their volunteer brigade, but they wanted
something better and more under their control. The news that the Governor
had affixed his signature to the bill, therefore, was greeted with joy by
the community.
-COMMISSIONERS - APPOINTED AND ORGANIZED
Then came the appointment of the Commissioners. Mayor KALBFLEISCH,
Alderman BERGEN (president of the Board of Aldermen), Street Commissioner
FUREY, Comptroller JOHNSON and City Treasurer SPRAGUE were authorized by the
new act to nominate five persons, and then ballot for four Commissioners, the
four receiving the highest number of votes to be declared elected. A
meeting was held in the Comptroller's office, and the following names were
selected upon which to ballot:
Frederick S. MASSEY,
Hugh MCLAUGHLIN,
William A. BROWN,
Anthony F. CAMPBELL,
Rodney THURSBY and D. D. BRIGGS, the first four of whom were elected.
At the first meeting of the new board, which was held in the Comptroller's
office on Saturday, May 22, 1869, the members drew lots for terms of office.
MCLAUGHLIN was the first who tempted fate, and drew out an eight-year ticket
from the hat. MASSEY followed, and drew out a coupon bearing a similar term.
Messrs. BROWN and CAMPBELL, of course, drew six years slips.
They were then sworn in by the City Clerk, after which officers were chosen as follows:
President, F. S. MASSEY;
treasurer, Hugh MCLAUGHLIN;
secretary, C. A. SPARKS. Almost the very first
thing which the board did in its official capacity was to notify the
president of the Metropolitan Police Department that one section of the new
bill provided that the police should cooperate with the firemen in every
way, and arrest all persons who might violate any rule of the Board or the
Department in connection with the extinguishment of fires. The next thing
was to improve the condition of the Department as far as possible, and with
that end in view. Chief Engineer SMITH of the Eastern District, and Chief
Engineer CUNNINGHAM, of the Western District, were' ordered to furnish a
complete list of the apparatus in use by the Department and its condition.
Briefly summed up, the reports were in effect as follows: Western
District- one Chief, seven Assistant Engineers, 1,743 enrolled members,
fifteen steam fire-engines, two hand- engines, thirteen hose-carriages, and
six hook and ladder trucks. Eastern District - one Chief, four Assistant
Engineers, 610 enrolled members, three steam-engines, three hand-engines,
ten hose-carriages and three hook and ladder trucks. The totals in the two
districts footed up 2,366 members, eighteen steam-engines, five
hand-engines, twenty-three hose-carriages, nine hook and ladder trucks;
hose, 27,000 feet, of which 12,000 feet was in good, 9,000 in ordinary, and
6,000 in bad condition. In the Western District, so it was stated by
Chief. Engineer CUNNINGHAM, nine engines were in bad condition, and only
five fit for use by the new Department. Four hand-engines and fourteen
tenders could also be used, but only three of the five hook and ladder
trucks were in good order. He recommended that the Department be furnished
with eight second-class steam-engines at once. Chief Engineer SMITH
reported regarding the apparatus in the Eastern District that of the six
engines only two could be adapted to the uses of the paid Department, and
that none of the hose-carriages were fit to be employed, being too lightly
built. Of the three hook and ladder trucks, but one could be used under the
new system, and that only with some expense for repairs and alteration. On
May 26 another meeting of the Commissioners was held in the City Hall, when
standing committees were appointed as follows:
Apparatus - MCLAUGHLIN, BROWN
Finance - CAMPBELL, MCLAUGHLIN
Buildings - BROWN CAMPBELL
Supplies-MCLAUGHLIN, BROWN
Appointments - The Board
Shop - CAMPBELL
Telegraph - BROWN, CAMPBELL
At another meeting on the following day, the Commissioners decided upon
the building then occupied by Engine No. 17, on Jay, near Willoughby Street
a suitable place for headquarters, and early in June it was fitted up with
offices, where the Board took up their position.
- INSPECTION OF OLD DEPARTMENTS & CHANGES ORDERED
The Commissioners made it one of their first duties to visit all the
Fire Department buildings. They inspected the western District first, and
were struck with the general bad condition of the apparatus; it was
extremely dirty, and in some cases the buildings were falling to pieces.
Many engines were practically useless; hose dry, dirty, and cracked ; some
of the engine-houses occupied by private families, and others in various
respects unfit for use - while in many instances both houses and apparatus
were in excellent condition, reflecting credit on the Companies charged
with their custody That the Commissioners had a big task before them to
reorganize the Department was very evident, as was also the fact that it
would require the expenditure of a large amount of money,
After much deliberation the Commissioners decided to dispense with the
following engines and companies:
Union, No 5;
Columbia, No. 10;
Hibernia, No. 16;
Montauk No. 22
Goodwill, No. 4;
Jackson, No. 11;
Eagle, No. 13;
Truck, No. 1;
Atlantic Hose, No. 1;
Mechanic Hose, No. 2;
Frontier Hose No. 5 ;
Bedford Hose, No. 11;
Eureka Hose, No. 14; and Excelsior Hose, No. 9, E.D.
The 632 officers and men attached to those companies received notice
that they would be relieved from duty from June l, l869 and on that date
some of the houses were closed, transfers were made to others, and discarded
apparatus was stored. New apparatus was ordered, houses and stables built,
and on July 27, a revised schedule was published of the existing companies
and locations.
It being announced that the Commissioners would make public the names of
the successful applicants for appointment in the new Department, a large
number of the hopeful assembled in front of the headquarters in Jay Street
on the morning of September 15, 1869. The successful candidates were
called up and informed of their appointment and given some general
instruction. The following is the full list of appointments made:
- ROSTER OF THE COMPLETED DEPARTMENT
HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS.
Chief Engineer, John CUNNINGHAM. (Appointed May 31, 1869.)
Assistant Chief Engineer, John W. SMITH.
District Engineers, James GAFFNEY
, James SHEVLIN
, Charles B. PARLEY
, Thomas F. NEVINS
, George VERITZAN
, William A. MINARD
Superintendent of Horses, Arthur QUINN
Superintendent of Repair-Shop, Patrick HUGHES.
Foreman of Harness-Shop, John MCGRONEN
Secretary of Department, Caspian S. SPARKS
Messenger, Thomas HEFFERN
Surgeon, William F. SWALM, M. D.
APPOINTMENTS TO ENGINE COMPANIES.
ENGINE No. 1.:
John J. REID, Foreman
Frederick J. MANNING, Engineer
John BEGLEY, Stoker
Privates:
James CONNORS
James DONOHUE
John MORGAN
and M., QUINN
ENGINE No. 2.:
James DOYLE, Foreman
Francis CURRAN, Engineer
John GEARY, Driver
James FITZPATRICK, Stoker
Privates:
Andrew DOUGLASS
James FARRELL
Andrew LEONARD
Henry RYAN
Robert O'DONNELL
ENGINE No. 3.:
Peter FAGAN, Foreman
David KELLY, Engineer
Edward FITZSIMMONS, Driver
James BUTLER, Stoker
Privates:
Patrick FAGAN
Patrick KEATING
Samuel DUFF
Patrick MCKENNA
James HAGGERTY
ENGINE No. 4.:
Daniel J. GARRITY, Foreman
William H. FORD, Engineer
Charles MCCHESNEY, Driver
Michael BENNETT, Stoker
Privates:
John DUYER
A. J. LYONS
Cartwright MCBRIDE
S. A. LOVE
Thomas KELLY
ENGINE No. 5.:
James DALE, Foreman;
William H. SHAW, Engineer
John BUTLER, Driver;
Henry KING, Stoker.
Privates:
Thomas F. BYRNE,
James W. DEAN,
John A. FAY,
David MCCONNELL
and Charles F. POUCH
ENGINE No. 6.:
Patrick LAHEY, Foreman
James LAHEY, Engineer
Arthur JOHNSON, Driver
John J. POWELL, Stoker
Privates:
Edward J. HORAN
Bernard MCLAUGHLIN
James RILEY
Patrick HARRISON
and Michael DUNDON
ENGINE No. 7.:
William HAGAN, Foreman
William F. HAGAN, Engineer
Daniel MCCAULEY, Driver
Charles FOE, Stoker
Privates:
Andrew MCSHANE
John MALLIN
Richard SMITH
Thomas MACKIN
and Frank J. RYNN
ENGINE No. 8.:
James WALSH, Foreman
William BRENNAN, Engineer
Patrick MURPHY, Driver
Michael MCCANN, Stoker
Privates:
Samuel BURNS
Charles JOHNSTON
Peter FITZPATRICK
John MCCOLE
and John MCDONALD
ENGINE No. 9.:
James CUNNINGHAM, Foreman
James W. CONNELL, Engineer
Edward FITZGERALD, Driver
John E. MALONE, Stoker
Privates:
James BRENNAN
John FARRELL
Moses MORGAN
James CASSIDY
and John FRIEL
ENGINE No. 10.:
William HARRIS, Foreman
Benjamin CARMAN, Engineer
Joseph H. BENNETT, Driver
Charles MCDONOUGH, Stoker
Privates:
Zach SIMMONS
William A. BEARDALL
Thomas LEE
William H. SHERRY
and James GANNON
ENGINE No. 11:
Peter SPENCE, Foreman
Alfred E. GRUNDMAN, Engineer
George A. FROST, Driver
J. F. GRUNDMAN, Stoker
Privates:
John J. FANNING
Daniel R. KETCHAM
Cornelius WOGLOM, Jr.
John E. HUTHWAITE
and George W. THOMPSON
ENGINE No. 12.:
Michael KELLY, Foreman
Andrew TENNANT, Engineer
J. Watson TAYLOR, Driver
John OLMSTEAD, Stoker
Privates:
James WALSH
John FIELDING
Thomas MCCAFFREY
John KANE
and John CONNOR
ENGINE No. 13.:
John MCMILLAN, Foreman
Andrew TAYLOR, Engineer
Edward MURRAY, Driver
Patrick MURRAY, Stoker
Privates:
William O'BRIEN
John MCMAIL
David BAXTER
Joseph BELL
and Platt VAN COTT
APPOINTMENTS TO TRUCK COMPANIES.
TRUCK COMPANY No. 1.:
Timothy NOLAN, Foreman
James ENNIS, Driver
Privates:
Samuel C. BROWER
James DONNELLY
James SMITH
John MCGEE
George BRESLIN
Michael J. MCCARRON
and Elisha SNEETHEN
TRUCK No. 2.:
John DOOLEY, Foreman
Theo. S. MUNSON, Driver
Privates:
James F. MULLIGAN
George L. APPLEGATE
Dennis MCGROARTY
Richard C. LAMB
Thomas SWEENEY
Thomas F. BARRY
and Charles T. WIEGAND
TRUCK No. 3.:
Samuel G. HUESTIS, Foreman
Michael MCGINNESS, Driver
Privates :
John BRADLEY
Peter CAMPBELL
Edward FINN,
Patrick DOUGHERTY
Henry J. ADAIR
William HIGGINS
and James MCLAUGHLIN
TRUCK No. 4.:
Timothy F. FOLEY, Foreman
Benjamin R. BATES, Driver
Privates:
John W. HAMILTON
Charles E. QUINN
Thomas J. HAMILTON
James SLAVIN
Cornelius NOONAN
Mortimer W. CASPER
and John L. OTTEN
TRUCK No. 5.:
Joseph BRENNAN, Foreman
Peter RICARDS, Driver
Privates:
Jesse SEAMAN
Fred W. DAUBER
John RILEY
James FLAHERTY
Thomas MEEGAN
Owen S. CAMPBELL
and Thomas MCKEEVER
TRUCK No. 6.:
Enoch S. KEPPLE, Foreman
Daniel SULLIVAN, Driver
Privates:
Edward HINNESSY
James COLLINS
John MCKENNA
James MCNEIL
Bernard F. DONNELLY
Martin PHELAN
and John CONNOLLY
- PARTING WORDS TO THE OLD REGIME
When all the appointments were made, the Foremen were called in and
instructed as to their duties and when they were to take charge of their
companies. Particular attention was called to the fact that the horses
were new and green and that care in the handling of them at fires must be
taken. A copy of rules neatly bound was given to Each Foreman. The
District Engineers were instructed as to their particular duties, and when
this was over the organization of the new Department was completed. At seven
o'clock on the morning of September 15, 1869, the new Fire Department
went finally and fully into operation; the horses and apparatus passed into
the possession of the new Foremen and Engineers appointed by the
commissioners. The change had been quietly made and the old Volunteer
Department, which for half a century had protected the property of the
citizens of Brooklyn without reward, had peacefully passed away. It had been
discarded, not from any faults of its own; not that volunteers were lacking,
or were less prompt, active and zealous in the performance of their arduous
duties, but because of the changed condition of the service. The
introduction of steam fire-engines and other improved means of extinguishing
fires necessitated changes incompatible with the old volunteer system. The
paid attaches of the Department had increased in number until the only
volunteers were the men who dragged the engines to the fires, work that
could be better done by horses. On that date the Eagle, in its leader said:
"In finally parting with the old volunteer Fire Department, a few words
of tribute are due to its memory. With all its faults it was a noble
institution. We honor and exalt the soldier's profession and extol his
devoted heroism in braving hardship and periling his life in his country's
service. The work of the fireman is hardly less exacting and often as
perilous. The fireman is liable to be summoned at any hour of the night to
brave all weathers, to work laboriously for hours and often risk his life in
trying to save the property and perhaps the lives of his fellow citizens.
"Up to this day men have been found to do this work without pay, without
the stimulus of glory which awaits the soldier. Our volunteers never
faltered in their duty, no city in the country had a more effective
volunteer Department than Brooklyn could boast; it was efficient to the
last, and the dose of its career was not the least honorable part of its
record. The paid fire department law went into operation some five months
ago, but it took the commissioners until now to perfect all their
arrangements for the reorganization of the Department. The volunteer
were not unnaturally, not favorably disposed toward the change by which few
of them expected to profit. But no signs of mutiny nor evidences of of
demoralization were known. For months a large body of men have been working
without pay in the nominally paid Fire Department.
Yet they were true to their self imposed obligations to the last, turned out
when the alarm bell summoned them as promptly, and worked as zealously as
ever up to the day of their dismissal a fitting answer to the charges that
the turbulent element predominated in the Department and so endangered its
usefulness as to justify its disbandment.
"It has closed in the most becoming manner an honorable career, and
Brooklyn must ever remember the old Volunteer Fire Department with gratitude
for the service it has done in its days."
THE FIRE-ALARM TELEGRAPH.
When the present Fire Department came into existence, the alarm and
electrical apparatus consisted of four bell towers; one at the city Hall a
second at the comer of Hicks and Sackett Streets, a third at North First
street and Bedford Avenue, and the fourth on Ten Eycke near Ewen Street,
with men to ring the alarms. The City Hall tower was connected with police
headquarters by a single telegraph wire, but messages could only be received
at the tower by this means, no facilities being provided for the
transmission of messages from it. In less than a year, however, two wires
were run from the City Hall tower connecting it with all the engine and hook
and ladder houses in the Western District. Subsequently, two wires were
also run from the North First street tower to all the houses in the Eastern
District. Another wire was run from the Hicks Street tower to the City
Hall, and one from the Sixteenth to the Fourteenth Ward tower. For all
fires south of Flushing Avenue, the alarms were transmitted first on one
line and then on the other, to all companies in the Western District, and
the alarm was also sounded on the bells. The same method prevailed in
sending alarms from the Fourteenth Ward tower to the companies in the
Eastern District. At this time, too, the city was divided into fourteen
sub-sections -eight in the Western District and six of them in the Eastern.
The code of signals employed for giving alarms was similar to that which was
in vogue in other large dries. Immediately upon the discovery of a fire,
some one would rush to the nearest police station and inform the officer in
charge. That individual would notify the nearest bell-tower, via police
headquarters. The bell ringer, by means of an instrument which embodied
the thumb-piece of the present transmitter, would communicate the number of
the district in which the fire was located to the several companies by means
of a series of taps. When this much had been accomplished, he would strike
the alarm on his bell. Upon receiving the signal, the engines and trucks
hastened to the district indicated, and scoured around it until they
discovered the location of the fire.
The manifold disadvantages and loss of valuable time incurred by the use
of such a signal system were only too apparent. In December, 1869,
President MASSEY, of the Board of Fire Commissioners, arranged a system of
ringing the alarm bells, which enabled the firemen to drive almost direct to
a fire, instead of having to skirmish over the whole district for it. By
means of the new system, first the district was telegraphed and then the
particular section in which the fire was. A schedule of the new
arrangement was submitted by Mr. MASSEY to the full Board, and on and after
February 1, 1870, alarms of fire were sounded in accordance with this
schedule.
The first private building to be equipped with a box was JEWELL's Mill,
Fulton and Furman Streets. It connected with a line of wire running to all
the engine-houses and the City Hall bell-tower as well. In 1873 the number
of these instruments in private buildings had increased to thirty, but as
the city grew apace :the buildings erected being mostly of wood, the almost
utter uselessness of the system became more and more apparent. The
instruments could only be employed by operators who thoroughly understood
them, and then, very frequently, mistakes were made in striking the
requisite number of taps. If a fire broke out during the night, one who
wished to give the alarm would, perhaps, find the nearest instrument located
in some factory. Rousing the watchman was not always speedily accomplished,
and the nearest police station would have to be notified, or else there
would have to be a long wait until the flames were high enough for the
watchman in the nearest tower to "pick the fire up," as it was termed. The
instruments, too, were continually getting out of order, very slight changes
in the weather seriously affecting them. Then, again, when a break
occurred in the wires, it was sometimes necessary for the linemen to go over
the roofs of hundreds of houses before the offending wire was found. Very
frequently fifteen or "twenty minutes elapsed before an alarm reached the
Fire Department after the discovery of a fire. Despite the improvements in
the alarm system the Commissioners were fully aware that the system was
still very faulty, and urgently advised a change. The schedule introduced by
Mr. MASSEY was followed for some considerable time, but in 1873, he laid a
lengthy petition before the Common Council, in which he pointed out the
city's great danger. The number of places from which alarms could be
transmitted had not been increased from the original thirty, and the only
improvement had been the establishment of the location numbers in the
districts. Mr. MASSEY stated that not over ten in a hundred persons knew
how to send out an alarm by means of the instruments in use; and that on an
average the distance from each fire that had occurred to the nearest alarm
station was three-eighths of a mile, which distance had to be traversed "
by some one before the alarm could be sent out. He showed that there was
scarcely a point in the city which one or more engines could not reach in
five minutes after the alarm had been received, but twenty or thirty minutes
frequently elapsed before the firemen were notified that there was a fire.
The critical period of a fire was the first few minutes after its breaking
out, and if the engines could be summoned promptly enough to gain the
advantage at the start, there would be a less number of heavy losses to
record. The alarm system which was the cause of all these complaints had
cost the city about $5,000, and Mr. MASSEY, in behalf of the Board of Fire
Commissioners, asked for $10,000 additional for the purpose of improving the
service. The Department, however, did not get it at that time. In
January of the following year age (1874) another petition was laid before
the Council, but it met a similar fate. In this petition particular
attention was called to the fact that during the three last months of 1871,
the average loss per fire was $2,700; in 1872 it was $7.024; in 1873. $3.499
and in 1874, $3,595. Matters were allowed to remain in statu quo until
1878, when the city was presented with thirty-eight fire-alarm telegraph
boxes, made by Pearce & Jones, which were placed at various points in
different thoroughfares, together with additional instruments in the City
Hall and Fourteenth Ward towers. Additions were made to this equipment
from time to time, until at the end of the year mentioned there were fifty
public and sixteen private boxes connected with the Fire Department by
sixty-five miles of wire, strung on 779 poles. In November, 1879, a
"central office" system was installed on the top floor of fire headquarters,
then located at No. 367 Jay Street, but it was not put into operation until
December 22, 1880. During the year 1884, the ringing of alarms from the
bell towers was discontinued, and the Sixth and Seventeenth Ward towers were
torn down. Early in 1885, by order of the Common Council, the ringing of
alarms in the City Hall and Fourteenth Ward towers was resumed. In 1884-5,
all wires in the Eastern District were extended to headquarters, thereby
centralizing all alarms at that point. A telephone system and an exchange
switchboard were added in 1887, with sixty-seven telephones connecting with
each officer's quarters and the fire houses. The police and ambulance
systems were also located in the same room at headquarters.
In August, 1884, the Department received fifty-two Gamewell
non-interference alarm boxes, and from time to time the old Pearce & James
boxes were replaced by the new ones, until January i, 1888, when all the
public alarm boxes were of the Gamewell pattern. In 1883, the central
office system (automatic) had nine circuits "connected up," and in working
order, some metallic and some grounded. It now has twenty-three metallic
and one ground circuit, the latter being connected with the New York
Insurance patrol, and forty-nine telephone circuits.
Since 1882, the bureau has grown from twenty engine-house instruments,
sixty-seven public and twenty-seven private alarm boxes (individuals owning
the latter, which the Bureau, after purchase, connected free of charge), to
eighty-four conversational and box line sets of instruments; seventy-four
alarm gongs, 461 public alarm boxes and 129 private alarm boxes. The
Department has in service 373 miles of aerial wire stretched on 2,172 poles,
crossing over 284 streets. There are 2,070 feet of aerial and ground
cable, containing 38,050 feet of insulated conductors, strung on the King's
County elevated railroad. In "box" conduits there are 28,750 feet of
rubber insulated wire.
Superintendent WATSON purposes making many changes in the apparatus of
the Telegraph Bureau, when the latter is located in the new headquarters on
Jay Street. He has visited Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago,
Milwaukee, Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston,
and at each of these cities he has inspected the fire alarm telegraph
apparatus. In each place he has learned something and he will give the
Brooklyn Department the benefit, by introducing new apparatus which will
facilitate the service. One important accessory to the bureau will be a
clock, which will automatically report, every fifteen minutes, the condition
of all the fire telegraph wires in the city. When a break occurs in a
wire, the machine will register on paper the location of the defective wire,
and the exact spot where the break has occurred.
An important extension of the fire-alarm facilities has recently been
made, in the adoption by the Commissioner, under authority of a resolution
of the Common Council, of the Sachs Instantaneous Auxiliary Alarm system.
This system furnishes alarm boxes in private buildings, connected with the
regular street boxes, by means of which the Department is notified of a fire
the instant it occurs, without the usual delays caused by finding the key to
the street box, running to the box, opening it, and sending the alarm. The
ten to fifteen minutes thus saved at the very beginning of a fire will
prevent its gaining headway, and many fires which might otherwise become
serious will be nipped in the bud. The boxes are small and ornamental, and
may be placed on every floor in a factory or residence, so that the engines
may be summoned, often by merely wheeling around in one's chair and touching
a button. What the boxes do when operated is simply to perform the same
work at the nearest street box as would be performed by a person after he
had reached the street box, opened it, and set it in motion. Any number of
private boxes may be connected with the same street box without
interference. A beautifully ingenious device provides for informing the
sender of an alarm that his alarm has been received at the engine-house, the
dropping of a small disk in his private box revealing the printed notice:
"Alarm received." This notice cannot be disclosed until the current has
actually started the street box. sounded the engine-house alarm, and
returned by the return wire to the sender. If there should be any
disarrangement of the wires, the return message will not be received But
a disarrangement is almost impossible in the system, and should one
occur, it is automatically reported on separate wires to a central office,
without awaiting a fire call to disclose the trouble in an emergency. The
adoption of this system, so complete in its provisions and so perfect in its
workings, will mark another step, and a long one, in Brooklyn's boasted
immunity from serious fires, such as is enjoyed by no other large city in
the world.
Transcribed for the Brooklyn Pages by Mimi Stevens
BROOKLYN FIRE DEPT. Chapter 5
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