Edwin Otho Sachs

“ The legislator’s first ambition must be to prevent a fire in one house from spreading to another, and a stranger’s property, so to say, from being endangered. This is quite possible, given good party walls carried well over the roof to a height regulated by the nature of the risk, the provision of the shutters to windows where necessary, and the use of fire-resisting glass. Again, a thoroughly good roof—or still better, a fire-resisting attic floor—can do much. If the locality has a fire brigade and the force is efficiently handled, “spreads” from one house to another should never occur. ”

“ It should be remembered that a good staircase and a ladder are often as useful for the manœuvring of the firemen as for life-saving purposes, and that they are practically as essential for the saving of property as for saving life. No distinction need be made between the two risks when speaking of fire protection in general; but as the safety of the most valueless life is generally classed higher than that of the most valuable property, it may be well to give life-saving the first place when alluding to the two separately. ”

“ There are places where, without any regulation being attempted, and thanks entirely to the influence referred to, most residences can boast of a hand-pump, a bucket, and a crowbar, the proper use of which is known to most of the household. Self-help in small risks may, however, be distinctly encouraged by the authorities, without any irksome interference with personal liberty, simply by the provision of street pillar-boxes, with the necessaries of first aid, including perhaps a couple of scaling ladders, and, further, by opportunities being given to householders to learn how to handle them. ”

“ The prestige of the fire service has been raised everywhere where the officers, besides being fire experts, are educated men of social standing. There are cities where the officers of the fire brigade are in every way recognized as equal to army or navy men, their social position is the same, and their mess fulfils the same functions as a regimental mess. The fire brigade officer is recognized at court, and there is no ceremonial without him. ”

“ Fire Brigades.—The organization of fire brigades varies greatly. There are brigades where officers and men are practically constantly ready to attend a fire, and others where they are ready on alternate days, two days out of every three, or three days out of every four, and the off day is entirely their own, or at the most, only partially used by the authorities for some light work. The men off duty are only expected to attend a fire if there is a great emergency, the brigade being strong enough without them for ordinary eventualities. ”

“ Where there is mutual insurance or municipal insurance in its best sense, the losses by fire and the costs of the protection are often booked in one account, and the better protection up to a certain point should mean a smaller individual annual share. Where there is company insurance the municipal rates are increased to cover the cost of extra protection, while a proportionate decrease is expected in the insurance premiums. Competition and public opinion generally impose this decrease of the insurance rates as soon as there is a greater immunity from fire. ”

“ In one town no relation or employé of the owner receives a reward. In other cities no rewards are given for calls to a fire in a dust-bin or a chimney.
No true fireman would be annoyed at a false alarm given by mistake. The possibility of a fire, or the suspicion of one, is a bona fide reason for a call which should not be discouraged. Malicious alarms should, however, be treated with the utmost rigour, as the absence of firemen from their stations always means an extra risk to life and property. ”

“ It is one of the easiest signs by which to judge the training and handling of a fire brigade—to see what damage they do. Even an inconsiderate smashing of doors and windows, when there is absolutely no need for it, can be avoided, where every man in the force feels that his first duty is to prevent damage and loss and his second to extinguish the fire.
Where the brigade includes a salvage division, it is generally stationed at headquarters; where this division is split up into sections, there would also be a distribution among the district centres ”

“ Of course the drills must be on the same lines as those of the local brigade, and on no account should other gear be used for self-help than is generally customary in that force. When volunteers and regulars work together, the former should always remember that the paid force are experts, though the regulars must never have that contempt for volunteer work so often noticeable. Volunteers are often men who are probably experts in some other vocation outside fire-fighting, and have not had the opportunities which a professional fire-fighter has had. ”

“ For many years manual engines were the only ones employed, and they came to be made of great size, requiring as many as 40 or 50 men to work them; but now they are superseded by power-driven engines, at least for all important services. The first practical steam fire-engine was made by John Braithwaite about 1829, but though it proved useful in various fires in London for several years after that date, it was objected to by the men of the fire brigade and its use was abandoned. A generation later, however, steam fire-engines began to come into vogue. ”

“ If the ratepayer has to pay for extra protection in the form of an increased municipal rate, or in the form of an increased premium raised to meet the contribution levied, this is simply juggling with figures.
Cost.—As to the cost of a practical system of fire protection, better and safer building from the fire point of view means better and more valuable structures of longer life from the economic aspect. Such better and safer constructional work pays for itself and cannot be considered in the light of an extra tax on the building owner. ”

“ Smoke is even a greater danger than fire, and may hamper the helpers terribly. The possibility of opening a window has saved many a life.
Safety of Property.—As far as the protection of property is concerned, the prevention of outbreaks can be influenced by the careful construction of flues, hearths, stoves, and in certain classes of buildings by the construction of floors and ceilings, the arrangement of skylights, shutters and lightning conductors. Then comes the prevention of the fire spreading, first, by the division of risks, and secondly, by the materials used in construction. ”

“ Self-help mainly deals with the protection of large risks, such as factories, stores and public places of amusement, which lend themselves to regulation. The requirements of the fire survey code may allow for hydrants or sprinklers in certain risks, and also for their regular inspection, and the means for self-help may thus be given. These means will, however, probably not be properly employed unless some of the employés engaged on the risk are instructed as to their purpose, and have confidence in the apparatus at their disposal. ”

“ The division of a building or large “risk” into a number of minor ones is only possible to a certain extent. There is no need to spend enormous sums to make each of the minor “risks” impregnable. The desire should be simply to try to retard the spread for a certain limited time after the flames have really taken hold of the contents. In those minutes most fires will have been discovered, and, where there is an efficient fire-extinguishing establishment, a sufficient number of firemen can be on the spot to localize the outbreak and prevent the conflagration from becoming a big one. ”

“ As to the primary training of a fire brigade officer, the best men have generally had some experience in another profession, such as the army, the navy, or the architectural and engineering professions, previous to their entering the fire service. Some brigades recruit from army officers only, and preferably from the engineers or artillery regiments; others recruit from among architects and engineers, subject to their having at least had some military experience in the reserve forces or the volunteers. ”

“ For the regulars, forty-eight hours on duty to every twenty-four off has given the most satisfactory results.
The division of the active force may be on a system of a number of small parties of twos and threes backed by one or more strong bodies. Another system allows for subdivision into sections of equal strength, ranging from parties of, say, five men with a non-commissioned officer to thirty non-commissioned officers and men with an officer. The force can, of course, also simply be divided up into parties or sections of different strengths not governed by a system of military units. ”

“ The budget must also allow for an attractive rate of pay, as the profession is one which requires men who have a maximum of the sterling qualities which we look for in the pick of a nation. It must also not be forgotten that the fire service is one of the few where a system of pensions is the only fair way of recognizing the risks of limb and health, and at the same time securing that stability in which practical experience from long service is so essential a factor. ”

“ Fire-fighting service in the United States is in no way connected with the military as it is on the continent of Europe; the association of volunteer with paid firemen is uncommon except in the suburban parts of the large cities, and in the smaller cities and towns, where volunteers serving for a certain term are, during that term and thereafter, exempt from jury duty. ”

“ The idea is that it is always better to have too strong a force quickly in attendance than too small a number of men, and that it is most important that the first arrival should be well handled. Further, if two sections answer a call and one breaks down on the road, there is no chance of there being too great a delay in the arrival of organized help. It should, however, not be forgotten that further calls in the same district to other fires are not unusual, and that the absence of too many engines, on account of a first call, is dangerous. ”

“ It is always in the interest of a nation to minimize its national losses, no matter whether they fall on one individual’s shoulders or on many, and whether such losses are good for certain trades or not. ”

“ The budget must allow for an ample reserve of appliances.
Whether or not a fire brigade should be so strong as to permit of its having a separate section for salvage corps purposes depends on circumstances. Economically a salvage corps is required, and should be part and parcel of the municipal brigade and organized on the same lines with a reserve, no matter whether the insurance of the locality be managed by the authorities or by companies. If a corps is necessary, it matters little whether it be paid for out of premiums or out of rates. ”

“ Where a brigade can boast of a few men of each important trade, much money has been saved the ratepayers by the men doing their own repairs and refitting, but the number of men from sedentary trades should not be excessive. Where there are only men of one trade or calling, there is often too great a tendency to one-sidedness, and a great amount of prejudice. ”

“ Where protection is treated as a science, and where those in charge of a brigade have really to act as advisers to their employers, officers in the military sense have been found essential. They have also been found advantageous where their scope is limited to fire extinguishing. ”

“ The officers may be all taken from the ranks, or they may be “officers and gentlemen” in the military sense, or have only temporarily done work with the rank and file when in training. There could also be a combination of these two systems. Only the captain and deputy-captain might be officers in the military sense, the sections or divisions being officered by “non-coms.” Some cities have an officer to every thirty “non-coms” and men, whilst others put a division of as many as two hundred under a fireman who has risen from the ranks. ”