Fire Prevention in Seattle

Fire Prevention in Seattle

GENERAL NEWS FEATURES

实际火灾应该阿西斯信息t the cause of fire protection, as frequently practical and useful lessons may be drawn from them. Your readers may find something to interest them in these notes on fires in Seattle, Wash., recently: About one o’clock in the afternoon of a day not long ago some workmen discovered fire under the floor of a finished lumber warehouse alongside the big ship shed of the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company. This plant has built a battle-ship and had then, close to where this blaze was first seen, a "submarine” for the Chilean navy and a number of other vessels. The alarm was promptly given and the department responded quickly. The first hose wagon to arrive took a private hose connection about the center of the company’s yard, and unluckily this proved defective. The city water pressure there is about 125 pounds, and yet the first stream did not go over ten feet. A thirty-mile-an-hour wind was blowing and buildings and lumber were dry. With such a stream against them, one can easily imagine how the flames grew and spread before the nearest fireboat (Engine 5) could get in action from the harbor side. In a few moments the entire warehouse was burning and flames were running up the ship shed eight feet into the air, while planing and saw mills to the north were smoking with most threatening that the department of Seattle has been confronted with in years. Assistant Chief W. H. Clark sent in a second alarm soon after his arrival, and a third a few minutes later. In spite of the firemen’s best efforts, they were driven away from the planing mill and the latter quickly became a mass of flames. The long saw mill was broadside to the approaching fire, but most fortunately had a metal roof, which withstood the intense heat. At the most critical time, brands blew into the top of a dry kiln on the other side of the saw mill, and this structure was soon in a furious blaze, but sprinklers within proved of great service. When this second fire was seen mounting into the air, little blazes were started two or three hundred yards away to leeward and clouds of smoke rolled into the business portion of the city, causing fear of a general conflagration. The heavy streams from Fireboat 5 wet down the immense ship house and took the life out of the original fire. Fireboat 31 got good action on the one involving the dry kilns. The land companies did most excellent work with lines from steamers and city and company hydrants, and within an hour the flames were under control. An elevated monitor nozzle was worked by the mill men all through the fire, but was not in a location to be of much service, although the stream thrown was good. The photograph shows where the flames wete checked among the lumber piles. The total loss was $18,861.77, but more than twenty times that value was in imminent danger in the ship building plant.