NEW PIER FIRE SERVICE.

NEW PIER FIRE SERVICE.

The system of standpipes which was installed at the Old Dominion Line pier at North River and Beach street, Manhattan, New York, some time ago has been tested and pronounced successful by the New York city fire department officials. A large iron pipe runs the entire length of the pier suspended a few feet below the roof. There are eight branches from this main pipe on each side of the pier, and a short hose from the end of each branch. The branches can throw a stream on the pier itself or on a boat alongside the pier. The fireboat New Yorker was used in pumping water into the main pipe. When a pressure of nearly 300 pounds had been reached, a pipe in the New Yorker, known as a “header,” burst, and a geyser of water shot about fifty feet up in the air: The accident, however, did not happen until after the advantages of the system had been proved to the satisfaction of all present. The advantage of the standpipe is, that a fire in a boat alongside or on some part of the pier may be extinguished, without interrupting traffick or disturbing freight on another part of the pier. There is also less danger of the standpipes bursting and damaging freight than in the case of rubber hose. Another interesting test was made partly at the request of the dock department. A hose was attached to the land end of the standpipe to see how far a stream could be thrown across West street and up the side streets. Frequently there is a lack of water at fires near the waterfront, and the experiment showed that, if standpipe systems are installed on every pier, salt water can be used.

The system of standpipes which was installed at the Old Dominion Line pier at North River and Beach street, Manhattan, New York, some time ago has been tested and pronounced successful by the New York city fire department officials. A large iron pipe runs the entire length of the pier suspended a few feet below the roof. There are eight branches from this main pipe on each side of the pier, and a short hose from the end of each branch. The branches can throw a stream on the pier itself or on a boat alongside the pier. The fireboat New Yorker was used in pumping water into the main pipe. When a pressure of nearly 300 pounds had been reached, a pipe in the New Yorker, known as a “header,” burst, and a geyser of water shot about fifty feet up in the air: The accident, however, did not happen until after the advantages of the system had been proved to the satisfaction of all present. The advantage of the standpipe is, that a fire in a boat alongside or on some part of the pier may be extinguished, without interrupting traffick or disturbing freight on another part of the pier. There is also less danger of the standpipes bursting and damaging freight than in the case of rubber hose. Another interesting test was made partly at the request of the dock department. A hose was attached to the land end of the standpipe to see how far a stream could be thrown across West street and up the side streets. Frequently there is a lack of water at fires near the waterfront, and the experiment showed that, if standpipe systems are installed on every pier, salt water can be used.