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Show as a matter of course at street intersections. Between Be-tween street mains, on account of the size of the I blocks, we have, perhaps, 700 feet. In the average city this would represent two additional street intersections in-tersections which would overcome to a large extent, ex-tent, all things being equal, this frictional loss. I If, therefore, the pressure was low when hose and engine connections were made to hydrants why did the pressure in this gravity system in- crease Such is against the law of hydraulics. "We 1 assert that the reservoirs were cut off from the aistribution system of the city and when connected connect-ed overcame this loss by friction and resulted in increasing the pressure to normal conditions. But why was the reservoir cut off from the water system? sys-tem? So far as the Atlas block fire in itself is concerned con-cerned we do not believe that it could have been handled better by a more efficient department, but why waste water by forcing it on the front brick wall of a building totally destroyed? When the Central block was known to be on fire and the Atlas block destroyed and the "Walker building regarded safe, why was not concentration of hose streams directed to the fire in this building build-ing by going into the front as well as rear of the Salt Lake Hardware Company's store? "Was an excessive ex-cessive amount of powder carried in this store, or were the firemen afraid that there might be? Money Mon-ey was expended by the council recently for the installation of five 700 gallon cisterns in the business busi-ness district based upon the belief that the fire streams could do better work taking suction through them than hydrants. One was tested in November and if a success, as stated by the daily press, why discard them at this large fire? The truth is they are a failure, for had water been used through them the only hose streams that could have been utalized would have been from the streamers. Compare our area, population, conjestion of "buildings and their height in our large business blocks, and absence of rear protection to these buildings and the loss to merchandise by water in carrying hose streams through stores, the minimum mini-mum number of men in the fire department to handle present apparatus and the absolute lack of proper fire appliances and we find a good excuse ex-cuse for the recent raise in fire insurance rates. |