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Show A Fibe Department. Wc have the nucleus of what can be made a very effective fire d;:tr::n nt. The peculiar slructuto of the buildings in thu city, and the great width of our streets, obviate the necessity of maic-taining maic-taining a large and expensive firo organization; or-ganization; but while it need not bo expensive ex-pensive it bhould be effective. Ono of the first steps is being taken in building build-ing large water tanks. These will be necessary even after the waterworks water-works are completed, as hydrants are not a perfectly safe reliance to supply afire crpinc, and, besides, with thcEe tanks, in eae of necessity, hose may be attached to the hydrants and used independently of the engine, thus increasing in-creasing the figbtiog force of the department. de-partment. Tho department should be a paid one, or at .least partially bo. At present it is volunteer, and the necessities of life require the men, during the day at least, to be at their various avocations, although at night a number of them are willing to remain re-main in the room provided for them. It is a fact that during the Winder fire some of the men left their suppers and ran, while one, at least, who was scarcely able to leave a sick bed, ran also, these men living indifferent parts of the city and making their way to the city hall, with all possiblo speed, where the engineer in charge of the steamer was found absent. It is essential to the utility of a fire engine that enough men and horses should always be at tho engine house, to run out the apparatus ap-paratus at the first alarm. Nor will this entail upon our citizens, especially business men, as large a tax as one would at first thought suppose. A driver, engineer, and a pair of horses will do for the entriue. with a driver and single horse for the hose cart. The expenso of maintaining these would not be a fraction of what we now pay for insurance. In fact, wo bclievo that, with a department thus oiganizcd, with the present unpaid assistant company, and the hook and ladder oompany, more money would bo saved in the reduced rates of insurance, insur-ance, that would surely result from being be-ing thus prepared to fight firo, than would doubly pay the ooat of supporting support-ing it. |