FIRE AND FROST

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 38, 14 February 1930, Page 11

FIRE AND FROST

PERILS FROM ICE

NEW YORK PHENOMENA

ASTONISHING- EFFECTS

To fight heat and cold at the same time is the distracting problem of the fireman in midwinter, says "The Literary Digest." ■ With a furnace raging before him, his hose, apparatus, or hydrant may freeze solid behind him. Fugitives may dash' out upon the firs escapes and find their bare feet soou frozen fast to the ironwork while tho heat is sccrchiug their backs. These and other equally important problems of fires in zero weather are interestingly treated by Chief D. A. Boulden, of tho Winnipeg Fir Department, writing in "The Ainc- ' rican City" (New York). The men, he observes, must feel that the handicap of excessive cold is nullified by special care taken to protect them while they are doing their extra-hazardous work. The author has adopted the plan ci relieving his men at intervals, when their clothing has become caked with ice, and thawing them out in adjoining buildings before they return to their positions. Chief Boulden Js paper was read originally at v, convention of the International Association of Fire Chiefs at Birmingham, Alabama. He writes: — "In answering a night alarm of fire, when the temperature is below zero, the fireman have to battle, against tho oppression of the atmosphere. When the door of tho engiuo house is opened, the very air seems to challenge one's existence; the deserted street cracks and groans; the exhaust fogs the engine's path. The driver is in undisputed control of the way; there is no obstruction; but danger lurks there. Strict attention must bo paid to the apparatus, and tho certain precautions must be taken before, during, and after a fire, in order to be always ready to meet the extra strain that comes to the department in fighting fire on a winter night. SKILFUL DRIVING. "The care of the apparatus, the driving and manoeuvring of it, must be in the hands of skilful men. Boiling to a fire on slippery streets deep with snow, calls for men who can handle their apparatus in danger and' emergency. The fireman, like all good craftsmen, must make the care of his tools his first consideration. The engine must, be clothed with hood and radiator cover; nonfreezing lubricants must be used to protect motor and transmission. Engines equipped with deck guns should be supplied with heavy canvas to cover tho entire front of the apparatus when in action. The deckgun nozzles must bo in perfect shape, free from dents and unevenness, as a straight, unbroken stream easts little or no spray—an essential precaution, because spray from big streams forms ice- quickly. "Water being tho ammunition, the mains must be below the frost line, and ibe hydrants well installed and cared for,' with low and high-pressure systems maintained at proper poundage. To know that water is there, and plenty of it, is the great essential. "The handling of streams, especially in streets and lanes, requires great care. When operations begin at a fire ia extreme winter weather, the lay-out conditions may be all right, but in a short time the new formation of ice makes any movement dangerous, and the firemen in charge of the pipes are liable to slip and fall. Back pressure ■will take care of any line that is proper: ly secured, as after being in operation a short time it will freeze in. To move streams under such, conditions is impossible, therefore it is necessary to have additional dry hose on hand. "When operating from outside standpipes, the valve on which the hose is connected must not b^ shut down, and when the stream is temporarily out of service, tho nozzle should be left partly open, pointing over the side of the building. When operations cease, the hose should be disconnected immediately, so as to drain the standpipes in order to save them from freezing and bursting. Inch-and-a-half hose streams can be used only inside a burning building to prevent them from freezing. The 2Jinch and larger hose must have the nozzle kept partly open, for, with the water shut off, the line will freeze instantly, and become useless. LADDERS CASED IN ICE. "Aerial ladders sometimes become completely embedded in tons of ice. When this occurs, judgment and care are required to extricate the ladders, as they are liable to break and cause considerable damage. It is best to have the running-gear for operating aerial ladders enclosed. Plenty of steam is the only thing to thaw out ladders when they are embedded in icel "Hose onco solidly frozen in is generally ruined, as it has to be chopped out. If, however, it is not cut or damaged, it is dragged home in its frozen state to the engine-house, where the couplings are steamed and the hose is hung in towers to dry. "The saving of life at winter fires is a difficult operation, and requires ingenuity and poise. To step out in night attire on an iron fire escape means that the feet will remain fastened to the place on which they are standing, causing additional distress to those escaping from the fire. When such victims arc removed by firemen, it is quite likely that the skin will be torn from hands and feet, which will be frozen,- and there will be groat suffering. "Ventilation at fires ie not easily accomplished in winter. Many devices are in use to keep the cold out, and these help just as efficiently to hold heat, smoke, and gases within the building. Double doors and windows are necessary in this climate, making it , more difficult to liberate the smoke and gases. Speedy action at the top of the building is necessary to ventilate it, and snow must be shoveled from the cupola and hatchways before they can be opened. HEATING THE PREMISES. "After a fire is extinguished, the building must be properly covered and , tho heating system put in operation immediately, to save tho pipes and plumbing from freezing, which otherwise would cause a much greater loss. "Overhauling, looked upon by many firemen as a job for the chore boy, is a very important phase of fire-depart-ment work, particularly in very cold weather. The meeting of hot and cold air causes a mist which makes close observation very difficult, and when there is ice-laden merchandise with fire below, the ice must be chopped clear before the goods can bo turned ove-. This must be done with system so as to avoid further loss. "Overhead high-tension wires contract with the extreme cold weather, and soon become loadeu with ice from fire streams. These wires aro then very dangerous, and with the ice eon- • nection to ladders and fire escapes, this portion of the building is liable to become charged with electricity, and tho wires, heavily weighted, break easily; therefore, it is necesary to have linesmen answer all fires, so that they can cut the wires clear if the conditions should warrant doing this. "It is not uncommon for adjoining roofs to become overloaded with ice and snow, and the additional weight is likely to carry them into the cellar, if something is. not do'no to prevent this.

As sooji, theforc, as tho apparatus and fire streams are properly placed, tho officar in chargo should detail ladder companies to open all drains and catchbasins! in adjoining buildings and streets:, and when the accumulation oil ice sta.rts to block doorways, axes and shovelti must be used to avoid cutting off tho hose companies that are working on the inside stairway and tho firo floors.

"The danger of setting adjoining bulidings on lire is not so great in very cold weather, for the bricks and stone arc futl of frost and the roofs are covered with ice and snow, and sparks arc- mo£6 easily extinguished.