AMERICAN FIRE BRIGADES.

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 979, 14 June 1872, Page 3

AMERICAN FIRE BRIGADES.

' Ballarat Star' has a leading fficle founded on the reports of some in America, giving some •rious particulars regarding these tpnisations. Says the' Star '—"The fsatories of apparatus are annually iTen by American brigades, and comJBB some suggestive items, We see W spittoons are an almost invariable Prtion'of the outfit of every company Pee spittoons to a company of 12 pus to be the average. allowance of jN elegant necessaries of American m Blunderbusses, too, appear to be Pther article of furniture. Two ■Werbusses are the proportion to pe epittoons, we perceive, the fireV being, as it would seem, mightier w! of tobacco than gunpowder. the times, even in CaliKj 4 ! are more favorable to a quiet K an *° " wars' alarmß," and the ■* of active blunderbusses. They ■ toiiest, not to say humorouß felWh those inventory makers, and minute withal in details. ■™ coal shovel, * useless;" " two ■jcombs, one very bad;" "one ■"bowl, good, one bad; ' two cot■C and so on, show a mm attention to exactness. Now ■ then the reporter seems to ■J he. Thus we have two * blun■»j3ses, good,* as contrasted with Wj, 'two blunderbusses' and ■» iron spittoons, good,' instead of ■gfry ' three spittoons.' Table ■ tieddmg appear to be the weak R l9 the fireman's ontfit in San for 'broken,' 'worthless,' W* [ 1 worn-out,' and such like mm, ad J ectivesrecur frequently. K ,^ a nd-ladder company's inven- ■ carries us back to the ■"•teya of that holy Christian

man Torquomada, and the equally pious Alva. We find the company boasted the possession of ' two tormentors,' five hooks,' ' one battering ram,' ' one jackscrew' one monkey wrench,' and other ugly-sounding things, and, of course, the inevitable ' three spittoons,' to qualify and pacify the whole."