Future Fire Facilities

Tli.' eitbffM o!' i his city, intoting tor Nn now steamcr, hose, etc, liave perhaps iucreased the facilities for extinguishing fires to a far greater degree than they had nny idea. By the aid of the steaiuer and the ] ,000 foet of new hose, fires can he reached and extinguished which it would heretofore have been absolulely impossihlc to in any way extinguish. Last Wednesday morning the oommittec appointed by the oommon counoil, connisting of' Dr. W. B. Smitli, thechief engineer clect, and the pretsent iooutubeut, (,'Ikih. B. Davison, orderod from C. G. Carleton & Co., of Chicago, 1,000 feel of No. h, 2 inch rubber hose, with handlcs and straps. They also purchased in the same order the oecessary rubber coats and caps for the pipemen, and lanterns for the department. It is thought the contract for the steamer will bc sigued this week, with L Button & Son, of Waterford, N. Y., the saaie finn that manufaotured the bandsume and excellent haqd engine now in use in the fifth ward of this city. A coniniittee aome time since examined iuto the merits of the different make, of steam engines made for fire purposes, and among the uiany valuable pointa, of tbe kind decidud upoD, found that it was light, durable, andjust the thing for a city where no horses would be kept to draw it. The weight of the Button engine ia 2,500 lbs., afcout 1,000 lbs. lighter than the present hand-engine ."Protection," now in use here, and ful ly that rouch lighter than any steamer made T)y other manufacturera. It is warranted to throw, through 1,000 fcet of 2} inch hose with a Y attached at the etui, two streatus of water 150 feet eacu ; or throiuh 100 feet of the same lijse, two MreauiM ÜOOfeet eaoh. The manufacturera will sund a man with the engine, put it in running order, test it, and if the warrants are not in every particular accomplished, return the .same to thefactory at no expense to the city. The firemen here feel confident that the Button engines are far superior to others in point of lightnes-s, power, and in facl all the essential requisites needcd in such an engine as the wants of' tliis city demand. The engine will be provided with a keator which will keep trom three to eight pouuds uf steaai on the boiler all the time. It consumes from 36 to 46 lbs. of anthraoite coal per day, requires filling at morning and night only, and needs les attcntion than a comtnon bae burner coal stove. Furthermore the water bciiiij kept warm all the time the cngine is roady f'or immediate use, and the flues will not rust out as rapidly as when filled with cold water. SOMETHINO ABOUT WATER. There are ten cisterns within reach of the court house, with capaoities ranging from 300 to 800 barrels. There are also several other oisterns about the city. One in front of the old Baptist church on Catharine street, another near the Germán churoh corner of Washington and 5th streets, another near the high school building and M. E. Church, aiuther at the northwest oorner of the Univert-ity campus, still another at the northeast corner of the campus near Judge Harriman's residence, and dien the reservoir on State street furnishes an abundance which can now be utilized, while in the 5th wurd there are twoor three cisterns, we believe, Iocated on the hill. Besides these cisterns tbc water in the cnek running parallel with Main .street. can now be usad from the foot of Cathirine to its inter section with South Main street. The steauier placed at the creek will leed two hand emanes with water at any point on our bu-nness streets, or throw two streanis over any of the buildings on Main street trom that poiut, while the length of hose now in good oondition - some 2,100 feet - will eaable the engines to reach even the remotest dweiling streets heretofore absolutely unprotected. By setting thesteamer on the mili rac3 near the Toledo & A, A. R. R., round house, all parts of Sprintstreet hill may be reached with ease. Another and very important item, s that our cisterns will not now be dependent upon rain to lili them. If a fire should empty one, or all, they can be easily filled from the creek by the steamer, at a trifling expense. We might continue to enumérate the advantages which will accrue from the new inve.stmeiit, but trust we have already said sufficient. We doubt our people ever regretting the step taken, and feel certain that the expendituro isa wise one.