THE LOS ANGELES FIRE.
From a report received from Chief Lipps, of the Los Angeles, Cal., fire department, it shows that considerable difficulty was experienced in keeping that conflagration within bounds. The Van Nuys Broadway hotel was located in the principal business section of the city, covering an area of 100 by 150 square feet. It was four stories high and constructed of wood, with first story and foundation brick. There were about sixteen hydrants of two and onc-half-inch diameter openings, single and double, available for the use of the department. The distance between each hydrant of 400 feet at such an important locality was rather a handicap; but, nothwithstanding this, Chief Lipps and his men made more than a creditable showing. The width of the street in front of the hotel is eighty feet, which gave ample room for bringing all the available apparatus into operation. The sixteen-inch main running along such an important thoroughfare, however, was quite inadequate and ought to be replaced with one of twenty or thirty inches at the earliest opportunity. When the firemen arrived on the scene, the basement and first floor were involved, so that the fight from the start was a very severe test of the equipment. Chief Lipps, realising the big job on hand, brought sixteen engines, three trucks, hose wagons and a water tower into operation, and soon had thirteen one and one-eighth-inch and two one and three-quarter-inch streams at work. The employment of so many pieces of apparatus necessitated the laying of 16,000 feet of cotton rubber-lined hose. The poor construction of the building soon developed a warm fire, in which big nozzles and the water tower played the principal part, and the effective streams they produced quickly began to tell. The water pressure at the hydrant was seventy-five pounds, which, according to Chief Lipps, was sufficient to supply the apparatus in use. Considering the surroundings of the property involved, the result of the fire must be considered as very satisfactory. The system of waterworks at Los Angeles is gravity, and, notwithstanding this fact, when a normal high-pressure might be expected to be reasonably effective at the hydrants, no reliance was placed on plug streams, but those of the most effective fire apparatus were employed. The property destroyed amounted only to $210,000, which must be considered small, when the existing conditions and surrounding property are taken into account. Chief Lipps and his men must, therefore, be given evencredit for the good judgment displayed and the intelligent work done on the occasion. The principal loss was on the contents of the building, consisting of furniture and personal effects.
NOTT ENGINES IN THE EAST.
D. A. Woodhouse, General Eastern agent of the Nott Fire Engine company, has closed a contract with New York city for a second-si Nott engine, with spiral water-tube boiler, making six orders placed for Nott engines in the past twelve months. The last engine is for the borough of Manhattan, which, when delivered, will, with the other engines, cover every borough in Greater New York.—The fire authorities of Williamsport, Pa., have made a unanimous report accepting one third-size Nott engine of the piston-valve type, with spiral water-tube boiler. The contract was awarded to D. A. Woodhouse, Eastern agent of the company.—After careful investigation into the merits of steamers by the common and joint committees of council. East Chester, N. Y., has accepted the report of a committee of experts recommending the Nott engine, and the contract for a fourth-size was placed with D. A. Woodhouse, Eastern agent of the Nott company.
