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COPYRIGHT 2003, GET NJ
Since the advent of commission government the entire Fire Department
has been modernized. New motor-propelled engines and trucks have
taken the place of the antiquated apparatus, and every part of the equipment, from the nozzle of the hose to
the housing of the men, is new and of
the most modern type.
A Fire School
The installation of new apparatus
alone, however, by no means gave
Jersey City an efficient department.
The commissioners soon saw that
something else was necessary, and that
something was a thorough schooling
of the men in the art of fire fighting. A training school was started and every
man in the department from the chief
down to the driver of an engine was
compelled to attend. The old as well
as the young started in the primary
department of this school of scientific
fire fighting and were kept as students
until they passed all the tests.
The art of ladder scaling, the use
of the life net, the operation of the
pulm-otor and the wearing of the
smoke mask were but some of the
things taught and mastered by the
men. The method of handling back
draughts and the fighting of fires from
various angles and under various climatic conditions were learned so that
today, when a section of the department responds to an alarm of fire, it
is prepared to meet any and all conditions with the knowledge of how to
cope with them.
Better Housing Conditions
With the new apparatus also came
better housing conditions for the men.
All old fire houses were renovated
and placed in condition as nearly as
possible equal to the new. All now
have shower baths, reading rooms, and in fact every home comfort for
the men.
The new triple fire house, the largest and finest in the State, with its
assembly and drilling room and most
modern features of every kind, is a
fair sample of the standard of the
Fire Department as it exists today in
this city. A more detailed description
of this splendid building is given under the heading "City Repair Bureau."
High Rating of Underwriters
That the department is now up to a
high standard is evidenced by the fact
that the National Board of Fire Underwriters, after an inspection and
survey of every detail of the department, re-rated the city and raised it
from a fifth to a third class city, a very
high rating for efficiency and equipment.
Much of the improvement in the
morale of the men has been due to the
elimination of politics and favoritism
from the department. Merit is now
the standard and the result must be
apparent to every citizen and is reflected in the ability of the department
to handle fires with skill, preventing
their extension and reducing the resulting losses by fire.
Two Platoon System
As becomes a city of the size of
Jersey City, the City Commissioners established a two-platoon system,
which means still better fire protection.
The two-platoon system which is
now in effect changes the duty of the
fire fighting force. Heretofore the entire fire department consisted of what
might be called one platoon, which was
always on duty, but from the men on
duty there were certain details made
that took a number of individuals out
of the line of fighting fires.
Under the present system the entire
force of officers and men is divided in
half, each of which constitute a platoon, and one of the two platoons is
always on duty.
The records of the National Board
of Fire Underwriters show that in
1910 the fire losses in Jersey City
amounted to $712.120, a per capita
loss of $2.66.
In 1913, the first year under Commission Government, when Frank
Hague was Director of the Department of Public Safety, the fire losses
were reduced to $638,790, and the per
capita loss to $2.17.
Last year, 1920, despite unusual
conditions, the efficiency and adequacy
of our city department was proven
by the fact that the losses in this city
amounted to only $315,630, and the
per capita loss was only $1.05.
Under the direction of the present officials there has been a reduction in
total losses of approximately 50 per
cent. and of per capita losses of more
than 60 per cent. Meanwhile, by way
of comparison, the per capita loss for
the whole of the United States rose
from $2.33 in 1910 to $2.58 in 1920.
"Jersey City Ranks First"
Jersey City is the twenty-second city
in size in the United States. Among
these twenty-two largest cities, how-
ever, Jersey City ranks first by reason
of the fact that our fire losses for the
years 1919 and 1920 were less than
those of any of the larger cities. Improvements in the Fire Department,
including the installation of modern
equipment, increased efficiency in fire-fighting methods, etc., are reflected in
the low fire loss which is quite apparent from the figures quoted.
The items in which the most marked
improvements have been made, taken
from the Fire Underwriters' records,
are as follows:
Item 10.--Additional companies
have been installed to give mainly
adequate distribution.
Items 11 and 12.--The manual
force has been largely increased, giving a mainly adequate strength to companies, particularly in the daytime.
Item 13.-Engine capacity has been materially improved by purchase of
motor pumpers.
Item 15.--Engines are kept in good
condition.
Item 17.--More adequate special
stream appliances are now provided.
Item 18.--Equipment is provided
with adequate large chemical tanks.
Item 19.--More adequate reserve
hose wagons.
Item 25.--Good repair shops and repair facilities.
Item 29.--Good system of drills.
Item 31.--The improvement of apparatus, increased efficiency by drills
and more effective work made possible
by the good equipment has resulted in
materially improved fire methods.
In addition to these items the Fire
Underwriters have re-graded the city
because of our "mainly adequate
Building Code of 1907 is being well
enforced" and "The mainly good provisions as to explosives and inflammables are being well enforced," and
also because of "material improvements in structural conditions."
The effectiveness of these improvements for the protection of property
from fire is manifested to some extent
in the fact that of 1,034 fires recorded
in Jersey City during 1920, all but
three were confined to the buildings
in which the fire started.
N no city of its size in the
country is there today a
more efficient Fire Department than in Jersey City,
and in no city of any size is
there a better disciplined
body of firemen.
This condition is another example
of the fine work that can be accomplished under the commission form of
government, with capable men as commissioners.
Building Codes EnforcedItem 1.--Fire companies now have
an officer on duty at all times.
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