FIRE RISKS AT SUNNYSIDE ASYLUM.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 10867, 17 January 1901, Page 5

FIRE RISKS AT SUNNYSIDE ASYLUM.

A FALSE ALARM. SMART WORK BY THE HOUSE BRIGADE. An outbreak of fire at a large institution for th. custody and care of tho insane is not a pleasant" thing to think or, end the letter signed " Humanity," published in ve-.erday's "P_c_-," therefore must have caused some uneasiness in the minds of many people as to the state of _hings existing at Suanyside Asylum, in regard to the risks of fire. " A "Press" reporter yesterday paid a visit to the Asylum vr'Sth tho object of iiscertaii-ing tlie correct position of affairs there, and amongst other things was afforded an opportunity of witnessing a turn out of the brigade for a false alarm of fire, and tha escape of tlie patients from the top storey windows by means of canvas shoots.

"Humanity" complained that the passages at the institution were long and narrow ; that the windows opened only a few ir.ch-es, and that each cell window was covered with a stout shutter, which excluded the fight and did away with any possibility cf escape by way of the windows. All these statements are more or less correct- The passages certainly are long and by no means v. lie, ■ while their -gi-cuit ieirgth in most c. Yes makes them appear even narrower than they are. This was a defect in laying out the building, and in case of fire would, no doubt, make exit for a crowd of excited persons less easy than with a wide pu-.-o.ge. But tki-S apparen-tih. is the only reasonable ground of complaint advanced by the writer of the letter. Tho reason for the stops b<ing-placed on the'windows, which prevent them c_pe-i_ing more than a. few in-ek-e.?. is to do aiway with. tl_e chance cf the patients throwing themselves out of than. The shutters, which are only used at night, are also intended to save tho patients and also the windows. These precautions seem only reasonable and proper. As lo the floors and linoleums 'btvr.g polished with bees-wax and turpentine, this -also is perfectly trite, but the amount of additional risk thus incurred is not considered sufficient to warrant discontinuance of this method cf keeping the imtituiii-an's floors and pa .-sages up to the desired degree of cleanliness. Mc&t assuredly, the ordinary ihoustiwife would be delighted! with the and S2>an appearance of everything. The building, which is of stone and plaster, is a v.iy largo one, tbre. stories -nigh. It is divided into two parts, the northern half being occupied by men patients, and the southern half bj r women. Our representative was snown over the male quarters, and was assured that the women's wards were provided with the same appliances, and laid out "en the same lines. In the first place, the building being of stone, the risk of an outbreuk of fire is small. AH the staircases, with one exception, are of concrete, so -th-nt- the dang-e-r to the imn-i.tt- of tho upper storeys of bring blocked by a burning staircase is very slight. But", should this occur, the contingency is provided against. On tho top floor, and iv three different parts oi the building, canvas shoots have been provided, by means of which descent to the ground is easy and rapid. On each floor are buckets of water, and also lengths of hose attached to taps, and so distributed as to cover any part of the building. Warders have their rooms en the different floors, so as to he in close touch with their patients, and there are, of course, men on duty all night, who would give the alarm at the first, sign of fire. Electrio bells are placed all over the building for this purpose. It has not been considered sufficient merely to provide appliances for use in case of fire, but every care is taken that the Asylum staff shall be fully acquainted with them and their use. Special regulations on the subject have been drawn up and printed, and a copy supplied to each man. Copies are also posted in prominent places. These speciEeally state the • course, to -be foiTovVed in case of an outbreak of fire. Each, warder knows, or ought to know, exactly what to do. Some must attend at once 'to the patients, others see to the escapes, while still others—the House Fire Brigade— get to work to extinguish the flames. A code of fire signals has been drawn up, which indicate tha particular parts of the building in which the fire is, so that there is no doubt or uncertainty on that point if the alarm is properly given.

"We will have an alarm now, if you like," offered Mr Chapman, head warder," who had been nineteen years on tho Asylum staff, and who was acting as chaperone to our representative. The offer was, of course, availed of, and for convenience sake, it was agreed that the fire should he in the front of the male ward, and that the patients would have to escape from tho top story by means cf a canvas -hoot. *' You . *?_.-'' he continued, pointing to a chain hooked on to the wall, "that is tlie alarm bell. I will rinn- that give it three pulls—and you will see the Brigade turn out." Suiting his action to tho words, the head warder reached down the chain, and gave three mighty pulls, but there was no responding clang from the bell tower. "Hum, the lace is caught," explained the puller, and the grin on the Pressman's face no doubt added to the vigour of the tugs at the rope which followed. Everything i;p to this time had proved to be in eu-ch apple-pie order, that it was quite a relief to find something going wrong, and the reporter s.-z.d his opportunity. "Oh, yes, that's all very well," he remarked as the fruitless tugging continued, "you will get it right in time, no doubt; but supposing this was an uctual case of fire; here, at the very out-set, something has gone wrong with the system. That is what I wanted to see. Wuat would you now do to give the alarm, f-etn:g th.it tho first has failed." "I would simply ring the electric alarm," answered the head warder, and walking briskly about six yards up the passage, he pressed a button, and a few seconds later men were rushing to and fro, bound for their various stations.

Three minutes after the alarm was given a stream of water was playing over the part of the building supposed to be alight, and a second or two later the first of patients came tumbling t I OW7I fl j ai .g e can . vas shoot, one end of which had been thrown out of a top storey window and seized by three of the wardens stationed on the- ground to receive it. It was a great •sight to witness tha descent by means of this contrivance. Two warders stationed at the top bundled the patients into it, and they came down from their loft-v situ-tion with a rush and a burr, landing comfortably and easily. They en-' joyed it immensely, chuckling and grinnitig or laughing aloud, ar.d then rushing off upstairs again under th. core of a warder for another descent. Old and young, fat ar.d lean, were included in the score or so who made the plunge, and there was not the slightest hitch of any kind, and all faced the ordeal rather ai_ a pleasant experience than as something to be dreaded. In the first minute odlv three patients descended, but afterwards they came down at the rate of from ten to fifteen, or even more, a minute.

An order was then issued to utilise a shoot in another part of the building, and two minutes after this order was given ths stream of human beings was emptying from ths top storey into a court yard* below at the rat? of about fifteen a minute. Some of tha -hoots are purpo_ely made to empty into courtyards, so that the patients can be kept together and under control. Tliere is less chance*of them making their escape from custody under this anY__geme__t than if they cams down ths shoot into the grounds surrounding tho institution. The water supply is unlimited, and the pressure mrffi-cis-n'. to throw the water right over the building. There :s littls more to be said. It cannot bs denisd that the Asylum is well equipped to meet an outbreak of fire, and though the warders were no doubt warned to bo in readiness last evening, the House Brigade, under Warder Dumas, certainly proved- thoroughly acquainted with what is required of thsm." It is difficult to imagine a Etrious outbreak of fire occurring in a stone building of this kind, though it is, of course, possible. Dr. Levinge, medical officer in charge of the institution, afforded our representative every facility for inspecting the asylum a_ad its appliances.