THE STEEL TOWER.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LI, Issue 9065, 10 April 1906, Page 5

THE STEEL TOWER.

INEFFICIENT FIRE ALARMS.

TWO OLD BELLS.

Tlie town having been' for a number of years without a suitable fitfe-bell the Borough Council last year invested, some £50 in procuring, erecting and fitting up a 50-feet steel tower. The principal argument adduced in favor of getting this new Steel tower was that the wooden towers were totally unsuitable fox the bells, and Imilitated against the production of their full tone and volume. The Councillor*, believing that at least one of the 'bells would be found to be good, enough if a, •fair chance were given it, decided to obtain the tower mentioned at a landed cost of about £30. It was erected byBorough employees and, without counting labor buib including material, another £20 was added to the coat of this new arrival. To ascertain which, was the better alarm the 1 two belle, the one known as the old bell. and. tlie. other as the- new bell, were tested; on the> new tower at considerable labor in moving them in turn from other towers. .Neither proved satisfactory, and "the result is that, so far as the public, knows Hawera is etill minus an alarm capable of arousing the town in case of fire. AN UNTRIED EXPERIMENT. But there is one experiment that has not ye* beeai tried. After the. failures 'of **he experiment: made' at the direction of the Borougß' Council, Mr'R. J. Hughes thought ont a method of (ringing the bell, aand obtained the sanction of the Borough Council to experiment with it on the station- tower: Since' then a fire has occurred and the' arraiigemen* proved to ,be not much, if anyy better. Mr Hughes at oik*, improved'- upon hie initial effort, and now has" fitte^M'aa,arpangement'of two naitiraeorß worked' .on th£ leverage priivciple by wire ropea'tinltidhg over pulleys tot^^tpttth.^'Ene -faaumr ai» kept dowin&bjvtwoj spring Jwbicli .-axe of - .such »trg|igit£j; <^ha^gwh*^p|bfc h*nnmgi&., , are te^^K^l &#%?#£ Hhs£l DiengVtflßnr back'so qpicfely [that, the bell wcei*es' at B&r^clee&cbli^- aloft the -Bound is not deadened through <i±he;. hammer » This Atetfo&man^mem i^^Qkn, yfet^ beeiv.giyen i MaJ/butf'oiie'eVe^iiilg it" wasf giveri. a J&ipllfrof /ve% lights abng^^afia the'tone (^f^gesaai^wbor waaJdosetf'by, ihab^ie ,mo|re4 n atc\^«{ine»tf...me^tuig l <of >he Council^,, for ..a. trial.. It.,wasi, JK>t,,to Sefa^-Cnai'pn similar ]ime ito^p'rfcvkras bnee, »tti wW»toJbe'a*ur^rii^tnal-^o'wairining rfv#ie.;idate>' wnfb .hour was- to be giv«n. Ehe,jmQtioi}& w^siipp.oit«d-'bs- ) tJie,lßfeyoir, una',x>pnosed hy, the otjiieir founcillors,; .who Sheeted to f nghtiening'the people, uiuneoeßRurily^ at art wmtß of> the J night. The Vlay<^rr<jomtended' that: tihis- was a poor irgnment as the. people,.^rouH be fjoght»ned if a fire xeally" happened. . Or Sar;espni was opposed to the other .form of trial — 'that of 'advertising 'the hour of the iesifc-rwhich' he., argued', -was farcical, as iveiyone would-be awake and listening wi&, expectant ,-,e»re. .at the., appointed Sour.' This" argument? appears, io be sound, and/ putting' aside for ithe moment the questioii of ecaring the people, it .has beeft suggested,, that a. , trial might be arranged an. this, way:. The Council td,sattcbion a trial (tnis fact not to be made public), and the •caretaker of tjhe statiom to be asked to* ring^aav alarm -at. bis own dieiretion affld. v to.kee^stai<iay-6ec- ? instiuctedr^ the, hojur he fixed ugon. Then a gettuike' test could be obt*in>ed, one which should leave little doubt' as' to the reliability op otherwise of the alarm. Against Ijhis.'propoeiftiion. the captaia of ther^ire Byjgade, , Cr r Wilson;, raised - the- objection that the people^ -would' D>e brought ou^j>f • their homes In- the } middle of the m^tt to? their consideirable-.aanoyance. 'This, might .be overlooked/ but the firemen, jnust Jbe^coaadeTed,., a«dr tjtwpy would, he "Jugguig. the' r^ up and down the street; wotodeirihg where the fire was." If,, as Captain -Wilson remarked, "it would be/^aljjflht^oiQlyjfor that,." t his objections might be removed by formjing 'each fireman' as fie appealed at the- station' that the alarm was false. Mr Hughes (to. whose inventive faculties' this ttaw^method of ringiiag the bell is c<reditedj) ls'Wxious.for 1 at. trial but object© to the time being advertised. . .,;. ' , IS THE TFO-WER A WHITE ELEPHANT? Though' it may not be general, tfee.feel- , ing exists that the new steel tower was an. tuvneceseary ornament and is something of, a "white elephant," and -the opinioaje of several who ought to know a .little more of the case .than the average townsman were obtained. Cr SaTgeson defended the action of the Council and said that tihe tower on the station shook so violently, when the bell was being tolled that it was liable to collapse. He related as an instance the reason, for pulling down, the tower from the Borough Chambers some 12 years ago, namely, that it shook so much wiab there was not only the. danger of the bell falling, but the oscillation caused the roof to leak. • :': ' Against this Mr Hughes claims that the new arrangement of pulleys and ham- - mere will obviate- the shaking of the tower. Capfann Wilson's opinion is expressed intone short sentence: "Blest if I know what they, got the tower for." ' The - Mayor did not think the tower a; "white elephant. " "Might have done without it, but now it is mere it is alright," ware his remarks. WHERE SHOULD THE BELL BE? StUl the , <new , tower stands un+enanted by a suitable bell and therefore practically useless. Apart from this point it is now argued that the proper place for the bell is 00. the station, if possible. A man might, as Captain. Wilson says, discover a. fire, rush along and ning the bell on the steel tower and ?run away again to the fire without leaving directions for the firemen, whereas if the discoverer had- to ring the .bell on the station he would most likely be heard clattering along the pavement and the mea oa the station would be out of bed before he began Tinging — this- has often- been the case — and they would be directed to the fire. If this information is supplied quickly Captain Wilson, who has alf-nigbib telephonic communication with the. station, can be informed of the locality of the fire and this is an .important consideration.

«