Reminiscences of the old fire laddies and volunteer fire departments of New York and Brooklyn. . who divided the labor. These towers were theproperty of the Fire Department. In addition there were twobell-towers, the property of the Police Department, one of whichwas at the then Forty-fourth Police Precinct, in Myrtle Avenue,the other at the Forty-second Precinct in York Street. Thelatter bell, however, was cracked on July 4, 1866, and was neverrepaired. Fire Bells Cause Trouble. 655 It was on March 28, 1867, that these bells were put to a peculiaruse, and, as the sequel will show, considerabl
Reminiscences of the old fire laddies and volunteer fire departments of New York and Brooklyn. . who divided the labor. These towers were theproperty of the Fire Department. In addition there were twobell-towers, the property of the Police Department, one of whichwas at the then Forty-fourth Police Precinct, in Myrtle Avenue,the other at the Forty-second Precinct in York Street. Thelatter bell, however, was cracked on July 4, 1866, and was neverrepaired. Fire Bells Cause Trouble. 655 It was on March 28, 1867, that these bells were put to a peculiaruse, and, as the sequel will show, considerable ill feeling was occa-sioned. On that day the fire commissioners ordered the bells rungfor the First and Fourth Districts, the object being to detect companyracing and running in the track, a thing that was strictly following companies were reported: Engines 1, 5, 6, 14, 17, 19, 2 2 ;Hose Companies 1, 2, 5, 6, 7,8; and Hook and Ladder Companies and 2. By order of the chief engineer all of the above were lockedup. On the following morning, when Chief Engineer Cunningham. ascertained why the bells were rung, he procured warrants forarrest of the fire commissioners, Felix Campbell, Stryker, Barre, ;Thorne, for ordering the bells rung. They were brought beforeJudge Buckley,, who held them to await the action of the GrandJury. The very next evening the commissioners released the com-panies locked up, and the Grand Jury did not indict. 656 Reminiscences of the Old Fire Laddies. In the early days of the Old Volunteer Fire Department themembers encountered many trying difficulties in fighting fires, chiefamong which was a lack of water. For years they were obliged to depend solely upon whatwater might be pumpedfrom a pond near by, orthat afforded by a systemof cisterns provided by thecity. The latter, however,often proved to be inade-quate to supply the de-mand, while at as recent adate as 1847 but fifty pub-lic cisterns existed in thecity of Brooklyn. The annoyan
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