To the Honorable the Board of Fire Commissioners of the City and County of San Francisco :

GENTLEMEN :  In conformity with custom and a rule of your Honorable Body, I have the honor to present to you this the Eighth Annual Report of the Chief Engineer of the San Francisco Paid Fire Department. The report, which embraces a detailed statement of the condition of the Department at the close of the fiscal year, and the workings of the Department for the fiscal year just closed, is based on personal knowledge obtained since the 16th day of March, 1874, at which date I assumed charge of the Fire Department having been previously appointed by your Honorable Body to the responsible position of Chief Engineer and on the Company Reports on file in the office. I have endeavored to present to your Honorable Body, in this Report, all the items of interest connected with the workings of the Department. In it will be found a complete Roll of the Department, including number of badge, name, position, age, residence, and occupation of every man attached to the Department proper, a list of the men employed at the Corporation Yard of the Department, and their respective positions, together with a full and complete statement of the cost of maintaining the Department for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1874, and a detailed statement of the property in possession of the Department, including Engines, Hose-Reels, Hook and Ladder Carriages and appurtenances thereto, Hose, Horses, and property at the Corporation Yard; also, the number of Hydrants, and a list of the number, location and capacity of Cisterns, from which a supply of water can be, obtained when required, together with a list of the number and location of Signal Boxes; a statement of the losses by fire during the year, amount of insurance on property damaged or destroyed, and amount of insurance paid; the number of alarms responded to by each Company, number of times in service, and time at work on fires.

STEAM FIRE ENGINES.
I recommend the purchase of five (5) additional Steam Fire Engines, to be placed in the Corporation Yard as reserve engines, to be used in case of an extensive conflagration. The number of Engines at present in possession of the Department will answer all ordinary purposes, and enable the department to battle successfully with fires, such as our City has been visited with in the past. I cannot, however, but feel that our City, extending as it is in every direction, and being built up to a great extent of wood, may some day be the scene of a destructive and ruinous conflagration, one that it would take years to recover from if we have to depend upon the present force of the Department. The actual cost to the City of these additional Engines would be trifling compared with the loss the City would sustain at one fire should the present force of the Department prove inadequate, or should several of the Engines in use become disabled. Another view to take of it, that suggests itself in considering the cost, is that the Engines will be required by the Department within two or three years, as with the growth of the City will necessarily follow the growth of the Department, the number of Engines and other apparatus of the Department will of course have to be increased from year to year, as the City increases in size and its population increases in numbers, so that in fact the only cost to the City would be the interest on the money expended in the purchase of the Engines, as they would not be perishable property, but could be placed in service one by one as fast as the increase in the number of buildings and the extension of the boundaries of the thickly settled portions of the City demanded an increase in the number of Engine Companies attached to the Department .

HOOK AND LADDER CARRIAGES.
I would urge upon your Honorable Body the great necessity for immediately strengthening the Department by the organization of another Truck Company, to be located in the vicinity of Tenth and Market streets. The House of Hose No. 5, on Market street, could be used temporarily' for the purpose, or until such time as the Board of Supervisors can provide a house for the company. The Truck used by Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 can be used by the new company, although a lighter one would be more desirable. This change can be effected by placing the Hayes Truck in service in the house of Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, and providing sleeping accommodations in the house of Hose No. 5 for the members of the new Truck Company.

I have heretofore alluded to the necessity for immediate action in this matter, and given my reasons at length for urging this addition to the force of the Department. Truck No. 1 is now doing duty in nearly every portion of the City, and should be relieved of a portion at least of the duty now performed. This can be done by placing another Truck in service for duty in the south-western section of the City, as by this means No. 1 will be enabled to do more effective duty in the lower portion of the City, and the wear and tear on men and apparatus be greatly lessened.

While the number of Engine and Hose Companies have been increased to keep pace with the growth of the City, no increase whatever has been made in this important branch of the Department one, the importance of which is recognized in all Eastern Cities to be so essential to the successful working of a Department, that in the large Cities they average one Truck to every three Engines.

I would also recommend that on all the Trucks the Patent Steering Apparatus be substituted for the old fashioned tiller now in use. We are behind the age in this respect, our Department being, I believe, the only one of any large City that has not adopted the Patent Steering Wheel, which is a very great improvement on the tiller, the wheel being worked from the top of the Truck, thereby lessening the danger of accidents to man or apparatus.

HOSE REELS.
The Hose Keels in service in the Department, with one or two exceptions, are in fair condition. The two ordered by the Board of Supervisors, and now being built, will be of great service to the Department, as they can be placed in service as soon as built, and the two they take the place of can be thoroughly overhauled and repaired, so as to be used for Relief Reels, giving us two Relief Hose Reels in excellent condition for use in case of accident to any of the Reels in service. We have now in the Corporation Yard two Hose-Reels, used as reliefs, in fair condition, but old style, rather cumbersome, and not well adapted for regular service.

In another portion of this Report will be found a statement of the quantity, quality and condition of all the Hose in possession of the Department, and available for fire purposes, and how and where distributed; also, a statement of the quantity of Hose in the possession of private parties, the names of said parties, and where the Hose is kept.

I would recommend the purchase of ten thousand (10,000) feet of Carbolized Hose, to take the place of Hose which has been in use several years and is considerably worn and weakened. It is, in my opinion, both prudent and economical to keep on hand a full supply of Hose in first-class condition, so that the Companies can shift Hose regularly, and by this means preserve the Hose and render it safe and reliable as long as possible. Besides, we may at a large fire lose a considerable quantity, and the Department be thereby seriously crippled, unless we have a full supply on hand from which to replace that destroyed.

HOUSES.
            The Horses of the Department are not what they should be. A considerable number of them have been in harness most of the time since the organization of the Paid Department, and are about used up. The Report of the Veterinary Surgeon shows that there are fifty-one (51) Horses in the possession of the Department, thirty-nine (39) of which are in good condition, and twelve (12) is bad condition.

HYDRANTS.
            The number of Hydrants erected prior to the 30th of June, 1873, was nine hundred and forty (940). During the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1874, the number erected was sixty-seven (67), making a total of one thousand and seven (1,007) DOW available for the purpose of extinguishing fires.
            In another portion of this Report will be found a tabular statement of the number, location and capacity of Cisterns from which the Department can, in case of need, obtain a supply of water.

HOUSES.
Since the date on which I assumed charge of the Department all the Houses of the Department have been thoroughly repaired and placed in first- class condition, with the exception of the Houses occupied by Engine Companies Nos. 8 and 10. The House occupied by Engine Company No. 8 is but poorly adapted to the wants of the Company, and has been so for years, notwithstanding the fact that it has been frequently repaired. It was not origin- ally w 7 hat an Engine House should be, being in the wet season unfit for occupancy, affording only partial protection to the members and property of the Company from wind and rain. A new house should be erected for the Company as soon as possible, as no amount of repairing will improve it in this respect; and I would recommend that the new house be built on the Fire Department lot on Pacific street and Van Ness avenue, as the only expense to the City would be the cost of erecting the house; and by locating the Company at this point protection will be afforded to a rapidly growing section of the City, which is now almost w r holly unprotected. The House occupied by Engine Company No. 10 will soon be vacated, the Company taking possession of the Engine House on Bryant street, built for Broderick Engine Company of the Volunteer Department, which is undergoing the necessary repairs and will soon be in condition for occupancy by the Company, and afford comfortable quarters and every convenience required to enable the Company to do efficient service, thereby being a great improvement on the House occupied by the Company since its organization, a house poorly adapted in every respect, and, in the condition in which I found it on entering upon the discharge of duties, unfit for use.

DEPARTMENT STABLE.
I would recommend that a new stable be built for the Department, in which the relief horses, and the horses of the Department that may become sick or disabled at any time, can be properly cared for, the stable at present in use for that purpose (the Corporation Yard stable) being entirely too small and badly adapted to the purposes for which it has been used.

WATER SUPPLY.
I would call the attention of your Honorable Body to the fact that the water supply in the lower portion of the City is wholly inadequate to the wants of the Department, as in case of a large fire it would be difficult for the Department to obtain anything like a sufficient supply. This is particularly the case in that section bounded 011 the east by First street, and on the south by Mission street, where most of the foundries, mills, and manufactories of every description, built almost wholly of very inflammable material, are located. The mains in all the cross streets in the lower portion of the City should be at least eight (8) inch to insure a full supply of water for the extinguishment of fires. I consider this a matter of vital importance, and would respectfully recommend that your Honorable Body urge upon the Honorable Board of Supervisors the imperative necessity for immediately taking such action in the premises as may be necessary.

In concluding my report I avail myself of the opportunity afforded to thank the officers and members of the Department for the promptness with which they have responded to the calls of duty, and the skill and daring they have displayed in the discharge of their duties. Since your Honorable Body honored me with the appointment of Chief Engineer, the efficiency of the Department has been tested on more than one occasion, and it is not boasting to say that it stood the test and came out of each and every struggle without a blemish.

I wish to tender my heartfelt thanks to the Honorable the Mayor, the Board of Supervisors, and the Fire and Water Committee of the Board of
Supervisors, for their prompt attention to all requests made to them to provide for the wants of the Department; for their assistance in matters relating to the Fire Department, and for the cordial and prompt manner in which they have cooperated with me in my efforts to promote the efficiency of the Department.

To Chief of Police Cockrill and his Department, for assistance at fires and for the promptness with which they have responded when called upon to assist the Department.

To Fire Marshal Durkee, for the prompt and cheerful manner in which he has responded when called upon for assistance, and for valuable services rendered by him at fires.

To Mr. Greenwood, Superintendent of the Fire Alarm Telegraph, and his assistants, for the promptness and efficiency displayed by them in their Department.

To Mr. Lohse, Assistant Superintendent of the Spring Valley Water Works, for the prompt and efficient manner in which he has performed his
duties in connection with the care of and repair to water pipes and hydrants which he has kept in excellent condition, thereby enabling the Department to obtain a supply of water promptly when required.

In conclusion, allow me to tender your Honorable Body my sincere and heartfelt thanks for the able and willing manner in which you have seconded my every effort. I assure you, gentlemen, I fully appreciate all that has been done by you, and feel that I owe you a debt of gratitude which can never be repaid. I promise you that I win devote my whole time and attention to the duties of my office, sparing myself neither day or night, but working untireingly and unceasingly to perfect and strengthen the Department, and make it one that your Honorable Body and the citizens of San Francisco may be proud of.

All of which is most respectfully submitted.
DAVID SCANNELL,
Chief Engineer.

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