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 thirteenth annual report of the Chief Engineer of the San Francisco Paid Fire Department.

The report embraces a detailed statement of the condition of the Department at the close of the fiscal year, and the workings of the Department during the fiscal year just closed. In it will be found a complete roll of the Department, including name, age, position, number of badge, occupation and residence 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 statement of the expenses of the Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1879, and a detailed statement of the property in possession of the Department, including engines, hose reels, hook and ladder carriages and appurtenances thereto, hose, houses, and property at the Corporation Yard; also the number of hydrants, and a list of the number, location and capacity of cisterns; the number of alarms responded to by each Company, number of times in service, and time at work on fires.

HOSE.
In another portion of this report will be found a statement, in tabular form, of the quantity and location of all the hose in possession of the Department and available for fire purposes; 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.

CISTERNS.
In another portion of this report will be found a statement, in tabular form, of the number, location and capacity of cisterns, from which the Department can, in case of need, obtain a supply of water.

HYDRANTS.
The number of hydrants erected prior to the first of July, 1878, was one thousand two hundred and forty-seven (1,247); during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1879, the number erected was thirty-one (31), making a total of one thousand two hundred and seventy-eight (1,278).

DEPARTMENT APPARATUS.
The apparatus of the Department, with the exception of Engine No. 4 and Relief Engine No. 4, the boilers of which require overhauling, is in first class condition, having been thoroughly overhauled during the year.

DEPARTMENT HOUSES.
The houses occupied by the Department are in first class condition, with the exception of the house occupied by Hook and Ladder Company No. 4, which is old and cannot be made as comfortable as other houses, and the house occupied by Engine Company No 6, which should be raised to grade, it being about one foot below the official grade . A new bell tower should be erected, as the present one is old and somewhat dilapidated; and the stalls turned so that the horses would, as in other houses, face the front of the building, thereby enabling the company to hook up more readily and save time in responding to alarms; these improvements, together with a general renovating of the house, would place it in first class condition, all of which alterations and improvements can be made at a cost not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars. The new house recently erected on the corner of Commercial and Drumm streets is nearly ready for occupancy, and is in every respect the most commodious building belonging to the Fire Department. It was erected at a cost of ten thousand one hundred and sixty-three dollars and eighty-five cents ($10,163 85), and paid for out of the regular appropriation for running expenses of the Department. The houses of Hose Companies No. 7 and No. 8 were built during the present year and paid for out of a special fund allowed by the last Legislature; the total cost of both houses amounting to ten thousand dollars ($10,000.)

During the year the houses have been thoroughly repaired and renovated at a total cost of seven thousand two hundred and ten dollars ($7,210), being, considering the amount and quality of the work done, a very creditable showing. A building was erected for the use of the company attached to the fire boat Governor Irwin, at the foot of Broadway street, at a cost of about seven hundred dollars ($700). A special appropriation of five thousand dollars ($5,000) was expended, principally in the months of May and June, 1878, in the erection of a house for Engine Company No. 2, which amount was not paid out of the treasury until the present fiscal year.

All the engine companies, with the exception of Companies No. 7 and No. 11, are supplied with heating apparatus of the circulating pattern, and are thereby enabled to do effective work more promptly than if obliged to wait for sufficient steam to work the engines under the ordinary process.

ENGINE HOUSE LOTS.
I would recommend the exchange of the lot of Engine Company No. 11 for one on Railroad avenue, as the present one is unfitted for use on account of the street not being graded, thereby rendering it impossible for the Company to respond promptly to alarms.

FIRES
The only fire of any magnitude that occurred during the year was on the evening of August 24th, in the four-story brick and iron building on the corner of Bush and Sansome streets, owned and occupied by Murphy, Grant & Co. The fire, which had gained considerable headway before the alarm was sounded, threatened the destruction of considerable property, the contents being the largest stock of dry goods in the city, valued at $2,000,000 and insured for $742,000; but owing to the effective work of the Department, under the able management of Assistant Chief Brady, who was in charge during my absence from the city, and the valuable assistance rendered by Captain White of the Fire Patrol, and his corps, who spread three hundred and four rubber covers and sixty rolls of table oilcloth, thereby preventing considerable damage by water, it being the largest spread made by any patrol in the United States at any one fire. The total loss on the building and contents was only $44,300.

REMARKS.
I would recommend the purchase of two (2) third class Amoskeag engines for service in the northwestern portion of the city, one to be placed in the house of Engine Company No. 5, as the engine at present in use is too heavy for duty in the district covered by that company, owing to the fact that the streets are on the incline of hills and difficult of access; the other to be used as a relief engine for service in the same district in case of a large fire, as the engines (second class) available for that purpose are not what is required for an emergency.

FIRE BOAT.
It is with regret that I am compelled to inform your honorable body that the Board of State Harbor Commissioners have given notice that from and after the first day of August ensuing, they will withdraw the tug boat Governor Irwin from the use of the Fire Department. It has on several occasions rendered valuable service, and been of very great assistance in subduing fires on the City Front and the harbor, and I would again recommend that your honorable Board apply to the Legislature for a sufficient appropriation to purchase or build a boat to be used for fire purposes. The appropriation allowed for running expenses of the Department for the year 1879 and 1880 has been reduced by the honorable the Board of Supervisors from eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) to sixty thousand dollars ($60,000), but with the judgment that has been exercised during the past two years, I believe the amount allowed will be ample to meet all requirements of the Department.

I would recommend the purchase of a four-wheeled hose carriage for the use of Hose Company No. 3, in place of the two wheeled carriage at present in service, as the company, to do good service, needs a carriage that will carry one thousand feet of hose, the hydrants in the district covered by the company being, in places, a great distance from buildings, and the nearest companies so great a distance from the hose company that considerable time is frequently lost, when their line is too short to reach the fire, before the nearest company can arrive and double up lines.

In conclusion, I wish to compliment the officers and members of the Department for the promptness with which they have responded to all alarms during the year, and the efficient manner in which they labored in subduing fires, and I can say that the Department is fully equal to any emergency likely to arise. I wish to tender my thanks to the honorable the Mayor, the .Board of Supervisors, and the Fire Department Committee of the Board of Supervisors, for their cordial support and prompt response to all requests made to them to provide for the Department, to which hearty cooperation is due, in a great measure, the success attending the efforts of the Department during the year. To Chief Kirkpatrick and his Department for valuable aid rendered during the year whenever necessary. To Fire Marshal Durkee and assistants for services rendered which have aided the Department materially.

To Captain White, of the Fire Patrol, and his company for the very great aid rendered the Department on many occasions, proving, as I have before claimed, that they are a very valuable auxiliary to the Department. To Superintendent Curran and his assistants for the efficiency displayed by them in their Department. To Mr. Elliott, of the Spring Valley Water Works, for the excellent manner in which the water pipes and hydrants have been attended to during the year.

In conclusion, allow me to return thanks to your honorable Board for your untiring efforts to maintain discipline and efficiency in the Department, and aid me in the discharge of my duties. I shall in the future spare no effort to make the Department all that it has been in the past a credit to your management and fully equal to protect the city and the taxpayers.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

DAVID SCANNELL,
Chief Engineer San Francisco Paid Fire Department.

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