HEADQUARTERS FIRE DEPARTMENT,
OLD CITY HALL,

SAN FRANCISCO, July 1, 1892.

To the Honorable the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco :

GENTLEMEN According to the law governing the Department the undersigned, Chief Engineer, has the honor of herewith submitting for your consideration the following report of the operations of the Department under his charge for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892. Therein will be found a full list of the officers and members comprising the force, a record of the alarms responded to, and fires that have occurred during the year, the loss by fire and the amount of insurance on property affected ; the aggregate of insurance paid ; also such suggestions and recommendations that appear to me necessary to increase the efficiency of this branch of the municipal service :

During the year the Department responded to 374 first-bell alarm, 7 second-bell alarms, and 1 third and 228 still or verbal alarms, making a total of 610 alarms of fire answered during the year.

The total loss by fire as determined by Captain White, of the Underwriters' Fire Patrol, is $1,209,271 05. Amount of insurance paid 718,791 28 Actual loss to property owners $490,479 77

NOTABLE FIRES.
July 4th, 9:38 P.M.; Box 176. Second and third alarms sounded. Church and 23 dwelling houses on Bush street, between Octavia and Gough streets. Loss, 104,300.

October 8th, 1:15 A. M.; Box 62. Second alarm 1:50 A. M. Stores and dwellings on Mission and Minna streets, near Third street. Loss, 25,830.

November 16th, 3:57 P. M.; Box 157. Second alarm 4:03 p. M. Dye works, stable and dwellings on Tehama street, Nos. 349 to 357, and on Clementina street, NOB. 332 to 354. Loss, $44,830.

November 20th, 3:17 A. M.; Box 18, corner Gold and Sansome streets. Rag mill, coffee and rice mill and white lead works. Loss, $26,055.

March 24th, 12:50 A. M.; Box 45. Second alarm 15 minutes later. Stable and dwellings corner O'Farrell and Leavenworth streets. Loss, $10,670.

May 29th, 5:53 A. M. ; Box 51. Second alarm 8 minutes later. Fulton Iron Works, California Car Works, Brass Works, etc., on Fremont, Howard and Beale streets. Loss, $298,663.

June 28th, 3:29 A. M.; Box 64. Second alarm 10 minutes later. Stable and factories, dwellings on Howard street, near Fifth and Natoma streets. Loss, $56,000.

CASUALTIES.
In view of the dangerous duties the members of the Department have to perform, and the great risks they take in the discharge of those duties, the casualties, I am pleased to say, have been few during the year, but one man having lost his life in the performance of his duty. The following is a list of the most serious:
            Jno. O'Neil, Foreman of Engine Company 7, received injuries to head and back from a falling cornice.
            Jno. O'Neil, Hoseman in Engine Company 6, broke his leg sliding down pole in engine house, responding to an alarm of fire.
            James C. Fraser, Engineer of Engine Company 3, received injuries to knee, hand and spine in same collision.
            M. Byron, Truckman in Truck No. 1, had his legs crushed in collision between truck and street car.
            Win. Hunt, Truckman in Truck 5, fell from ladder at a fire and received injuries resulting in his death.
            James Me Andrews, Truckman in Truck 2, broke his leg while responding to an alarm of fire.

DEATHS.
            During the year the following members and employees of the Department died:
            James O'Connor, of Engine No. 12, died of consumption.
            Terrence Gaffney, of Engine No. 16, died of pneumonia.
            I. F. Denniston, of Hose No. 3, died of Bright's disease.
            Thos. Conner, of Hose No. 9, died of asthma.
            C. J. Dupgan, of Truck No. 4, died of consumption.
            J. J. Welsch, of Truck No. 5, died of consumption.
            Michael Mead, of Truck No. 1, died of consumption.
            Wm. Hunt, of Truck No. 5, died from injuries received while in the discharge of his duty.
            Chas. A. Lyons, Drayman in the Corporation Yard, died of heart disease.

RECOMMENDATIONS.
I again recommend the increasing of the force and efficiency of the Department by reorganizing it into a fall paid system, whereby the entire force will be continuously on duty.

The great fire of a few days ago in St. Johns should be a warning of the great danger of the loss of property and life by fire in all wooden cities.

I vigorously recommend that your Honorable Board compel all electric light wires to be laid under ground, as one of our greatest dangers from fire exists from these wires running over the roofs of buildings.

I also recommend more apparatus, more hose, more hydrants, more chemical engines, and larger water mains in the various portions of the city supplied by mains laid many years ago .

I further recommend that chemical engine companies be provided and stationed in the various portions of the Mission and Western Addition districts now almost entirely unprotected and where the water supply is inadequate.

The Corporation Yard should be remodeled so as to be used entirely as the repair shop of the Department. The stable should be removed there from to some more central location.

The old Hospital building on the corner of Francisco and Stockton streets should be remodeled so as it could be used for the storing of the old apparatus of the Department and for the stabling of the sick and relief horses of the Department.

I desire to urge your Honorable Board to grant the necessary authority to organize and place in commission at the earliest possible date at least three more Chemical Engine Companies. The efficiency of Chemical Engine Companies for extinguishing fires in their incipiency is clearly illustrated by the record of Chemical Company No. 1, she having extinguished unassisted 67 per cent of the fires in her district during the last fiscal year.

In closing this report I desire to tender my thanks to the Honorable Board of Fire Commissioners for the active interest you have manifested in all matters pertaining to the success of the Department, and I desire also to thank the officers and members of the force for the alacrity manifested on all occasions in complying with my orders.

I also desire to express my thanks to his Honor Mayor Sanderson and the Honorable Board of Supervisors for the interest they have manifested in all business pertaining to the Department.

To the Chief of Police and members of his force, to Fire Marshal Chas. Towe, to Captain White and Lieutenant O'Kell of the Fire Patrol, and to Superintendent Thomas of the Fire Alarm Telegraph, I am under many obligations for the manner in which they have assisted the Department in the discharge of their duties on all occasions.

Respectfully submitted,

DAVID SCANNELL,
Chief of Fire Department.

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