HomeMy WebLinkAbout2038.1 Report, joint committee on Fire Department and water supply, circa 1893The joint Committee, composed of the Committee appointed
by the town to consider the needs of the Fire Department, and of the Committee
on Water Supply, have considered the matters committed to them, and
beg leave to report, that while the protection against fire is very inadequate
and unreliable, they do not deem it feasible in the present condition
of the water supply and water service to recommend the purchase of a
steam fire engine. They therefore recommend that the majority report of
the Committee previously presented to the meeting be accepted.
They further represent, that the town made a contract with
the Lexington Water Company, whereby it agreed to pay to said Company
thirty dollars per year for each hydrant set upon the streets of the town
and supplied with water by said Company, on the condition that said Water
Company should at all times maintain a sufficient pressure upon its pipes
to throw four streams of water over the Town Hall nozzles 7/8 of an
inch in diameter, and through five hundred feet of hose.
For every failure to maintain the water at this pressure
the Water Company agreed to forfeit to the town the full amount of compensation
for the use of the water for the three months in which such failure
occurred.
In the opinion of the Committee the Water Company has never
been in condition to fulfil this contract, and yet the town has annually
paid to it large sums of money. During the past year the town paid to the
Water Company on account of this contract $1667, and yet it is well known
that the Company was rarely, if ever, in condition to meet this contract,
and that during long periods of time in the dry season the water supply was
so limited that the town was almost deprived of any protection whatever in
case of fire. The water supply and the pressure depend very largely
upon the quantity of water in the tank or stand pipe of the Company at the
time of a fire.
It is so generally known that we need not comment upon the
fact, that during the summer months this quantity is frequently and for
days continuously drawn down very low. In addition to this deplorable
condition of the water supply, the works of the Company are provided with
only a single pump. In case of accident to this pump, which is liable to
occur at any time, no water can be forced into the tank until repairs are
made. We are informed that the Water Company has frequently promised to
provide an additional pump to be used in case of such accident.
While perhaps it is not feasible to insist on the letter of
the contract, the Committee are unanimous in the opinion that the town
should insist that this additional pump should be provided without further
delay ; and inasmuch as the water supply is very meagre in certain seasons
of the year, and the quantity in the tank is so frequently drawn down
alarmingly low for domestic purposes, the Committee recommend that the
town insist that the Water Company erect an additional tank or stand pipe
on a sufficiently high elevation, which it shall keep filled at all times
with water, and to be used only in case of fire. This tank could be
filled and connected with the present pipes without great expense, and in
view of the large amount of money which the town annually pays for fire
protection, may be reasonably required of the Water Company.
We are of the opinion that no further contract should be
made with the Water Company which does not provide for such additional
tank or for better protection in some other reasonable method.
James S Munroe
E. A. Shaw
G. W. Sampson.
A. E Lovett[?[
Albert B Smith
Wm. B Foster
A. S. Parsons
James P. Munroe
F. F. Raymond