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PRESTON'S MUNICIPAL SERVICES.
Page 114
Page 115
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Details of the Work of the Cleansing Department and That of the Fire Brigade,
MEM title of this article is somewhat
comprehensive, but we shall confine ourselves to dealing with refuse collection' street cleansing, the work of the fire brigade and that of the ambulance section of the last-named.
Preston is a typical Lancashire town' and one of considerable importance, with a population of approximately 125,000. For refuse-collection purposes the whole town is divided into districts. It is, roughly, oval in shape, and from boundary to boundafT at the extremes measures some three miles, and the longest collection is about two miles out, for -the disposal point is not central.
The vehicle's employed on the work are two Edison electrics of 2..-ton capacity, both of which have run for seven years and are still performing quite satisfactorily on the original batteries which, it will be reinembered, are of the nickel-alkali type, but the main collection is performed by 15 Ford 1-tonners, all with tipping bodies having single
screw gears. Some of these' Ford vehicles are now in their fourth year and are continuing to give excellent service. In times of great pressure horsed vehicles are hired, but, normally, this form of transpart is not employed, although horses are utilized for hauling the rotary brushes used for street cleansing.
House-refuse Collection.
The collecting periods for house refuse vary considerably, according to the requirements, the calls being weekly, twice weekly and three times weekly, as necessary, and the refuse has to he fetched out of lobbies and entries. The total amount of refuse is some 30,000 tonF a year, and to deal with this 100 miles of streets have to be covered. Unlike seasonal resorts, such as I3lackpool, there is in Preston consi,derably more refuse in winter than in summer. All of it is screened, some of it salved and the rest burnt Farmers and ,builders employ the ash, some of D40 it is utilized by the corporation in levelling work and a quantity of the cinders is sold.
All the drivers are unusually skilled mechanically and can attend to their vehicles. Only one petmanent mechanic is retained, and he is assisted by any spare drivers. Each of the petrol vehicles is accompanied by two loaders apart from the driver, whereas the electric vehicles have four loaders. All the bins are of steel and of a standard size supplied by the householders, and the cleansing department is fortunate in having no middens or cesspools with which to deal.
We were informed by the cleansing superintendent that these Ford vehicles have surprised him. They can work in back passages and can go almost anywhere accessible to a horsed cart; in fact, when new vehicles are required he will recommend the new 30-cwt. Ford. Those now employed are equipped with N.A.P, rear tyres and Dunlop front tyres, but, of course, other makes could be employed if thought desirable.
The charging of the batteries of the electric vehicles is carried out at the corporation's own plant, which is at the disposal centre in Argyle Road, the current being converted from the town's supply, which is alternating.
It has been found in this particular town that smaller vehicles pay better than larger ones. As the superintendent put it, they do not entail dragging large loads from house to house. For highways work the council emPloys two Leyland 5-toriners, which were purchased some two years ago. These are used chiefly for carrying such road material as stone setts, etc. In addition, two steam wagons of Atkinson make are utilized for clearing ash, etc., from the destructor. One of these, a 5-tonner, is in its eighth year of operation and is still doing well.
The Fire Brigade.
As regards the fire brigade, there are 15 permanent firemen, a chief officer and a second officer ; then there are 13 auxiliary firemen, who are paid a retaining fee and extra for service rendered at fires. This makes the total personnel up to 30. The equipment consists of a Leyland 200-gallon first-aid fire pump with a 35-ft. escape, which is a most modern machine purchased in September, 1927, two Merryweather 500-gallon pumps with 60-ft. escapes purchased in 1916 and 1918 respectively, and a first-aid motor runabout supplied by Simonis, Ltd., and carrying a short two-fold ladder for hooking on to walls, etc. This machine is three-wheeled with a single driving wheel at the back. It is built up from Chater-Lea fittings and has been in service since 1915: it is used as a tender and can carry 20 tins of petrol at a time, whilst for first-aid work en Ajax portable extinguisher is clipped on to the front.
In dealing with fires, the brigade takes charge of an area with a radius of eight miles around Preston. The number a
fire calls during last year was 88, and the time taken to respond to them was from one to one and a half minutes, that is, the time taken to get the appliances clear of the station. To ensure rapid starting of the engines, these are warmed up three times daily. Unlike the experience of London, false alarms are non-existent. Practically all calls are made by telephone, for which free use can be made of the telephone service and the kiosks in various parts of the town.
The ambulance service is also under the charge of the fire chief. There are three motor ambulances, these being a Daimler, an Argyll and a Ford 7-wt. The Ford carries two stretchers only, whilst four are utilized on the larger vehicles, Another ambulance will be delivered shortly. The total number of ambulance calls from January to December, 1927, was 1,981. The ambulances will go to any reasonable distance, a charge being made where they are employed outside the borough. A payment is also required where they are utilized by private nursing establishments. These ambulances do not deal with infectious cases, but only with accidents, removals and operation cases.
The Preston fire brigade and ambulance service may almost be looked upon as a family affair, for the father of Hr. Alonzo Savage, the superintendent, held this position until relieved by his son. Also the son of the present chief officer takes a big part in maintaining the_efficiency of the equipment from the engineering standpoint,