One Thousand to One
The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Fire Combat
Murfreesboro, TN, in the 1940s was a small town of 9,000 people with more people living out in the county on farms. Murfreesboro’s Fire Department had one station located one block from the square where the courthouse was surrounded by two story business buildings. MFD had two fire trucks. The pumper was an open cab American laFrance 750 Gpm truck, that carried more than 2,000 feet of 2.5 inch hose. The nozzles were smooth bore. This truck also had a large booster reel placed just ahead of the rear running board. The second truck was also an American laFrance , a tall narrow ground ladder vehicle that carried several wooden ladders with lengths of 45, 35, and 24 feet. This truck also had a 500 gpm pump and 1,000 feet of 2.5 inch hose carried underneath the ladders.
Four firefighters were assigned to the pumper 24/7, and one driver for the ladder truck. In addition the Fire Chief responded in his own vehicle, a Cadillac convertible that was also used in parades. The Chief’s car also had a small booster pump and a water tank plus a small reel of booster hose. When a fire call came in, a fire whistle was sounded at the water plant that was located near the center of town. This whistle could be heard all over town.
This layout of 350 to 400 feet of hose provided the correct nozzle pressure of 45 psi.The operation of the MFD in fighting house fires was really very simple. The pumper would stop at the hydrant before the fire, and lay out a 2.5 inch attack line. The crew would pull four lengths of hose from the bed, break the line and attach the smooth bore nozzle. The line would be charged when the firefighters reached the place where they wanted to begin the attack. This layout of 350 to 400 feet of hose provided the correct nozzle pressure of 45 psi. by flowing 200 gpm with a friction loss of 30 psi. The hydrant pressure was at least 70 psi, just sufficient for the smooth bore nozzle.
This layout was almost always sufficient to handle a house fire. Occasionally I have seen the officer go to the pumper and reverse layout to the next hydrant beyond the fire. He attached the nozzle first and then started the layout so that he could open the hydrant before he returned to the fire. This operation was easier than trying to move a charged line to the other side of a house.
Of course the ground ladder truck was not adequate for a second alarm response since off duty firefighters had to be called to man this truck.This whole operation certainly provided adequate fire protection for a first alarm response. Of course the ground ladder truck was not adequate for a second alarm response since off duty firefighters had to be called to man this truck. I have seen several houses in town where the fire was stopped half way through the building. There was a very definite straight line through the house where the fire was stopped.
One problem that MFD had, that is a rare occurrence today, is a wood shingle roof catching on fire. The MFD was quite successful in fighting such fires. The attack team went inside up to the attic and stopped the fire at the roof level. All the shingles might be gone, but the rafters and the rest of the house were untouched.
