Town Says No to the Fire Alarm, So the Telephone Man Hoists It Up the City Hall Tower Himself
Newport declined to keep the trial alarm Manager Anderson installed. He couldn't ship it back, so he bolted it to the City Hall tower and handed the town a free one anyway.
The town having rejected the fire alarm placed on trial by Manager Anderson, of the Newport Telephone Co., and Mr. Anderson being unable to return it to the manufacturers, he has placed it on the tower of the City Hall. He now has a fire alarm of his own which the town can use until some better alarm is procured.
“He now has a fire alarm of his own which the town can use until some better alarm is procured.”
Fire protection in Newport and the Pend Oreille valley still runs on volunteer companies and mutual aid, and the question of who pays for the alarm is asked at every council meeting. In 1909 the answer was a private businessman who ate the loss rather than leave the town without one.
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