USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Inaugural address of the mayor, with the annual report of the officers of the city of Quincy for the year 1945 > Part 2
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Recently an appropriation of $30,000 was made for the dredging of a mooring basin in Town River to care for the ยท pleasure craft. This appropriation was made jointly by the city and the state.
There is considerable agitation for fur- ther improvement of local harbor facilities. It is pointed out that a deep-water port would mean much to the industrial de- velopment of Quincy.
At all launchings, the rivers must be patrolled to keep small craft out of the way of the towboats, and to insure safety in other ways. This is a responsibility of the Harbor Master. During 1946 there were four launchings.
Lost boats, lost children in boats, and boats in distress are also matters of con- cern for the Harbor Master.
Last summer eight rowboats were picked up. Two of these were destroyed because
their condition made them dangerous for further use. Unfit boats represent a seri- ous hazard for children.
Children who go out in boats and fail to return are often reported to the Harbor Master, whose power boat speedily sets out from the Quincy Yacht Club.
During the past year, fifteen trips were made to boats in distress-aground, cap- sized, or otherwise disabled. Such boats are spotted by the Harbor Master or re- ported to him.
In all emergencies the Harbor Master works cooperatively with the local police and with the U. S. Coast Guard Station at Pemberton.
Beacons and buoys in Quincy Bay and Hingham Bay are under the scrutiny of the Quincy Harbor Master. If ex- tinguished or out of position, they are re- ported to the Coast Guard. In the winter, buoys are frequently dragged out of position by the ice.
The Harbor Master checks with local industries-oil, coal, lumber, and others to ascertain "receipts by water." These he re- ports annually in terms of total gallons, tons, feet, etc. The receipts for 1946 were substantially greater than for any preceding year.
We were told that over 300 boats are stored each winter along the Quincy waterfront.
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Fire Protection
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0
"Alarm of fire!"
Fire alarm operator contacting fire stations by voca-alarm
The fire alarm is the nerve center of the Fire Department. All telephone calls for fires and other emergencies, and all alarms from fire boxes are received at the Fire Department headquarters.
Alarms of fire are transmitted by the headquarters operator to the six other fire stations-Atlantic, Quincy Point, Wollas- ton, West Quincy. Houghs Neck, and Squantum.
Through a transmitter box at the Fire Department headquarters, each alarm is recorded on a tape in each station. This serves as a check on the message received by voca-alarm.
Each station has its own area, but must be ready to cover for other stations when
apparatus is out. By mutual-aid arrange- ments with Milton and with Boston, Quincy is obligated in emergencies to cover for nearby stations outside the city.
The Fire Department has 16 pieces of apparatus, including a special service truck. Two replacements in fire fighting equip- ment are being requested, including an addi- tional aerial ladder.
The Fire Department is also requesting that it be completely equipped with two -way radio. At present all communications on the road must be made indirectly through police headquarters.
Plans are underway for the construction of a new fire station at Houghs Neck. It is to be located on the present site.
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The total number of alarms responded to in 1945 was 1641. During 1946 there were 2750. Telephone alarms increasing- ly outnumber box alarms.
The most common type of fire is the grass or dump fire. Fires in dwellings are sec- ond in number. Fires in business establish- ments and automobiles tie for third place. It is estimated that fires in the city dump represent an annual cost of $15,000.
In 1945 there were 160 false alarms, an increase of 63 over the preceding year. Dur- ing 1946 there were 186. We were told that the majority of false alarms occur after midnight, and are found to be the work of persons beyond school age.
The report of the Fire Chief lists an- nually about 150 "miscellaneous" calls. These include calls for rescue, first aid, re- moval of water in flood conditions, and the rendering of special service in other emer- gencies such as heart attacks, attempted suicide, and refrigerator gas leaks.
The Fire Department maintains a bu- reau of fire prevention. The work of the bureau includes inspections, the issuing of permits, and the investigation of fires.
Over 12,000 inspections are made an- nually for fire hazards.
Permits are issued for outdoor fires, the storage of inflammables including fuel oil, and the installation of oil burners-also for inflammable decorations in places of public assembly, and for public displays of fireworks.
Inspections and most types of permits must be reported monthly to the Fire Marshal, who is the head of all fire pre- vention activities in the state.
The bureau of fire prevention investi- gates all fires in which there is a loss. If the bureau is unable to determine the cause of the fire, or if there has been some viola- tion of the law, the Fire Marshal is notified and takes over the investigation or the prosecution.
By state law, local fire departments are responsible for "first aid" fire protection -that is, for extinguishers, sprinklers, etc. They also have responsibility in connection with the construction of public garages, and hazardous industries such as dry cleaning plants.
Fire fighting is hazardous, from the view- point both of accidents and of effects upon the heart and respiratory system. This fact is reflected in a high percentage of pen- sioned personnel. The present number in the Quincy Fire Department is 25.
FIRE LOSSES IN QUINCY, 1935 - 1946 The total losses represent 8.6% of the total value of the property involved.
$500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
1935 1936
1937
1938
1939
1940 1941
1942
1943 1944 1945 1946
Drawings for chart by Amy Adams and the Office of the City Engineer
Result of a delayed alarm
Even boats catch fire!
>
An aerial ladder in action
SO. QUINCY VARIETY
MERCURY
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One of the most daring and best executed rescues on the records of the Quincy Fire Department
When playing near the top of an abandoned quarry, a small boy fell into the water below. Miraculously he escaped injury from the fall, and was able to cling to a ledge. His companions gave the alarm.
The quarry is used as a city dump. What appears in the above picture to be solid ground at the bottom is rubbish floating on the water.
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Upon the arrival of the Fire Department, a fireman was lowered on a life line to the surface of the water. He succeeded in removing the boy from the water, and held him until ladders were lowered.
In the picture below, the boy has been brought half-way up the side of the quarry, and is about to be placed on a flexicot. 1
The rescue took one hour and ten minutes.
Pictures loaned by John Rizzi
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Attaching the new rescue boat
ALERT
"Car 2 standing by!"
School traffic
"How are you this morning?" Juvenile officer arriving to con- fer with a school principal
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Police Protection
The bulk of the manpower in the Police Department is assigned to patrol work. Uniformed officers patrolling on foot or in prowl cars work in three 8 hour shifts. It is pointed out that the first of the established functions of the police is the prevention of crime.
The detective work of the Police De- partment is the special responsibility of the bureau of investigation. The officers assigned to this bureau are known as the plain-clothes units.
The bureau of investigation holds many conferences with persons involved in minor complaints, and attempts to help them with their problems. Frequently persons not in- volved in complaints seek help.
Juvenile cases are handled by a special juvenile officer. Many informal hearings are held, at the police headquarters and at the probation office. The juvenile officer works cooperatively with others in the community who are concerned with the welfare of young people. During the past year, 143 juvenile cases were taken formal- ly to court.
The new position of policewoman was filled in the fall of 1946. The addition of a woman to the police force is consistent with the increasing proportion of women and girls involved in complaints.
The bureau of investigation checks on all licensed establishments-that is, ali business establishments for which licensing
by the Board of License Commissioners is required by law.
All establishments handling liquor must be inspected not only for licenses but for conduct. During the past year a total of 8559 inspections of such establishments were reported. Complaints are investigated.
The bureau of investigation maintains a record file of offenders. Fingerprinting and photographing are involved.
Photographing is also done by the Police Department in connection with street scenes, traffic accidents, and damage claims against the city.
The police records for the past year show a total of 1910 persons arrested. Of these 86% were native born. The number in- cludes 146 women. A total of 5017 com- plaints were received, and 5065 investiga- tions made.
Matters pertaining to traffic are the re- sponsibility of the traffic bureau.
The solution to traffic problems in a city like Quincy is not simple, and requires the cooperative efforts of various groups in- cluding safety councils and planning boards-also a consideration of various mat- ters such as arterial highways and off-street parking.
Departments other than the Police De- partment are involved in traffic regulation within the city. Traffic signs and street
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markings come under the Department of Public Works; traffic signals under the Fire and Police Signal Department.
Efforts at law enforcement in the matter of traffic are reported by the traffic bureau of the Police Department in terms of warn- ings, "red tickets," and prosecutions. Dur- ing the past year there were. 596 warnings, 6947 "red tickets," and 588 prosecutions.
The records for 1946 show a total of 590 traffic accidents on highways under the jurisdiction of the Quincy Police De- partment.
Figures relative to fatalities and injuries over a twelve-year period are given below. These figures were furnished by the Reg- istry of Motor Vehicles, and include the highways patrolled by the Metropolitan District Commission.
Fatalities and Injuries from
Traffic Accidents in Quincy
1935 - 1946
Fatalities
Injuries
1935
6
890
1936
10
845
1937
+
927
1938
11
963
1939
7
991
1940
5
1018
1941
3
1295
1942
8
928*
1943
+
859
1944
6
778
1945
3
703
1946
8
786
The traffic bureau is recommending the provision of a special accident-investigating car, outfitted with first aid equipment. cameras, measures, and trained men. -
According to police records, approxi- mately 150 dogs get run over in Quincy each year.
The equipment of the Police Department consists of 10 prowl cars, + motorcycles, 2 ambulances, 2 wagons, 2 motor boats, and 4 rowboats. The prowl cars are continual- ly on the road. The motorcycles are used during the day when weather permits. The rest of the equipment is available for emer- gencies.
The police records for the past year show a total of 630 ambulance calls and 1467 wagon calls.
Emergencies requiring the use of boats have become increasingly frequent. The second motor boat of the Police Depart- ment was acquired during the past year. It is portable by trailer, and can be attached to either an ambulance or a wagon and rushed to the scene of the accident.
The Police Department is equipped with two-way radio, making possible constant communication with all police cars. A total of 25,771 messages were transmitted from police headquarters by radio in 1946, and a total of 15,447 incoming messages re- ceived.
Quincy has its quota of lost children. During the past year there were 296. The average lost child gets lost around 2 o'clock and gets missed around supper time. They tell us at police headquarters it sometimes makes a long afternoon !
* The reduction in traffic accidents at the peak of war production is attributed in part to the assistance of the Auxiliary Police.
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Fire, Police, and Traffic Signals
There are in Quincy 290 fire alarm boxes, 65 police boxes, and 33 traffic signal controlled intersections.
With all these installations go miles of wires, sixty to be exact. At present one- third of these wires are underground, two- thirds overhead. Gradually the unsightly overhead construction is being eliminated. The city reserves the right to enter and use all underground conductors constructed by the telephone and electric light com- panies. It is pointed out that when we ride through the city, we are riding over a maze of underground cables.
The average annual cost to the city per traffic signal is $250. In many instances a traffic signal serves as a substitute for a traffic officer.
The annual cost to the city for the fire alarm and police boxes averages less than $20 per box.
The police boxes are used by both patrolmen and prowl cars. The number of routine and emergency calls from boxes received daily by the tape room operator at police headquarters is approximately 750. A policeman may call an ambulance di- rectly from a police box. The police box also provides telephone communication with headquarters.
Other direct telephone lines maintained by the city connect the Fire Department headquarters, the Police Department head- quarters, the city garage, and the Quincy City Hospital.
The Fire and Police Signal Department is responsible for the installation and maintenance of the fire, police, and traffic signal systems. There is 24 hour service. The entire department is on call in emer- gencies. Storms, accidents, and fires cause broken wires and cables, and open circuits -resulting in live wires and dead signal systems.
In all fires of more than one alarm, members of the Fire and Police Signal De- partment are called to the Fire Department headquarters and, if necessary, are sent to the fire. When the insulation is burned from wires, the wires must be cut to pro- tect the firemen and to prevent further spreading of the fire.
The signal system at the Fire Depart- ment headquarters is one of the most mod- ern in the state.
Replacing a bulb
AUTICA
*
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The Issuing of Licenses and Permits
Marriage licenses, licenses for hunting and fishing, and dog licenses are issued from the office of the City Clerk.
Lord's Day permits are also issued from the office of the City Clerk. Stores selling fruit, ice cream, etc., must have permits to remain open on Sunday.
Certain types of business establishments must be licensed. These include restau- rants, theaters, bowling alleys, filling sta- tions, package stores and taps, taxi-stands, parking spaces, employment agencies, junk shops, and others. Such licenses are grant- ed by the Board of License Commissioners, which consists of the Fire Chief, the Police Chief, and the City Clerk.
Sunday permits are also granted by the Board of License Commissioners. Such permits are required for all types of com- mercial entertainment offered on Sunday.
All licenses and permits granted by the Board of License Commissioners are issued from the office of the City Clerk.
During 1946, receipts to the city from licenses and permits issued from the office of the City Clerk totaled $79,815. Of this amount, $63,950 came from liquor licenses.
The Health Department issues a variety of permits. These include permits to sell or pasteurize milk, sell or manufacture ice cream, sell oleomargarine, manufacture carbonated non-alcoholic beverages, prac- tice body massage, sell alcohol, transport garbage, conduct an undertaking business, keep poultry! All burial permits are is- sued by the Health Department.
Hawkers' and peddlers' licenses are is- sued by the Sealer of Weights and Mea- sures.
Bicycle licenses are issued from the office of the traffic bureau at police headquarters. During the past year a total of 517 bicycles were registered.
Mention is made elsewhere of permits issued by the bureau of fire prevention, also permits relative to buildings.
Applying for a license During the past year 2940 dogs were licensed in Quincy.
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Inspection of Buildings
All services in connection with the in- spection of buildings are for purposes of public protection. Such services are ren- dered by the Building Inspector, the Wire Inspector, the Health Department through the Plumbing Inspector, and the Fire De- partment. Inspections by the bureau of fire prevention have already been discussed.
Despite restrictions placed upon materials last March by the CPA, there was a substantial increase in construction during 1946.
Building, wiring, and plumbing permits are required both for new construction and for alterations and replacements.
New construction must be inspected at various points while in process. Here the work of the three inspectors is closely co- ordinated. For example, the Building In- spector will not sanction the lathing of a building until any wiring or plumbing that will be covered has been inspected.
In November 1945, by amendment of the state law and as an outcome of the Cocoanut Grove disaster, the major re- sponsibility for the routine inspection of buildings hitherto resting upon the State Department of Public Safety was placed upon local authorities. *
Attention is called to the fact that in- spection is required for structures other than buildings. in the usual sense, for example : radio towers, grain elevators, circus tents, grandstands, sky signs, etc.
Building
The Building Inspector is responsible for the enforcement of the building code and the zoning ordinance.
The building code includes provisions relative to the construction, inspection, and use of buildings-also the materials used.
The zoning ordinance in Quincy was adopted in 1943. By this ordinance the city is divided into six types of districts : residential, three types; business; and in- dustrial, two types.
According to the Massachusetts State Planning Board, zoning ordinances or by- laws are in effect in 41 of the 43 cities and towns constituting the Metropolitan Dis- trict of Boston.
There are two boards of appeal, one for the building code and one for the zoning ordinance. These boards may, in cases of hardship, grant relief from the operation of some provision.
It is estimated that there is need in Quincy for at least 1600 additional family units. During the past year, a total of 171 were provided-131 through new construc- tion, and 40 through alterations. The pres- ent problem, we were told, is one of cost.
The 2028 building permits issued in 1946 represented construction totaling nearly 3 million dollars.
The Building Inspector has jurisdiction over elevators. This includes inspecton of elevators, and the licensing of operators.
* The state retains responsibility for the inspection of state and county buildings, churches, schools, theaters, and public halls seating more than 400.
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Wiring
It is the responsibility of the Wire In- spector to see that wiring is properly in- stalled so as to protect the public from hypertensional circuits and fires.
Practice with respect to wiring is gov- erned by the National Electrical Code. There is a new code which goes into effect in 1947. A state committee is at present undertaking to prepare a simplified form for practical use.
The Wire Inspector is subject to call at any hour by the Fire Department or by the electric light company.
Emergency calls may involve live wires endangering life, or hardship due to lack of heat or refrigeration.
When there is a question as to a fire hav- ing been caused by defective wiring, the building must be inspected. In cases of fires so caused, a record is made of the amount of work to be done before service may be resumed.
According to the city ordinance gov- erning the installation and inspection of wiring, the Wire Inspector is responsible for "all electric and other wires erected in, upon, over or under any street or building."
Permits for electrical work are issued only to licensed electricians. Permits must be issued to the electric light company be- fore any building may be connected with a new service.
During the past year 2512 permits were issued and 3150 inspections made.
The Wire Inspector has recently co- operated with the State Department of Public Welfare in an inspection of board- ing homes used for welfare patients.
Plumbing
The local plumbing code is an adapta- tion of the National Plumbing Code, which recommends minimum requirements rela- tive to materials, fixtures, water supply, ventilation, drains and sewer connections, pipes, etc.
Permits for plumbing work are issued only to licensed plumbers. Attention is called to the danger of "handymen" at- tempting to do plumbing.
Explosions and epidemics may be caused by faulty plumbing. An outstanding in- stance was the epidemic of amoebic dysen- tery in Chicago in 1933*, which cost 98 lives. There were 1409 cases.
The greatest danger, we were told, is from cross connections-that is, connec- tions between a water supply used for drinking or culinary purposes and any polluted water. Certain washing machines may represent a hazard in this respect. If not properly connected, polluted water from soiled clothes may be drawn into the fresh water supply. A reduction in water pressure caused by a fire in the neighborhood or a leak in the water main might bring about such a condition.
All plumbing for which permits have been issued must be inspected by the Plumb- ing Inspector. In some instances several inspections are required on one job. Dur- ing the past year a total of 1322 permits were issued.
* Reported in Bulletin No. 166. National Institute of Health, U. S. Public Health Service
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Weights and Measures
"Weights and measures may be ranked among the necessaries of life to every individual of human society. They enter into the economical arrangements and daily concerns of every family."
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
The above statement was made in a re- port to the Senate of the United States on February 22, 1821. John Quincy Adams was at the time Secretary of State.
In the early days of barter, a knowledge of weights and measures was considered more vital than reading or writing. Today weights and measures enter into the "daily concerns of every family" but with less awareness on the part of the family, whose interests are safeguarded for them by the services of the Sealer of Weights and Measures.
In the office of the Sealer of Weights and Measures there are, encased in glass, standard weights and scales. Every five years these standard weights and scales are sent for checking to the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Industry, Divi- sion of Standards. The weights which are used for working purposes are checked by these standard weights every thirty days. *
The work of the Sealer of Weights and Measures consists of testing and sealing. and inspections.
The service best known to the public is probably the testing and sealing of grocery store scales and other weights.
Among the measures which must be tested and sealed are taxicab meters, for
which a mile course is used, oil truck com- partments and meters, and gasoline meters.
Two seals are usually affixed-one an aluminum disc which is wired to the scales or measure, the other a linen gummed seal. red or green according to the year.
Clinical thermometers on sale in drug- stores must also be checked by the Sealer of Weights and Measures. Approximately 1000 are done annually.
Inspections consist of the re-weighing of packaged commodities. On all packages put up in advance, the weight must by law be marked. Most of the checking on canned goods is done by the state.
Testing a gasoline meter One of the 543 tested and sealed during 1946
SHELL
CONTAINS LEAD
* A standardizing service for the state standards is maintained by the U. S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards.
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Food Inspection
Milk
Quincy consumes approximately 35,000 quarts of milk per day.
Only ten percent of this milk is produced locally-that is, within a radius of 40 miles. Ninety percent of it comes from the New England Milk Shed, which includes New England and New York. The largest amount comes from Vermont.
The producers take their milk to "coun- try plants." Here the milk is cooled, and loaded into tank cars and trucks for ship- ment into the Boston market. There are over 18,000 producers in the New England Milk Shed.
By state law, any dealer selling milk must have a license from the local health department. In applying for his license, the dealer is required to indicate the source of his supply and to furnish a list of reg- istered producers-that is, producers that have been registered by the Division of Dairying and Animal Husbandry of the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture. This insures conformity to minimum standards.
The producers who take their milk to the country plants are normally inspected
by the state department. In emergencies, when it is necessary to obtain milk from the Middle West and elsewhere at a distance, the state department issues permits to local dealers to obtain milk from qualified sources outside the normal production area.
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