Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 April 1875 — Bolink’s Experiment. [ARTICLE]

Bolink’s Experiment.

Mr. Boltnk’s owns and runs a coopershop near the House of Correction, and, as he keeps a dozen men at work,(he is bound to have his shop run on “ system. ” The other day he was reading a newspaper article in regard to the prevention of conflagrations. The article advised employers to lav out a regular programme of what should be done when a fire was discovered in the shop, and drill his hands until they understood it. He bought fifty feet *f hose for the penstock, detailed a man to use it in case of fire, and then instructed each other man and boy just what they should do when an alarm was given. One was to roll out barrels, another to save tools, to throw staves through a window, and each one knew exactly what to jump for.

This was all right, and Mr. Bolink had a good mind to cancel his insurance policies and depend upon his local firebrigade. Before taking this step, however, it occurred to him to give his programme a trial. He had a little curiosity to see if his employes would spring to their posts according to instructions, and he studied out a plan/ Yesterday morning he passed up-stairs, kicked a pile of shavings together on an old piece of zinc, touched a match to them, and the next minute ran down-stairs crying out: “The shop is on fire! Fire! fire! fire!” The man who was to use the hose grabbed it up, threw it out of the window and jumped after it, shouting “fire!” until he was heard three blocks oft. The man who was to save the tools threw an adze and hit Mr. Bolink in the back, and then hit him again with a drawshave. As Mr. Bolink was pawing around on the floor the man who was to save the ready-madework rolled five pork barrels over him, kicked in the heads of three more, and then dug out through the back door. One man saved a piece of board six feet long; another took up a stave and broke two windows before he fled, while a third threw a hammer at the clock, uttered a wild shriek, and kicked open the side door.

In two minutes the shop was clear of everyone but Mr. Bolink and he was crawling out from among “the barrels when steamer No. 6 came galloping down. The smoke was rolling up through the roof, the boys were yelling “ fire !” and the firemen were determined to save that cooper-shop or perish in the attempt. Mr. Bolink heard them calling out to “ git them hose around hyar” and to “ play her up to eighty-five,” and he got to the door and shouted: “ Hold on, gentlemen; there is no fire here !” “Gitout’n the way,” cried the pipemen; “yere’s yer mineral water.” “ It’s only a joke, gentlemen; there is no—” Mr. Bolink was shouting, when the stream of water lifted him over the barrels, out of the back door, where he sat down on a broken shave-horse until his cooper shop had been filled with v ater and the shavings had burned out. During the afternoon, yesterday, his whole force were engaged in emptying the barrels, wringing out draw-shaves, hanging broad-axes up to dry and otherwise getting his shop on a working basis. —Detroit Free Press.