Salvage Corps used these covers for various protective schemes. The most frequent was covering merchandise to prevent water or smoke damage during firefighting operations. They could also be set up to divert water from fire hoses to outside the building or away from merchandise within the property. When fire or bad weather had unroofed a building or broken windows, covers were spread across the exposed roof openings as temporary roofing or over windows as temporary closures. They were also used as Old Mat had used his, as protection from "adjacent exposures", a fire department term for buildings or anything at risk of burning from proximity to a working fire.(20) Sprinkler systems were another potential source of damage with which the Salvage Corps had to deal. Patented in 1874 by Philip Pratt(21) sprinkler systems are a series of metal pipes charged with water attached to the ceiling of a structure into which specialized "heads" are installed at specific distances along each pipe. Each valve, or "head", has a soft metal ball that holds the valve closed until the heat of the fire melts the ball allowing the valve to open and spray water to suppress the fire below. As with water from fire hoses, water from sprinkler systems could be equally damaging to contents and property so the Salvage Corps carried specialized equipment for shutting off sprinkler systems whether do to fire or burst pipes due to freezing.(22) The Salvage Corps also dealt with ventilating smoke, which could easily damage merchandise, as well as life-threatening poisonous fumes, an inherent danger in firefighting that could cost any personnel working the fire scene their life. In this era before self-contained breathing apparatus air masks became the standard for personnel fighting fire, "gas masks" were rudimentary, if available at all, and ventilating the "scene" was critical to fire fighter safety.(4) The Salvage Corps carried large fans for this purpose powered by generators in their custom designed trucks. SUPERINTENDENTS The Salvage Corps had four superintendents, or chiefs, during the existence of the company. Herman F. Newman 1886 - 1894 John J. Conway November 7, 1894 - February 21, 1932 Edward J. Ader March, 1932 - April 1, 1950 H. C. Williams April, 1950 - June 30, 1959 CORPSMEN KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY In the 74 years of operation, The Salvage Corps had four members killed in the line of duty. Herman Schroeder, 1913