PREVENTION OF FIRES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15265, 1 April 1913, Page 5

PREVENTION OF FIRES .

PRESENT DAY BUILDINGS. STRUCTURAL; PROBLEMS. A oseat deal ol: valuable property is; lost every year by fire, and in some cases 'the;] itlames claim evein, human lives as their Victims. ' Although fire brigades may be: (Equipped with the latest devices for fighting the flames, yet after all prevention is Ibetter than euro. In discussions with' various Heading builders and architects' yesterday, a .Herald representative gained much information on; the subject of fire-proof buildbuildings, ", and the steps which are being taken at the present day to minimise the losses by property owners. After the Cripplegate fire in London in 1897,' a British Fire Prevention Committee was formed. Aided by no State subsidy or public subscription, this society has been, since its iEoundation, working unceasingly in its endeavours to prevent fire. ; Engineers, architects, builders, and men of science have joined its ranks, and their United efforts have done much to curtail the annual loss through fire in London and .other.cities. Although the best known results of their labours have been that of discovering a process whereby the dangerous flannelette can he rendered non-inflam-mable, and also tho discovery of » noninflammable substitute for celluloid, yet they have done much in advising contractors how they can boat prevent the destruction of their work by fire. . Builders and architects alike recognise the fact that the presence of wood ma building is a great danger in the case of an Outbreak of fire. The proper construction of all hearths, flues, and chimneys, so that no woodwork can become heated, puts a stoD to one very common cause of fire. Ceilings made of wooden lathe are another great danger. The massive beams found m old buildings are much safer than the present thin wood. No wood, but wire netting should be used in ceiling construction. Wooden joists, to which floor planks are sometimes nailed, ehould bo protected by asbestos boards. ■..„.'; . Steel Construction Condemnad. The Americans, although pioneers in steel and iron building, are already discarding this form of construction. It has been .proved .that naked iron or steel work is a positive danger in the case of fire. For, although it will hot burn itself, it will lose all its strength when subjected, to any great heat, and thus the building will collapse. The Mutual Life Insurance Company erected a magnificent building in San Francisco. It was built of steel, and everything inflaiaraable was protected with asbestos and terra cotta. In fact the building was considered to be absolutely fire-proof. Yet the fire following on the great.San Francisco earthquake left nothing but a heap of charred ruins where this fine building had previously stood. Concrete Buildings Fireproof. The general consensus of opinion is that no building will over be really five-proof unless it £ built with Portland cement. mixed with sand. It may be strengthened by 'steel bare, but no timber must enter into its construction. The parts of these concrete buildings can be cast in metal or wooden moulds and then pieced together. 1 Many such buildings have already j been 1 erected in England and America, and have been found to bo absolutely fi«WP- ■ Cupboards, dressers, wardrobes, and other "wooden" fixtures have been successfully ; made of cement, and sand, with a beautiful fine grained, Coloured surface. A- house thus built and .fitted would resist the fiercest conflagration. Naturally a certain ; amount of inflammable ; material would bo ' necessary in the furnishing, such as curtain ' and bed-clothes; but.should these become tehited there would be no danger of tho ' whole house being burned. Such a house . might be'thought to be extremely ugly and unpleasant to live in, t but th© reverse I 'has been proved to be the case. Paint ; will work wonders in decoration, and a , Cement house is both a, pleasant aid a ; healthy habitation,- , Saving the Timbsf. Naturallv the question of cost enters very considerably into the building, question. Portland cement is rapidly becoming cheaper with its increased use. As it is composed of river mud and chalk, there is practically an inexhaustible supply. Wot so with wood, Which is yearly becoming dearer and scarcer, owing to the many Uses to which it is now put. The Supply of timber at its present rate of consumption cannot lasts very long, and through force of circumstances, mankind will have to find something less dangerous for his house-construction. Automatic Tire Extinguishers. Great advances have been made in . the i last few years , with fire, extinguishing apparatus. Many big buddings in America and elsewhere are fitted with automatic sprinklers. : Waller is stored at the top of the building by means of a tower or an elevated tank. Communicating with tun? ■reservoir is arranged a system ■pipes .' over every rooutt. These pipes all have >. openings which are closed by a solder. i When, the temperature of a room reaches 160 degrees Falhr., as it quickly does in the event of an, outbreak of fire, the solder in the pipes above the room in which the i outbreak occur* melts, and water is sprinkled on the flames. By adopting these automatic sprinklers the American !" Association of Factories has lowered its annual loss through fire from 33.7 per cent, in, 1860 to 69 per cent, in 1910. Automatic electric fire alarms, which are set in motion by a very slight rise above the normal temperaiiMre, are also installed in many of the leading buildings throughout 1 the world. , ... . 1 Differences of: opinion amongst experts 1 seems to exißt m to the value of chemical - fire extinguishers. They are' of undoubted use in cases of burning oil, which cannot 1 be extinguished by .the application oi water. They aire useful, too,"in, the case of a small outbreak, like the flanng up of a curtain or a teble-tiloth. But under ' ordinary circumistancea water seems to be peferable. Fire Escapes. All who are in a position to judge seem 1 to agree that as often as not the placing of fire escapes in a building is done ma 1 most haphazard, manner. As Superinton- : dent Woolley, 'of the Auckland lire. Brigade has remarked, all buildings should lave fire escapes at the front as.well as ' the back. One : part of ■ a building may .be easily cut off from the remainder by the . flames, and every window above the ground . i floor should have easy access to the escape. The fire escape, too, should be of such a character that even the most nervous individual would have no hesitation in descend--1 inc it. There,should be no perpendicular ladders, but ah: iron stair-case, zia-zagmg backwarfio and forwards at a gentle slope. In some of the big blocks of buildings in London and other big cities. it tis the practice to construct a small iron bridge ; from the roof of one building to another. Then, in the-event of the occupants of a > Burning buildmg being cut off from any fire escape and Ibeing forced to take refuge on the roof, they can easily gain a place -. of safety. : mmm*»imßmxmaitmammmi mm