Fire Prevention Through Concrete.

Progress, Volume VI, Issue 4, 1 February 1911, Page 554

Fire Prevention Through Concrete.

Mr. MORAN" reports:—Residence at Remuera for Mr. A. IT. Shroff, bungalow, wood built,- 9 rooms, frontage to Ladies' Mile.

Messrs. WADE & WADE report:—Two wooden buildings at Kemuera, both 10-roomed double-deckers. Epsom, wooden house, 10 rooms. Bakery at Mount Roskiil in brick. Star Hotel at Newton. Existing wooden portion being removed, brick block is being erected. Hanna’s new premises, Queen Street,* nearing completion. EDWARD BARTLEY reports;—New warehouse in Lome Street lor Mr. John Edson. Five storeyed warehouse of brick. Ground floor suit, of dentist’s rooms, frontage 70 x 50. Alterations to existing premises, which will give access to the new warehouse by a wide corridor from Queen Street through Lome Street. Corridor and dentist’s rooms to be tiled. Imposing elevator to Lome Street. Two basements below Lome Street level all partitions are fireproof. Alterations to old building stairway behind present, one. A. & T. Burt. Ltd., warehouse. Old premises pulled down and new ones to be erected divided into three blocks, offices and warehouse in the front; frontage Custom Street AY. 50 x 105 ft. Two rear blocks engineer shop, blacksmith and iron and brass foundry built brick. Price, £ 1-109. Contractor, W. E. Hutchinson. Presbyterian Orphanage. Kemuera. .Ffem competitive plans. Now being erected. Frontage to Meadowbauk. Accommodation for *SO children. Slate roof, all partitions fireproof, all on one floor, 2 dormitories 40 x 18 "each, lavatory accommodation for each sex. dormitory surrounded by good spacious verandah and

The big fire at Camphelltown, New .Brunswick, in July last wiped out properly to the extent of nearly a million sterling. The U.S. Consul Buskin, reporting on the rebuilding arrangements now in progress, says that “concrete walls and Works will in many cases supplant the natural stone for building purposes, as it is noticeable everywhere that concrete withstood the fire test, while natural stone did not.’’ In commenting on the extensive use of concrete in Philadelphia, the Public Ledger of that city says Philadelphia “has adapted itself rapidly to this new type of construction, and as the building code demands certain fireproof features it has become cheaper to erect nnhurnable buildings than those which can be consumed by fire. Enormous quantities of cement are used in Philadelphia, and the city has a score of big companies which contract almost exclusively for the' erection of reinforced buildings. The fact that steel for reinforcement purposes is readily obtained here at reasonable prices has perhaps much to do with its use. A number of lug cement manufacturing plants are located in the vicinity of Philadelphia, whore cement can be produced the year round at bedrock prices. Vast quantities are used in almost any building, for it has supplanted lime mortar, where it was formerly used. The day has come, in fact, when the builder uses less lumber and more cement. 11 any of the lumber yards have added supplies of cement to their stocks and make considerable profit from its sale. The day is ! oming, the dealers say, when cement will be used almost exclusively for the erection of houses, especially those for persons of moderate means.” The rapid increase in the use of concrete in certain connections was once viewed with alarm in the iron and steel trade, as superficially it appeared that concrete was tending to displace iron and steel along certain lines. These fears were dispelled when it became apparent that the availability of concrete was encouraging industrial operations, and by broadening such operations was indirectly encouraging the consumption of iron and steel along various lines, while directly the use of concrete created a demand for steel, as for reinforcing material and steel sheet piling. —From the Iron Trade Review.