The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-11-02
FIRE-PROOF BUILDINGS.
An Interview with Supervising Archi-
tect Mullett.

The Washington correspondent of the Gin
cinnati Commercial has recently had conver-
salion with Mr.. Mullett, supervising architect
of the Treasury Department, on the subject of
fre;proot buildings. In ansSer ~ TO: TO remark
'Why, ny friend, you don't know what
you're talking about. You now know that
there was not fre-prool building In Chicago.
could. have told you that beforehand"
.'Why the Tribune office was regarded as
ire-proof, and other marble and granite build
ings were 80 regarded. l believe they only
lacked iron shutters" ventured to reply.
Iron fiddlesticks," he answered suappishly.
81 hope YOU don't think that granite or mar
BILE building IS fre-proof. Don't you know
that granite, when subjected to q strong heat,
crumbes like dry plaster. It Is the best build.
ing stone In the world; 1t will resist time, and
damp, aHd rain, and everything else, but IL
won't resist fire. Marble is not much better,
but it is some; marble will not burn up as soon
as granite. Sandstone is about the same,
with some few exceptional varieties. Now, o
good many blessed idiots think that II vault
Is built of granite 1t Is fire and burglar.proof.
Nothing OF the sort. If wanted to make
secure vault, shouldn't make 1t Of granite.
A skillul burglar can get into granite vault
in no time. With large blow-pipe and
s.uall, sharp blaze we'll handled burglar can
crack block of granite to pieces before you'd
know it. When subjected to severe heat 1t
cracks and splits of In fakes, and you can
crush it into sand with your fingers. Oh, no,
| granite building Is not 6re-proot."
S.Well, what sort of o building Is fre-proof?" ?"
"a granite building" he answered, without
apparently noticing the question, Twill STAND
heat a great while, 80 will marble great
| while. But wooden cupola, or steeple, or
| tower, must not be put on top OF 1t, like that
on the Chicago Courthouse. man must be
fool to do thing like that. I'd also like to
know how sensible man could be sucn 1901
| Chicago Tribune Office was fre-proof when
more than half the windows did not have iron
shutters? It don't take fire long to crash
through glass and sash. People ought to un-
derstand these things when building what
they call flre-proof buildings; for fre-proot
building that isn't 6re-proof Is no better than
one that isn't. Do you understand! NOW l
can't always do as want to In the erection OF
public buildings Sometimes have to leave
| iron shutters off, and sometimes l have to put
wood In places where stone or Iron ought to
be, but 1t isn't because I don't know better.
| Congress never thinks of these things. They
think that II building Is made of granite or
marble, that's all that is necessary. Iron
shutters and all such things cost something.
they are always cut down, 80 | have TO cut
down my plans. Now In this Chicago horror
you see the effects. I'll bet you the proprietors
of the Tribune will have iron blinds on their up
per windows Ia their next building"
"What difference will it make" asked, "if
granite is not ire-proof?"
''Granite Is not dre-proof,' he continued,
ssbut as I said before, it will stand good
DEAL II Is probable that the courthouse
would have stood had it not been for the
wooden cupola and the open windows. The
| Tribune office would probably have stood II II
| 1t had iron shutters outside and inside on all
| the windows. Yet it is by no means certain,
II the fire ragged with the intensity that is de-
scrbed." me-.
"What, then, is to be done,"I asked, ''if
granite and marble and sandstone are not hre-
proof? Is not the capital, the treasury, the
patent Office, the pestoffice department, nre-
| proof?"
"Why, bless your soul, no! Not one of
them. But they are probably safe, for all that,
| because they stand away from other buildings
all except the postof1ce. If we should have
such q fire in Washington as that In Chicago, |
should fear for the pOstoffce building. Why,
nv dear sir" he-continued In a more snap
plsh tone than ever, do you know there Is
but one fire-proof government building IN the
country? That's the appraiserA-stores In
Philadelphia. The material is brick. Brick Is
the only absolutely fire.proot building material
know of. They say the Seneca stone Is fire.
proof and 1t has stood some wonderful tests,
but none of the government buildings have
been built of 1t. Of course, granite and mar
| BILE are good enough, if buildings are apart
from others. That's the trouble. Govern
ment buildings ought to have big grounds
around them. Then there would be no danger
But have great faith in iron shutters"