, 1872-11-25
FIRES.

NGT 1LE IuemQeT6 Ills uIu AAAAAA~t1AAA6 AeAoeA'
foreFermore. CoLsToUN.
FIRES.
,E'r,e Cause and Prevention of EireSs
To the Editor Of The Chicago Tribune:
Srn: So much has been said and written in !
regard to fires. their causes and prevention, TINT
it would seem almost unnecessary, Or perhaps
useless, to offer any further suggestions on the
subject; nevertheless, If your readers are not
already surfeited with voluntary advice and
opinions, will venture some further reflections
on the causes, and means Of prevention, Of large
fres: . -,
One year ago, or soon after our great fire, I
wrote up and published a small pamphlet on this
subject. Therein endeavored to show that We
should 30 construct our buildings that large fires
could not occur; and this, not by building what
We are accustomed to call fre-proof buildings,
in the strict sense Of the term, but rather by
building all our buildings go that they shall be
sufficiently hre-proof to intercept the rapid
spread OF fire through them, and, in this way,
keep it within the control OF the Fire depart
ment.
The fact is undoubtedly known to many, that,
in several OF the leading commercial cities OF
England, an attempt Was made some twenty to
thirty years since, to build f1e-proof ware
houses !; and the best building talent in the
country Was employed in the construction Of
without doubt to be fre-proof materials, name
": stone, brick, and iron and these buildings,
in whose construction-walls, floors, ceilings,
and roofs-no wood or other combustable
disc OF an inaammable nature, which took fire
by spontaneous combustion, as was believed,
and the buildings that contained them melted
down like so much wa1. These, and other like
attempts At dre-prooang buildings both at home
to an lmposaibility to erect building
in the opinion OF the writer, is it necessary to
do so, except for some special purposes. 1t is,
-as before stated, far better to build all our
buildings 80 that, il fire originates in one Of
them, It will burn but slowly, and, by this
means, con6ne the fire to the building in which
it originated. ,.
This is what I advocated one year ago, and I
feasible method Of preventing great confagra-
tions. If rightly understand It, THE TRIBUNE
advocates substantially the same thin g.
It is well-known fact that mortar is ma
iron, and it is for this REASON mainly that, in
france and Italy, and some other European
States, it has come to be an almost universal
custom to ill in between wooden joistB. studded
partitions, Iafters Of Mansard and other roots,
and such like timber-constructions, with
coarse mortar or concrete; and it ia also fact,
well known to those who know anything about
it, that fire can make but slow progress in a
floor, partition, or roof that is SO constructed.
It may be objected that this filling in process
would be too great dead weight for the timbers
to carry; but the ingenuity OF the architects
would soon devise o way to mako it as light as
practicable and the extra expense would be SO
inconsiderable that property owners would soon
find it cheaper than to have buildings frequently
burned.
Modern ingenuity has already deviseda method
for substantially accomplishing this, BY the use
Of iron laths, and q small amount OF mortar;
and there are various other methods OF more or
quits, it people will only avail themselves
Of them. NoWooden joist or rafter will burn so
IS to help on 3 condagration if it is encased IN
close compartment, aB between the floor above
and the ceiling bel9w tier o. 2ost p1oyldng @ Ing
can readily be made SO BY the use of iron-lath
and mortar, or by filing in with mortar or con-
crete, on the European plan. In the first ar
rangement, the surroundings might become so
joists into charcoal; but they would not blaze
and help to burn other infannable materials,
for the very good 1eason that there would be no
supply of oxygen, without which combustion is
impossible.
For much the same reason, ioists, studs, and
raftere that are filed in with concrete flush with
their edges, will only burn the edges of the raft
ers a little, and then go out, or, it they burn
fo, Gus " ~ time and ra won1d Enread ao
t s1og1T ethst It would rareiv or never 20 beVond
H. et"Ty hyy;id;, lin ~ ~ euh;c1, + nr;e;nated
LII Th;s ~ ~ - indr,nent is The trna theorV of
hni1d;n,e i, r. xe Wen1d protect ourselves apainst
s,,n Az atrona conarTafione "a T;s;ted mr. citv
enen vaar spo snd BoatGn more recanty
onu yeaa leu aH oro ~ dnnbt ra.t-snp If tha
ars Ind Int Ills results arey from tbe fact
tat t,ev are so hirh Nd that tie reen cannot
& .nae .4hs 4 nlo A. Il nresant constructed thev
iaan s he anoer rom f;res immenseiv no
ctease ~ Eet1, r,oaa;bia and nTact;csba ~
DOUBT yeT Is pot1 1bat 4hev nav @ be compara
frea ene 4ro ~ danrer Enropesns Beside
tvely LES .tea o 1,1ahsru1i1aa ~ tha fi,1;ng.in
PIoeeclns sE ;nSsG 1ana fafara ;nicate1 ara gen-
process ~a1Ga - maee ", etea nr hr}c waI1a
ehnys fha roof - "a freonentlV az circumstances
& W. auaI, IL ~ anu ~ 70 7,:yo1act ~
"cn ath Me aao nps " ~ IN c,ss of fra in
& noinGi h So;s 70 ~ tha mo5ern ~ eG ;nnroyement''
etI1 eaiaa chag 10 Tha Iouavar IN he Init
~ ~ tathar n,osaa Hght ho1lo1r brick
wsl md % be aeeureiV % closed 10 WITH Nth ron doors at
EACH foor and in tis | way. be- entirely free from
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