The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-11-18
IA, Ever sc Fire-Proofs
rri,.Innat Cominerr'alI

year VIM, IN onr vicious modes of build
e,a' ',VriI3 ',,,I3 4pncar at first sight TO oe ~
m-' yat we have witnessed much new
t''Nr:,,,,,rp in progress or completed III
sF>'rI >.;.,, and elsewhere the past year, OF
M -; i moderate statement to say that
wac" 'r, .rnrt;on is such rs actually invites
~ u, .sn,,<. uur immunity from "idc-Spreau
'"s s'.~,,jon,, ,",,j such as swallow UP NrsetS
S,,.f, ,br sore and buildings by The thouSahu'
involve losses by the hundred mllilon,
S'S '.,o oot 50 much to our care or foresight
r"', o,,~ ;urk. The way we so on buiiding
orr fairly entitled to Scverat BoStons
w, ,.niracos in the next twenty-five years,
SDi SD, = r,r do no, mend we shall richly de-
..yc them. .s,h,o
..';,..hoycc-the MauSard roofS-that are
.:4r 70 blame. These are bad enough,
..,;n. .I, rank among the most destructive M
,.ri;Hns ever made, and well deserve the
,...S,r .accursed," by which they were
i,~r,erizcd in one of last Sundays Boston
3.,,.,hc,. written while the fire was still
-sr,,, Eut the interior construction OF
,,..r)v al eur buildings almost surpasScS IN
I,9v and rccklesspeSs even the combined
,.,;j,jitv and imposture of the MmSard roof.
;,-i,... are everywhere built as if, like the
.Il0lIIy constructed editice Of Goals and
g94Hnc in our morning CRATE, they were
1,.f71cd 10 burn. In all OF them the car
-,nt9r> deliberately insure lis those primary
ll,l essential conditions OF lively contlagra-
,;an--comhuStible material and splendid
ir,n.ht. The first is supplied in the skilfully
;r,rr)accd hath and joiSts that line the walls
and ceiling in every room and passage, While
ne lsttcr is furnished BY the hollow parti-
lions that pervade the whole interior stTuc-
,rre. and which. once pierced at any point
hy the advance OF fire, serve as so many
oIpn ar-drafts to convey the flames to every
p,Tr Of the building.
This is the leading cause of the rapldlty
with which all great fires spread, when once
th,v have obtained hcadwav in our modern
nvlt houses. II is all in vain to pile stone
raon stone in the exterior and call our build
;E-> tirc-proof, when we have contrived q
>Ifc means OF giving them over rs q prey to
The flames nv cheap and SenseleSS fashion
of finishing them within. The MATCHBOX
>iylr in winch we suffer our contlact-build-
rr> 10 construct our interiors, all with lath
and plaster partitions, wooden Joists, and
,l.ht tloors-all in fact. Mass of kindling-
rt,urcs their Spcedicst possible destruction
when. from any cat,So, onc Of them takes fire.
Hollow wood partitions, dividing one room
from another: hollow wooden floors; hollow
ulings. lined OH one side with thin. combus-
;h!c Mths. and on the other with still more
combustble piue boards, with wooden .ioiSts
I.twecn-all these on the first approach OF
nrr are in blaze i'll 4 moment. BY these
hollow open spaces the fire quickly spreads
irlm one point to another, finding hidden
lV, convenient passage, through which it
Urscs it> derouring way, acquiring heat and
momentum as il goes. The currents of air
re; precisely like the draught Of chimney
in Il stove: and the result is the most rapid
method possible of thoroughly isnitinc and
securing the destruction Of the building.
Al this is brought about by the criminal
and reckless method we suffer ourselves to
- dclndcd into possessing, by Its scemln"
clplpncss, when we build. Our modern
tdiiiccs. whether public or private, whether
tUiIt for business or for residence, are, with
tue tcwest exceptions, mere fraudulent fire
i.aps, constructed with Il sharp eye to eX-
tciua effect and the main chance. \ solid
ani ShOwy outside, an imposing front OF
.anite, or frec-Stone, or painted iron, or de-
coTlted brick, is pieccd out with the thinnest
,i,c walls that the law allows, made of the
poorest brick and mortar that contract prices
cn procure, and ready to crumble at the
first rush Of raging torrent Of flame. And
with the whole interior structure built af-
Ter the manner we nave described, is it any
wonder that we burn up so often, and that
50 many of our Insurance companies fail ! Is
il not rather strange that we do not have
more and larger fires, and that any insurance,
in the least trustworthy in the hour Of dan
ger, can he secured?
Fires ere very rare in Paris (at least de-
StluCtiye fires are sol, and the reason is to be
seen in the fact that it is the settled practice
Of the French builders to avoid this match
box stylc OF finishing interiors which per-
Nade> orr American architecture. All the
hollow places in the partitions, floors, cell
ine~. and >taircases in Paris house or store
ar, Tiled in with a concrete formed of rub
be-s:0nc and plaster Of Paris. BY this
means each section or room Of the building
j. al once made souud-proof, and the spread
iug Of fire is prevented. The Importance of
making air-tiSht all the parts of building
USUALLY left hollow, so as to prevent the form
alton Of current of air to feed the fire if it
once breaks out, is too sclfeyident to require
lonS comment. Houses thus built are also
free from those annoying nuisances, rats aud
NICE in the wainscoting, besides that they
are protected from dampnesS to a far greater
degree than in our ordinary method of
building.
The Boston fire has but confirmed what
was demonstrated ut Chicago, that granite
and iron walls are no protection against Il
under full headway. Three.
iolthS Of the streets swept into mass Oh
shareIeSs ruins were lined on both sides
with apparently solid granite blocks, the
most imposing and stately business houses
in America. Yet where are they now ?
Granite in the midst of tiercely-raging flames
tracks and crumbles up like blocks of ice.
It Is greatly inferior in resisting heat to we'll
burned brick, and the latter material, if care
ully laid with select and honestly-made NOR.
ar, has the suffrage of our most discerning
as the safest and most durable
oaiding material yet employed. But of the
'rtcS and mortar that is often used TO pile up
modern cdifices, and which perishes with
lamp, or crumhIes with fire, or settles and
ais by lis own Inherent rottenness, we can
lot do better than quote Thomas CaTlyle's
c1thing dcnuncation in letter to a London
ournal, which reads thus:
"'Cbeap and nasty in operation. One
mall example only! London bricks are re.
tuced to dry clay again in sixty years, or
ooner. Brlcks-burn them rightly, build
hem faithfully, with mortar faithfully tenn
'ered, they will stand, / believe. barring
1'rthquakcs and cannon, for G,000 years, i
'ou Ike. Etruscan pottery baked clay, but
lightly baked,1 is some 1900 years OF age,
nd still fresh as an infant. Nothing l know
u is more lasting than well-made brick.
We have them heTeat the head Of this gar
'cn wall once Of manor park, which are
n their third or fourth century, fHenry