The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-12-15


went "mousing" through the various de-.
partments. r turning, he said to the
superintendent:
III your men are not more careful you
Will burn out here some day."
"How-Whl p asked the official.
Old Spon led Us to the room Wnere the
OF finished frames were being finished
up. 1t was small, close room; the
floor was spattered with Oil; scores of
oiled frames were hanging on the walls;
there was busnel or more OF oiled rags
on the floor and benches.
"We never have stove here. even in
winter" said the Superintendent as he
looked around.
leach one OF those rags is stoye,"
replied the old man. "rhe windows
are up now and the hot air has a chance
to escape, but put them down and spon-
taneous combustion will fire the factory
within six hours"
The superintendent smiled contempt
uously as he turned to me, and on the
way out he wanted to know ii my old
friend was not an escaped lunatlc.
To follow this case through, will
add that one cold day in October the
employees OF the finishing room put down
the windows aud lett them down when
they went home at O'Clock. At 10
O'Clock in the evening an alarm OF fire
was turned in from tue factory, and the
flames created damage to the amount of
SO 600 before being conquered. One
could trace the origin of the fire directly
to the fnlshing room. That room was
all ablaze before any other portion oil
the lactory was touched. Tne cyncial
superinteudent became believer in
spontaneous combustion, and the oiled
hrn N N IN
the night.
A case in which spontaneous combus-
tion could be more clearly traced soon
occurred. A woman used piece of old
cotton and some linseed Oil to brighten
up the table OF her sewing machine.
Through her carelessness the rag alter
wards found its way into the basket OF
soiled clothes, which was kept ia close
closet. That night, within six hours
after placing the rag in the closet, the
house became filled with smoke, and an
investigation proved that the clothes
basket was on fire.
Old Spon was delighted when he heard
of the incident. This made the third
case of spontaneous combustion from
oiled rags, and he was prepared to prove
that rags alone would ignite under GER
tam conditions. He went to a paper
Dealers and selected several pounds OF
rags, some flannel, some cotton, some
silk and few bits OF velvet, as a fam
| lily might make up a "rag, bag" in the
course of three months. These rags
were placed in a soap box, which had
been provided with glass end, and the
| box was placed in the window where it
had the full strength of the sun. With
in two hours the glass began to grow
dim, and in three hours the rags were
smoking. We waited another hour, and
then the old man made an air hole in the
| top Of the box, raised the glass little
and a torked tongue Of flame leaped out
OF the hole and the box burnedl We haC
| indeed spontaneous combustion by
shutting off ventilation. The wOolen
and the velvet had engendered the heat
| the silk had acted as a telegraph wire fol
| it, aud the cotton, old and SOFT as down
| had struck the spark.
A lot OF paper rags hung in tigh
closet, or piled up ia store where there
| is no ventilation, Will sooner or later
start a fire. There are dealers who know
this, and who would as soon think oI
throwing lighted match into cotton
batting as of closing the storage room
against Ventilation. The lower sash o.
| at least one window should be taken out
during tne summer, and it would be
better to leave an opposite one raised 9
tfew inches, so as 10 secure strong
draught. A few mouths since some oiled
rags IN the basement Of a Detroit picture
| store took fire Ou hot Sunday morning
and called out the fire department
although one Of the basement Windows
was open Tor Ventilation. IL wat
through this window that the smoke
poured and gave the first alarm.
Ii nfN NT,I.pn f,
| December, 1870, one of the prisoners EN-
ployed in the chair fnish hing room pileC
up bundle of oiled rags in a corner Al
the bell rang for the close Of Workin!
hours, and at s O'Clock, only two hour
after, the shop was fired by spontaneous
combustion and several thousand dollar
damage done. The room was close, con
taineu many chairs just finished, and al
soon as the rags were piled and packeC
together the foundation was laid lor Q
des Jructiye confagration.
| The Detroit car and Manufacturing
Works, during Il period Of three years
had three fires from spontaneous com
bustion, each tlve being traced to oile(
rags. That establishment is now pro
yiaed with iron boxes for storage of rags
and on one occasion fire took place ii
one of these boxes, the result OF sponta
| uGOuS SuuuONotAOA-1 "hN WA ASu uR ga bl'
rags.
About two years ago, one winter eve
ming, the watchman at the Michigan
| Central Railroad Car Shops, located
short distance below the company's pas
senger depot in the city Of Detroit
passed thu ough the pattern and Woo
| shop and found everything safe anC
lquiet. Fifteen minutes la.er he WA
alarmed by the smell Of smoke, AM
while mounting the stairs leadlng to th,
second story oi the shop the flames burs
out III one end, and the entire shop wa
destroyed within an hour. A pattern
maker had used some oil and rag JUS
before O'Clock to oil pattern just nm
ished, and he had PROBABLY fuHg the RAJ
| among the shaVinss. There was NJ
stove in that end OF the s1op, smokin,
was prohibited. aud no one had doub
but Jnat the contlagration was brough
about through the medium OF that ollet
rag.
But, spontaneous combus tion does not
depend upon the presence of oiled rags
| and shavings. Three or four years ago
lat 7 O'Clock in the evening, the iron
window blinds, glass and sash, OF 8
Detroit wholesale drygO0dS house were
blown into the street with noise like
the rumble OF thunder, and the stopt
\ was ahlaze in an instant. The porter
lett the store an hour before the explo
sion, and a policeman tried the doors
Inot ten minutes previously The gas
had all been turned or the steam mines