Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-28
SAFETY AGAINST FIRE.
A Wonderful Fluid and Paint Which
Makes Things Indestructiblc.

I attended the other day, by invitation, most
Interesting exhibition of q new, or compare
lively new, invention for securing safety against
fire. writes correspondent from Dresden to
the Philadelphia Press. The invention is
called "antipyrogene, and the inventor is a
Herr Kuclewein, a civil engineer of Berlin;
and put 1t very moderately when 1 say that
the exhibition showed that at least sure step
has been made in the direction of fire preven-
tiOn. The experiments took place on the
Ate VogelWelse." an open space just on the
outskirts OF Dresden. and were witnessed by the
King and Queen of SaXOny and party of court
guests, and also by large number Of state min
listers and officials The invention comprises
two things-the "antipyrogene" proper, which
is liquid for the impregnatiOn Of textile fabrics
and the like, and fire proof paint designed for
application to wood. The first test was with the
"antipyrogene." metal wire was strung be-
tween couple Of posts and upon this were hung
pair OF lace curtains and couple of strips each
Of lutte. carpet stuff, window shades tarlatan.
gauZe and ordinary wall paper. One piece
of each had been previously impregnated with
the mixture, and the other lett in its natural
state careful examination. however. failed
to show any visible trace of the liquid either as
regards hue or odor. blazing torch was then
applied first to the lace curtains. One imme-
dately took fire and was rapidly consumed.
while the other. the one impregnated, refused
to burn. The torch was then thrust through it
and held for some moments, the result being
that wherever the flames touched. slow CHAIR
ing could be perceived, which Immediately
ceased, however, as soon as the torch was with
drawn. like result followed the application
of the torch to the other materials, cloth and
paper that had been impregnated
REFUSING TO BREAK INTO FLAME
and ceasing even to carb0niZe when the fire was
withdrawn. strip Of woolen goods was then
shown the half of which had been impregnated.
and on being ignted the unimpregnated portion
burned away, leaving the other halt uninjured.
A quantity of the material used for making bal
let costumes was also put to the test with
equally favorable results. Attention was next
turned to the merits of the fire-prOOf paint. A
small wooden building had been erected, the
walls OF which were painted inside and
out with the material and the roof covered
with the inventors so-called incombusti-
BILE roofing. This building was filled
about third full of wood and shavings
saturated with petroleum, and the torch ap-
piled. The brisk wind that prevailed soon
famed the flames into q furnace-like blaze that
poured through the windows in most furious
manner. An ordinary building of this size and
character would have been entirely consumed in
five or ten minutes; for so holly did it burn that
l found it uncomfortable to stand within a
couple rods of the fire. 1t took twenty minutes
however, before we could see the inside walls
begin to char. and what was most striking at
that time, the outside of the building was SO
cool that one could hold ones hand on it with
out feeling more than pleasant warmth. The
roof at no time caught fire, but gradually
cracked and shrivelled up. At the end Of fifty
minutes one end of the building fell outward
and on being removed from the flame ceased to
burn. Such is simple statement of what we
saw, and think that no one came away with
out feeling that
WONDERFUL ADVANCE HAD BEEN MADE
fnu,o Il al, ~,
To me it seems as though the problem were al
most completely solved; for if you once prevent
the spread of fire when once started, you reduce
the danger to minimum. In theaters and
public resorts Of all kinds the value of such an
invention is incaculable, and 80 patent as not
to need mention. No one who has once wit
messed such experiments as were given here the
other day could help feeling a sense of extreme
relief, and almost Of perfect safety i'm theater
to the woodwork and scenery of which it was
known some such fre-preventing material
as this had been applied And by no means
the least important is this ''anti-pyrOgene"
in its application to dress goods and tex
tile fabrics of all kinds. What vision of
peaceful security is suggested by it's introduce
ton. Ladies in the lightest and pufiiest of
ball dresses need have no fear of the open CRATE
or the f1aring gas jets. Mothers can impregnate
their babies and give them whole boxes of luci-
ters to play with. Smokers can enjoy the last
pipe or cigar in bed without losing half of the
comfort through wondering whether spark
has really fallen among the bedclothes And
young ladies taking surreptitious smoke can
thrust burning cigarettes into their pockets
with impunity. when they. by chance, hear the
approach Of the parental footstep. In fact.
there is no end to the uses to which such an in
vention could be put. The question of cost is
naturally an important one, and as to this am
Informed that the paint will be no more expen-
sive than oil. The charge is now seventeen
pfennigs (abOut four cents) per square metre,
four coats being required for real safety. AS to
durability, the ''ant-pyrogene' is warranted to
retain its virtue for three years, while the inven
tor claims that the paint, being impervious to the
effects OF the weather, will last forever.