The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-02-13
HARPER HOUSE FIRE ESCAPE.

HARPER HOUSE FIRE ESCAPE.
In last evenings ARGUS mention wa,
made OF negotiations pending between Mr.
| Ben Harper, proprietor of the Harper
| House. and the representative of noted
fire escape mandatory for the equipment
of his deservedly famous hotel throughout
with the most approved fire escape ye,
manufactured. The aforesaid negotiations
having been completed we are enabled to
present the system in detail. in to-day's
| ARGUS.
The system adopted is that devised
BY FIRE MARSHAL NJ. BENNER
| of Chicago and which will admit of the
| almost instantaneous flooding of the roof
| and every floor of the hotel in the event of
| necessity. Mr. w. d. Kent the agent,
says there viii be series of iron balco-
| MES. forty in number, in addition to the
balconies with which the house is already
provided, SO placed at the windows that
one balcony serves for two rooms, and
every room in the hotel, including the
quarters of the help, will have a window
i
will be three feet wide and from ten to
fourteen feet long. with man-hole in the
centre two feet square. Iron ladders run
perpendicularly down the outer fronts
with steps of half inch iron fitted in
diamond shape SO as TO keep them free
from ice. Descent is made preferably on
the inside OF these ladders as the walls of
the house and the balconies act as safe
guards to confused or timid persons
There will be ten ladders, eight running
down from the upper story balconies
and TWO from the roof. OF these last
one will be on the Second avenue front
and one on the Nineteenth street side,
and will have stand pipe on one side.
The st and pipes viii be made of three inch
wrought pipe with two and-a-hal inch
outlet and valve at every floor, and on the
roof and at the bottom of each a two way
automatic Siamese. which the proprietor
proposes to have connected directly north
of the watermains, and which can also be
by means of hose to hydrants
thus establishing something like double
pressure upon the stand pipes The lad |
ders, balconies and pipes are to be here by
the 18th of March, and it will require two |
weeks to put them in place.
Thus much for detailed description of |
what is without doubt, one of the very |
best fire escapes yet introduced aud |
one which will put the Harper |
House in the front rank, |
If, indeed, it is not already there) of the |
leading hotels of the west 1t may be
seen that in case of the breaking out of |
ire, even as suddenly as 1t did in the New
lall House, Milwaukee, each and every
guest has the means of escape within his |
own control, being enabled to escape from /
he window of his own room and is there
i3re, for all practical purposes entirely in
dependent of hall or corridor and need not
open the door of his room on any account.
In thus adding to the precautionary
which were conspicuously in
REV by Mr.. Ben Harper even before The
foundation of the hotel was laid. he is en-
tiled to the heartfelt thanks of every per
oH VINO tdilies eieuSI teuipordTliy OF per
within the limits of a public
louse. And in thus insuring the absolute
afety of every guest, each of whom will
cave the house as living advertisement
f its general superiority, Mr.. Harper, in
not remote future, will be abundantlv
ewarded for his liberal outlay, the expense
f the escape being upward of SO, 900
Agaln the fact that Rock Island possesses.
ne may say, genuine fire proof hotel.
annot fail to rebound to the credit of the
ity and indirectly will be the source of
acreased revenue to it,