New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-04-09
WgsT rs 4 FIRE-PROOF BUILDING'

VHAT rs 4 FIRE-PROOF BUILDING'
The occupants of the st. Georges Flats have
learned that all is not tirc-proof that Cutters
They have been living in massive structure
that lowered high in air and presented all the
outward aspect of stability and strength Inc
front WAS of stone ornamented with terra-cotta;
ot the spacious entrance hall wero polished
marble columns: the stairway5 in front were oil
stone. and the halls were tiled; and the elevator
shaft was encaSed in iron. Everything III front
looked solid and safe They were livingal the
way from the first to the eighth floor and paying
from 81 800 to 81 800 year for their hand
some surroundings and apparently they were
not harassed by any secret miSgiylngS nor
chilled by any benumbng sense OF insecurity.
Had not the st. Georges Flats been conSpcu-
ously advertised a. absolutely tire-pr00t I
Had they not hired their floors with the under
standing that everything that was practicable
had been done to render the building safe and
indestructiblep Were not the flat. designated
even in the leases as firc-proof!
Now what is a fire proof building This is a
question which We ought to be able to answer,
for TIE TRIBUNE Building has been acGnOwl-
edged by competent judges to be structure OF
this kind, aud in this respect has been Initiated
more or less successfully i'll most of the tower
ing masses of masonry recently built i'll lower
New-York There are six conditions requisite
in order that indestructbility may be secured.
l. The outer walls should be of absolutely in
combustible material The experience OF the
ages has shown that thoroughly burned brick is
the best material for resisting fire, and also the
most durable. The granite i'll THE TRIBUNE
D,; 10Th ha hnrppI L..
the brick walls would still stand solid. ,. The
inner or partition walls from cellar to roof
should be either of brick OF concrete. In TIE
TRIBUNE Building not Il lath is used from top
to bottom. The plaster is applied directly either
to brick walls or to partition-walls OF concrete.
3. The floor beams should be of iron
and should rest upon brick walls.
They should never be supported by IRON
columns. Such columns yield readily to neat
are warped and twisted. and let down the ll0olS
supported by them. In The TRIBUNE Building
there is not single iron column supporting
sheer weight /. The iron beams should be
surrounded with concrete or other hre-piooi
material There should be concrete above ana be
low and on either side of every beam. There
should be a solid layer of non cOmbustble maze
rial separating the ceiling below from the floor
above. ). The halls shOuld be tiled. The
stars should be- either of the best slate. stone OF
iron. and should be supported by brick walls
The elevator shaft should be OF iron or btck,
and should be properly closed at top and bot
tom. In THE TRIBUNE Building not only Is
the shaft closed and incombu>tble, but the cle-
vator engines and machinery are absolutely
protected against fire g. The roof should he
made of uninhammablc material preferably oil
concrete, slate on gravel, supported on iron
raitcrs.
When subjected to these practical tests the
ST. Georges Flats proves not to have been even
i'm the most remote sense q hIc-prOOf building.
The few precautions that were taken ior the
sake of appearances were confined to the front
section There the elevator and air shafts were
lined with iron, aud the stairs wore of stone,
but in the rear the dUmbwaltcr ana air shafts
were of wood and the stairs were OF the same
material, and of the most illmSy construction.
| The wooden shafts acted ike Big tueS open al
| bolt0m and top, and the in!iaminablc material
with which they were surrounded made IN I'M
| n,onooroblc bonfire lii the distribution OF the
! stcamuipes the commOnest precautions were
neglected. The pipes seem to have been III Ill
/ rect contact with lath plaster and frame partl-
/ hon. The door-beamS were Of wood there
was no lining of brick or concrete between the
| aoors ard the partitions were of Hath and
MASTER. All the essential conditions which we
| have mentioned were either lacking or made
ouatrly supplicd. Let fire break out in The
| TRIrrNE Building, and it viii do no damage out
! side the room where it originates. This has been
proved. There was fire ut midnight In one oil
orr first tenants offices and it burned itself out
before il was discovered The little there was to
burn speedily took fire. but the flames could not
get through the wall of concrete AT the side, or
below, OF above. They were boxed up rs Ill
stove If they had got out into the hall there
would have been nothing to burn there. In the
ST. Georges Flats there was Il sudden puff of
| smoke. Il quick flash of flame and the so called
frc-proof building became a roaring furnace.
There are fre-proOf buildings in Ncw-l ork
and they have a right 10 the name. They afford
absolute protection against fire, No building
that has been properly constructed with view
TO resisting fire within and without. has ever
been destroyed in this city If n few so-called
fre-proof buildings have been burned II Is be-
cause they have not deserved the name. 1t is
an insult to public intelligence to have such
bindings as the st. Georges flats advertised
rs fre-proof. If the word occurs in the leases
we hone the tenants will sue the owner for dam
ages from so gross an imposture. The erection
of great lumber yards in the air beyond the
reach of the fremen ought TO be prevented by a
stringent law. To build them is criminal folly.
TO call them fire-prOof is a wantOn libel on
genuine fre-proof buildings.
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