Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-11-27
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.
OILED RAGS AND OTHER AGENTS
OF DISASTER.
Suggestions as to the Cause of Many
Mysterious Confiagrations-P
cautionary Measures Needed.

marks regarding precautionary measures
necessary in large manufacturing establish
ments. 1 think often a trifing precaution
herein mentioned is neglected by those
whose duty it is to prevent fires. Why is
it that frequently large fires occur in thea
ters and repositories of oil, ETC., and no
one can inform you how or why they have
so unexpectedly taken place 1t certainly
cannot point to incendiarism when an in
dividual or company are not fully in
sured, and consequently must lose large
amount of their worldly goods.
1t is laughable to me to look about and
notice those celebrated hand grenades (?).
the liquid of which one can swallow with
impunity. and yet this very same liquid
has the power to pat out large fire One
of those hand grenades has about as mucn
effect in large con1agration as a flea
would have when harnessed to a plow-
share. You can put more faith any time
in corked bottle of strong ammonia water
than one cf those hand grenades. Particu-
larly such a liquid ought to be handy
: where hydro -carbons, such as coal oil, or
the petroleum product, are kept in large
quantities.
But it is not my object to write against
patented hand grenades, but rather to point
out what is supposed to cause the injury.
Besides, as there are all sorts of faith cures
at this epoch, why should not the hand
grenade have an equal chance 1t cer-
tainly will put out your fire if you attend
to it properly or fix the thirgl or it as the
fire progresses, but let a large fire take
place and there is no more hope then that
a few hand grenades will conquer that fire
than a finely divided stream, or rather
spray, of water would have. On the con-
trary, it may add fuel to the fame. at least
| in the water, for decomposition takes place
and the hydrogen and oxygen of which
the water is composed are liberated, the
first adding to the flame, while the oxygen
helps to support combustion. This really
occurred in the large conhagrations of
| Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, and
other cities on both sides of the Atlantic
Under certain conditions the very liquid
| that puts out your fire may also add to the
! fame for water burns, or rather the gases
| of the water are com bustible. Upon that
principle rests the production of the So
| called water gas, by which such great heat
can be produced that at present many large
| industries, such rs porcelain and glass
| works, use it almost entirely. 1t is also
used in Siemann's incineration furnace.
where in the act of cremating, body is
| reduced to ashes in about two hours. In
| producing this gas, steam (superheated) is
| passed over red-hot coke or Goals, decompo-
sition takes place, and the product is prin-
| cipally hydrogen gas, which, with oxygen
| produces the greatest heat we may acquire,
| excepting the electric arc and the suns
rays, the latter two of which, however, have
not been quite harnessed-1p properly yet.
The danger about such buildings men,
toned is apparently a very insignificant
! thing-simply an oil-rag, or any finely -di-
yided combustible material saturated with
| oil, may cause under certain conditions
spontaneous combustion. OF course the
kind of oil, the inflammable material, the
quantity OF fuel near, the atmosphere, the
| temperature of room, the moisture or
| finely-divided water in the fabric, loose or
compressed, may have much 70 do with
| the starting point of fire in such a rag as
a beginning There are very volatile
| liquids, having certain elements in solu-
| ton, which will produce in a fabric, paper,
| etc, a fame, in from one to five minutes,
| depending in some cases upon the rapidity
OF evaporation, or, what is the same thing
in such case, the moisture in the air.
| 1t has, therefore, been found that rags of
|
gerous when sprinkled with water slightly.
Some years ago the very large agricultural
| exhibition building al Pittsburg, Pa, was
sacrificed to the flames. There was no ire
present, but the night before large balloon
was taken into the building, which had
| Just been completed and vanished 1t
rained slightly, and the balloon became
| trihe wet. This even might have been
looked upon as a protection against fire,
but in wrapping it up and COMPRISING the
mass, was the danger. This further calls
up Just now in my mind two extensive
| fires which played havoc to our industries,
besides being indirectly the cause of loss
of life to worthy persons. They are the
Bancroft and the Crocker conhagrations in
San Francisco, which never were explained
! yet. Was there any gain there, financially
or otherwise, or any revenge to be carried
out against the parties, and thereby point
| ing to incendiarism? 1t is probably still
unexplained.
! If | were the manager of large indust-
rial establishment of an inhamable nature
| | would almost prefer to have lucifer
matches lying about loose, than to have oil
rags and rubbish saturated with oil thrown
| in some out-of-the-way corner, thinking it
| safe, or no danger TO be feared from it. The
| theaters have some out-of-the-way room
quently to be used again, and as painting
constantly takes place, some material of the
kind mentioned often may find its way
| into it. 1t will repay the trouble of inspect
| ing such rooms quite often by the pro-
prietor of such building for in tiGt room
| lies the unexplained mystery of fire quite
! often, | yentureIo say.
| Then. where steam boilers are used, do
not think yourself secure if any woodwork
comes in contact direct against the boilers
or pipes, although only heated by water.
The idea prevailing that no ignition takes
! place under such conditions has been ex-
| ploded. The wood, gradually reduced to
! charcoal, has frequently been found to be
! aglow, although no fire was near it. A
I platina sponge becomes red hot instantly,
and ignites any gas or combustible mate
rial if a jet of hydrogen gas impinges upon
| it. Something of this sort may be the cause,
| for the wood has become changed to a
sort of sponge, which really represents
| charcoal, and as charcoal always has mole
oxygen than nitrogen stored up in its cells
| than the usual mixture of the air, it may
point to the cause.
In dyeing establishments there is often
| danger-black silk goods have taken fire
! spontaneously. Often the color has much
| to do with it, and may be due to oxydation
as well as evaporation. It is well-known
that silk goods undergoing cleaning pro-
cess take fire in close room, when the
cleaning agent is benzine or some other
highly volatile hydrocarbon.
Nearly everyone at this age knows that
hay-stacks are consumed by fire of which
the cause is not known. Often l think
some poor tramp may be accused of the
crime when the farmer was negligent in
| packing and COMPRISING too much moist
| To- fI,,fr -,.c4 -
We all understand the philosophy of
hot-beds-the heat of the compressed ma
nure and the rays of the sun make the
seed spring up and the plant grow. Glass
admits the heat but retains the most, but
the heating of the ground below is due to
compressed manure.
There is, therefore, such thing possible
as spontaneous combustion from the sources
mentioned. That there are other agents