Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-10-28

fire occurs on property protected by auto
matte ~sprinklers, those present avail them
selves of all the means Of grace in the
shape Of the usual fire apparatus at hand,
vet there are numerous instances where
fires have occurred at night or in rooms
vacant at the time, where the fact has
been made known only by water per-
colating through the floors, or the sound
Of the automatic fire alarms, or from the
sprinklers which have already come into
active operation, the fire having called
down means for self extinguishment.
But the instances which we have in
mind are those where the means Of ex-
tinguishment were not expected, as In
the well known cathedral building In
Boston, where a fire, caused by sponta-
neous ignition in q storeroom, melted the
lead water pipes, and the water issuing
from them extinguished the fire. A sim
liar instance happened in a building in
Market street. Philadelphia. Some sheet
metal pals were returned by the pur-
chaser TO q tinsmith in Chester, Pa, with
the complaint that they were not tightly
made. The manufacturer resoldered
them, and in order to test his work filled
them with water and hung them upon
hooks at the ceiling. While the men
were at dinner during the noon hour, q
fire heated the upper part Of the room
% that the balls connecting the handles
to the pals became u~nsoldered, and the
dropping Of the pals OF water dashed out
tho fire.
Borne waste left upon the top of .
steam pump at Watertown, Mass,
blased from spontaneous ignition, and
this in turn set fire to the tagging around
the steam cylinders and the feed pipe,
where it melted the soldered attach
ments Of q continuous automatic oiler.
The steam from the feed pipe wa dis
charged through the small tubes formerly
leading to the oiler, and ertinguished the
fire. There have been numerous in
stances OF fires which, have ceased for
want Of air. During the var of the re-
bellon attempts were made TO burn New
York city, as the result Of a conspiracy.
fires being started in several hotels; but
in order TO prevent premature detection
the culprits closed uptherooms so tightly
that the fires were smothered. At a
hotel in Woonsocket the steam pipes
caused a fire in the spaces in the walls Of
the building. which was extinguished for
want Of air to support combustion. The
time of the fire is unknown, as its occur
renee was not discovered until some time
afterward, when in the progress of some
alteration to the building the facts were
made apparent.
II may he interesting 10 know that
in this instance the steam heating service
was ordinarily used at a pressure of about
four pounds TO the square inch during the
coolest weather, and that the safety valve
was SO arranged that the pressure could
never exceed ten pounds. A spark Of
static electricity proceeding from q belt
ignited leaking gas, and this in turn set
cotton on fire. which operated the automa-
tic sprinklers and eXtinguished it. An r.
tempt was made to destroy q block Of
new dwellings, ut Brookline, Mass, before
the buildings were entirely finished.
Some people, alarmed by the smoke
which was seen in each division Of the
structure, rushed in To save doors and
portable fixtures, when it was noticed
that the fires did not appear to gain any
headwav, and when the smoke had en-
tirely died away, it was found that the
incendiary had placed lighted candles in
swdust and other inflammable material
in drawers and closets, but with such
limited supplies Of air that combustion
could not be supported and the fires be-
came smothered Engineering.