Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-12-06
RISKS A FIREMAN RUNS.
60 Called Fi-n Proof buildings impart
Spectral Crsnnds Tor Fear.

Spectral Grounds for Fear.
Il there Is any one thing that dis
tcsrleu, u fireman more than another,
II Is To d. Told that a buildingun which
b. Is at work is a modern fire oroof
EIrt"ilr2
The speaker was an Old fireman,
who Is nO serving on the insurance
wlur.i, anal be had some reasons 10
back up taIs somewhat startling asser'
lion
II may sound strange TO hear OF a
iiremm'S being at work on a fire
prom building, but fires in SO called
lire proof buildings are by no means
unusual, and everybody knows that
some of these fires are the very ones
That result in frightful loss Of life.
Their slza and height doubtless has
much 10 10 with this, while q sense Of
rancicd security frequently leads TO
grIss carelessness on the part of the
inmates.
l,ut while il is only these occasional
holOcauSis that attract the attention o..
the general public. liremen have to
risk life and limb almost daily, aud
the manning OF IA man for the rest of
aiS days is dismissed with the merest
mention in the newspapers. II is the
unseen danger of an ordinary fire that
men fear, rather than the exciting
emergencies Of a great conlagra.
hon. and it is because some Of these
mudCrn structures are 50 prolific in
::l,H unseen dangers that they are So
mach dreaded.
\ peculiarly dangerous feature in
tllH construction Of many large bust.
ness buildings Is the use o. iron pii
tons, wl.gi frequently Gisi in seriuS
D'r1h .p the other FROM irnndatsDu
go a}.5 Tlgs' arr esp ial! common
iu @.uH..rlIg rtLHi hUUuiI1 cpycriiIp
rrHi na..uuag lots, aud sometime.
'lar TAG W.arr ur inside walls alto
art.or tG ral.-e that =, all right
wlr,wlln ligura "re Of ial1. comment!
and r.iDg. but you wont l.ul such
anr., rEa II IN "a few large o'.ire al
af HW'..lHg1
t.HG"re ruc! thai you sa' iron floor
bnfl.5HH0l lR the c~0us,ugtI.u is no
indication ,Ilai il will bg really fire
proof. Unless the door. on l.lgl in
with frlur ugn-coWhVstIN's material.
ihc mon beams sur, ma ils,l.y not OF
Inc slightest Importance Ia preventing
thc passage OF the lire, while The iron
WllIar, are . source Of gUajt aud posi-.
tive danger Tho trouble with them
Is that il.t rs soon as a hot blast OF
.igmc y~lgi,;cS them they expand uu-
equally. wagn. crack. and lhan comes
down the entire structure, And il is
all down 50 qHicEl" that The poor ire
mgu raa ma warning, aayl Prec.gas lat
lie chance 10 ret out
The extensive use Of iron in such
br'iidiUgsa Al present Is in fact a source
O.; danger all around Even when
pillars arr not used. inside walls are
s5pTOs ] . hr strengthened It every
story villa iron braces, J.. This ease
]jllnt.I.gl Is aiHtilac. ua3 y SOMA rs the
h03t iwa warped the bHrcgs out OF
shape, lle Whole interior Is liable f.
ra,l unexpectedly.
IS m-aats pillars good solid ono.
Of harl "onl ara much bgtilr thaI
iron, II. viii burn, OF course, Jul
n takes 4 iaur ilaIg 10 burn three OF
four jnchgE I.g.. iI.o hard wnoa, and
- long a. tie gore uIrgiuS solid, The
floors afa safe, That gives the igalcn
a chnHcs to WORK, and unless the place
is otherwise q regular tiud9F bpg. q
wcllCQ"jUDel ire department will save
the bu,l4iHg.
Tie mg .yc Office buildinea now 50
common IL lower Broadway aIl in
Nassau ual Wail streets, arr really
tire proof and although there viii
syTHCt,mri be a mighty hot fire anon.
Tho iuraiJugr in a particular Office Or
sr!te Of rnUGS, Il can never extend
from Np01 10 door.
Another very deceptive style Of
buildings tie iron front, of which 50
many we're put up fifteen years or 50
u~p. i peculiar danger Of these is
t4at in f,5Aifr, rtrc-frout dor5H not come
down piCccmual, but falls likes sheet
OF solid metal. Half a dozen reporters
had a somewhat narrow escape a year
and a half ago at that big million dol.
lar fire on Broadway, near Prince
street, from this. The iron front Of
n of these buildings fell over as
straight as a pole, without either bend.
ing or breaking, until it struck the
ground and the building on the other
side Of the street.
The reporters were standing on the
opposite sidewalk, only about twenty
feet TO one side, and all the telegraph
wires over there were brought down
on their heads. Some OF them had
,ncir hats badly battered. aud thc;I