The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1894-02-03
Curious Causes Of Fires.


From the New York Times
So far as causes Of fires go, there is moth
ing new under the sun. The rat that
gnawed at a box Of grease-dipped friction
matches until they ignited and burned up
a Western town is an old, Old story. So
is the tale Of the cock-roach that crawled
from an oil receptacle into a gas jet, where
it took fire, and, falling, spread the flames.
A nail glanced from a hammer welded by
carpenter, fell into the conveyor Of raw
materials in a jute factory, rubbed against
the drum and produced spark which set
FIRE to the place. A running belt, which
sagged into mass Of greasy waste, set FIRE
to the heap by friction.
There was FIRE on the east side Of the
city recently, caused, curiousEy enough, BY
water. The feed pipe at the back Of 4
boiler burst, causing water to escape into
the FIRE In this way sufficient steam vas
generated to blow open the furnace door.
thus forcing the flames into the boiler room.
The woodwork in the place was set on FIRE
and a serious calamity was the result. A
somewhat similar accident took place not
long ago in Western mill, which fed its
fires with shavings blown under the boiler.
1t seems that the shayings-blower was
stopped for a moment, causing back
draught in the furnace which sent flames
through the furnace doors and iguited the
shavings in the bOiler-room.
Having long ago despaired of attribu-
ting specific causes to fires, underwriters
fell back on the general term spontaneous
combustion, which may mean almost any
thing. For example, in mandatory Of
plane bits in Chicago a sponge was used to-
transfer the water by capillary attraction
from water box to an emery wheel, on
which the bits were ground. The sponge
wiped off the fine steel particles from the
wheel and they were collected in the cells
of the sponge, where they were kept con
| stantly wet After the sponge had been
laid aside for week or so it was discov-
cred that the mass had become spontane
ously ignited, and but for its timely dis
covery another mysterious fire would have
occurred. Another singular fire was
caused by tho ignition of coal piled up
against the out wall of boiler house.
The wall was built of brick, 81 inches
thick, yet sufficient heat passed through
from the boiler to set the coal on fire.
1t has long been determined that any
substance capable of burning will explode
if turned into powder and mixed with air.
This is one Of the most interesting forms
of spontaneous combustion. There was
dust explosion in fur-cleaDing establish
ment in this city few years ago that fur
nishes an example of this sort The dust
consisted of a powered mixture of wood
and flour, and when it came in contact with
the air there was an explosion that lifted
the roof off the building Explosions in
-four mills, due to this cause, are of fla-
quent occurrence.
Another interesting form of spontaneous
combustion is that resulting from the mix
ture of small quantity of naphtha vapor
with large quantity of air. In local
machine shop, where repairs were being
made to a locomotive boiler, the steam
dome had been removed to allow work
man to get inside. A pint of beszine had
been used on some of the interior bolts and
screws for the purpose of loosening them
50 that 5hey might be removed The men
at work on the boiler went off to dinner.
and on their return one of their number
got inside to remove the bolts, while a man
outside handed him light. As soon as
the light came in contact with the air from
the boiler, slightly impregnated with naph-
tha yapor, there was a tremendous explol
sion. The man outside, who handed the
light, was killed instantly, as was also
man standing on top Of the boiler The
man inside was blown clear through the
l4inch opening Of the steam dome and 30
feet into the air, being instantly killed.
A similar case was that Of the petro-
leum steamer Vile de Calais, which was
blown to pieces at Calais in january, 1889,
after the discharge Of her cargo. The ex-
plosiOn, which was heard twenty-six miles
away, was caused by an accumulation Of
gas in the steamers hold. The matches
having been thrown open, a man entered
with light. instantly the ship was blown
to pieces