The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-09
AGAINST WOODEN ROOFS,
A Proposed Amendment Con-
siderabIy Extending the
Limits.
The Matter Is Now in the Hands of
the Board of Supervisors
for Action.

The lessons to be drawn from the recent
contiagration are not merely that the water
mains must be enlarged new mains laid
down and more hydrants supplied, but
that the time has passed for allowing
wooden roofs to be placed on buildings, at
least throughout the greater portion of the
City.
Chief Sullivan and Fire Marshal Towe
have been discussing this latter point since
the big fire and yesterday the Fire Mars hal
drew up an addition to section 40 of order
1917 extending the limits within which in
future no wooden roofs will be allowed.
The new boundary will commence at
Broderick street and the bay and run
south on Broderick street to Waller steeet,
easterly along Waller street to Devisacero
street, along Devisadero street to Ridley
street, down Ridley street TO Castro street,
along Castro street to Twenty fifth street,
down Twenty-fifth street to Potrero ave-
nue., along Potrero avenue to Channel
street, down Channel street to the bay and
along the bay to the point of commence
ment.
Another clause is that in future ali
buildings erected and used for manufac-
turing and milling purposes within the
City and County must have a fire-proof
roof.
The amendments will not. of course, in
terfere with the roofs of buildings now
constructed, except where any roof is dam
aged to the extent of 40 per cent when
under the law the owners can be COM
PEELED to put on tre-proof roof
The Fire Marshal had the amendments
drawn out by 2 o'clock yesterday after
noon and handed them to Chief Sullivan,
who laid them before the Board of Super
visors.
at will take years" said the Fire Mar
shall last night, "before the change will be
of any material benefit, but the benefit
will come in time. We are only asking
for this for the protection of property
owners themselves and there should be no
opposition to the change.
"Unless in incendiary cases, the fires as
rule always start on the roofs of buildings.
The sparks catch on the wooden roofs and
are soon famed into flame. Suppose the
Chief was fighting fire in a big wooden
building like the Pleasanton Hotel, the
sparks would be carried along and would
start on the wooden roofs of buildings
three or four blocks away, hemming
him in.
1.-THE difference in cost between wooden
and fire-proof roof will not be great, and
the benefit will be in time incalculable. IL
may come little heavy on small property
owners, but they should not object. [ have
had builders come to me and urge me to
get such an amended order passed. as they
know well how much better it would be to
have fire-proof roofs.
II should think at rough estimate that
the new order of things would embrace
about two-thirds of the buildings in the
City.
'In July, 1891, similar amendment was
submitted to the Board Of Supervisors, but
they threw it out. What they will do
now l don't know, but we will have the
satisfaction of knowing that we have done
everything we could for the proper pro-
lection of the City from fire. The present
limit for wooden roofs is from Union street
out to Lyon"