The indicator., 1897-07-31
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FIRE.
Careless Construction of Mills In the
West,

West.
Safeguards against fire are details
which are often overlooked in the CON
struction of netallurgical works This
Is especially the case with cyanide and
colonization mills in which the mum.
Der OF furnaces required is small, and
for this reason perhaps less attention
is gwen 10 their arrangement than in
shelterics where the danger from fire
Is more apparent. AS n result of this
carelcssness. or often Ignorance. there
are In many camps ruins of works de.
stroycd by fire, aud Insurance rates on
this class Of property are high Prob.
ably the underwriters will never grant
so low rates on gold and silver mills in
the Rocky mountains as on mills OF
oulef Kinds in the more thickly set.
tlcu parts of the country owing to the
general lack of protection by efficient
municipal fire departments. and 10 the
moral hazard. which in this class of
risks is undoubtedly high. Entirely
aside from the matter of insurance.
however. the destruction of profitable
works entails losses which are not, and
cannot be. met by the underwriters,
ana 1t Is. of course. to the interest of
their owners to take every possible
precnution against fire,
Iho mill construction commonly seen
IN the West Is bad. Timber is the ma
tcrlnl generally used above the foundn-
tion and retaining walls. though roofs
are OFTEN covered with corrugated iron
The roof is sometimes supportcd by
trusscs, leaving clear working rooms.
nut more frequently il is borne on
posts stiffcncd with angle braces and
cross-bramS. the whole forming n for
est OF timber. which not only obStrllcts
the llght and access TO the machines.
but adds good deal of intlammable
matter to the structure In the design
of The Inter class of buildings little
attention Is paid to regularity. and
breaks are made in the roof. cuuolas
for elevators are stuck on and gables
are ohirudpd wherever necessity die
tatcs, the result being MULTIPLICATION
of dark. more or less inaccessible cock.
lofts. in which combuStfDic matter may
accumulate and some day. pcrchnnce.
may be ignitcd by carclcssly dropped
lucllcr match. or the ashes from n
workmnn's pipe.
In New England the subiert of milf
construction has received special study
by engineers. with II view of Icsseninr
the danger from fire, and type has
been developed which has given cx-
ccllent results. This was described in
the Engineering and Mining journal of
November 81 1891. The PRINCIPLES
which are followed in this system.
with certain notifications. would be
good to follow in the construction of
metallurgcal works
In cyanide gold and silver mills
there is probably 10 more prolific
source Of conhngration than the dry
ing and roasting furnaces. especially
in work constructed on hillsides.
where arrangements are apt to be
cramped. The loss of the Rosebud
mill at Cripple Creek. to cite Il recent
instance. was caused in this manner.
In the installation of such furnaces
the important point to he borne in
mind is that no part of them should
be allowed 10 touch wood. No rational
man would allow wood to be built in
contact with iron that was going To
be hot. but in the case of brickwork
this prccaution is often ignored. We
have. however, seen Il wooden parti-
tion that abutted an assay furnace
though the brick walls of the latter
We're eighteen inches thick. set aiirp
by it. and if the fire had not been oD-
portunely discovered the building
would have been destroyed. Here the
brick had slowly accumulated enough
heat 10 ignite the wood. If the wood
had been even an inch away from the
brick the circulation of air through
the space would have cooled the brick
work aS fast rs it conducted the heat.
and the construction would have been
safe. The same precaution should of
course. he observed with respect to
boiler housings. and it goes without
saying that the floors around boiler
and furnace tircboXcs should he laid
so that there can never he danger
from hot ashes. If iron chimneys have
to pass through wooden roofs the hole
should be framed to he at least of
twelve inches more radius than the
chimney. and better eighteen inches.
BY way of minor precautions against
fire an important care is to guard
against Accommodations of rubbish. es.
pecially oily waste, in the engine
room and elsewhere. Everyone famil.
lar with works of this kind has oh.
served the tendency of Shavings, laths
and litter of all Kinds to accumulate
in the unused cock-lofts previously
referred TO. Sometimes one of these
places if lighted by n window may be
used lis Il carpenter shop, This should
not be permitted. The stock of oils
and painting supplies should be kept.
of course. in an Independent building.
and care should he taken as to the po-
silon Of the smiths forge.
Every metallurgical works should
nave an abundant water supply. pre-
fcrably Il tank of ample capacity at a
higher level than the highest part OF
the works. Fire-plugs should he dis
posed conveniently about tile works.
and each should have length of hose
SO that there will he no part of the
works rncommnnded by water. The
fire hose should never be removed from
their places, and the valves should be
tested occasionally Even with these
safeguards 1t Is not HmiSS to have in
particularly dangerous places water
buckets, which 1t would seem need
less to say ought to be kept filled. il we
had not in certain instances observed
that they were not. 1t is often the
ease that a fire which in Il minute or
two might he serious, could he cXtin-
suishcd at the beginning with Il few
buckets of water if the water were
Immediately available. BY such pre-
cautions as these and others that can
he mentioned the risk of the destruc-
ton of mills by fire can he materially
scd.-Engineeri and Mining
Journal.