New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-06-16
FIPEpRO0E BUILDINGS TESTED.

The great pi,,sburg fire of May gave an OPP
,o,tunity 10 get valuable light on questions OF
hrcproof construction which has been improved
hy The Engineering News" The result OF lis
Investigations of the ruins is to increase conf
deur- in the value Of the new methods as
whole. while showing several specific imprr-
fcctioD- which can easily be rcmcdicd.
The fire broke or; in great grocery ware
house. which was "slow burning hut not at all
0reproof. aud filed with innammablc materials
Of great hcarproduciug qualities. like oil. mo-
lasscs and hams Separated from il by narrow
streets were tnroc oiiic" buildings Of different
types Of frepfoor construction. one had hard
tile floor arches ana covering for the steel franz
Ing. one porous rcrra Gotta arches. and one con
crete floor arch construction. The first named
was q store. with an open front unprotected by
iron shutters AID with floors undivided. so rs
to be practically shell full Of comhustblc ma
tcrial The second was equally open anu ull-
protected at the front. but had many four-inch
terra Gotta partitions. both longitudinal nni
transverse, above the ground floor. The third
building was divided by wooden stud and metal
hath partitions All three suffered so severely
as nj first sight TO dscrcdit fircproof buildings
and lead to the question. Why use incombustlhle
utterly Quilted by fire across the street: But on
closer examination tie usefulness of steel ana
terra Gotta is revealed. The steel work covered
with terra Gotta or concrete suffered almost no
damage. though the fire was so intense as to
pcpl off the protective covering in many places.
The arches held and the only extensive collapse
was caused Ivy the fall Of a heavy tank which
had foolishly been placed on wooden supports.
mix
the cellar, carrying beams and floors with It,
Thor, vas none of the twisting of columns often
predicted for the sky-scrapcr. All the buildings
Stand and are subject to repair. Experts think
that both tiles and concrete have proved their
oficioncy. and they appear unable to decide be-
tween them.
The most important lesson of the accident -
that fircproof construction is of little use il no
precautions are taken to keep fire out The
aamcs across The street might have been resist
cd if the fronts had not been practically open
SPACE. The large windows and doors and the
acl, Of fireproof shutters gave free entry 10 the
flames. which took hold of all the combustlbie
material within and used it for fuel with which
70 iniure the structures. But the fire went no
further than the rear walls. They had small
oncninps and were provided with iron shutters,
which were heated white and warped, but held
thcr nlaccS and formed an effective barrier to
tho fro Rcyond we're most inhammable struct-
urcs. and hut for these walls the flames would
doubtless have spread widely. The building
with the opcn floors suffered most. 1t was SIM
n,v great furnace. provided with draughts to
consume all it's contents. The second building
conclusiyely showed the value of partitions
Next TO the open-front section. the rear part
close 70 tho wall where the fire stopped was
most injured. The reason is evident. The
ground floor was open TO the rear. where eleva-
tor shafts went to the roof. These made chin
roy and the lower floor fireplace. The fire
was drawn through and up the shaft, while the
offices in the middle Of the building were little
injured. ~
The modern steel framed structure is proved
nv the fire to be most useful. Properly con-
structed if is m effective wall in the progress
Of n confa grafton. The materials never before
were submitted to such n test and they amply
Justified themselves: But good materials are
NOT sufficient. 10 make Il freproof building. IL
must he so constructed that flames without can
not easily get in, and flames started within VIII
not have opportunity TO spread. Too large open
Ings should be avoided. wherever possible smut
ters should be provided, and above all foorS
should be subdivided by fireproof partitions,
and shafts SHOULD be nclosed, particularly at
the bottom so that they may not be converted
into chimncys. With these precautions TAKEN
the modern brick and steel building mas he re-
lied upon as at least reasonably safe from hre,
though no building is so secure ms to make IL
unnecessary to provide hose and water on every
floor. Otherwise it may he made stove for It's
own contents.