New-York tribune., 1901-02-06
NO DANGER FROM FIRE.
HOW A BUILDING CAN BE MADE ABB
sOLUTELY FIREPRoOF.
LESSON OF THE JEFFERSON HoTEL-AN
ELEVATOR SHAFT THAT ACTED AS
FIRE FLUE

Marvellous as has been the development Of mod
erh hreproot construction it is the less true
that an absolutely reproof building has stiu 10 be
erected, The Tribune Building is the pioneer in
New-Hork among freproof buildings Time and
again II has been proved that the building 4. In
capable OF destruction by fire. but fires have oc-
CURED AT various times in single connecting
rooms, and the floors and doors and trimmings
have been ruined. Only last spring In two rooms
occupied by THE Morning Journal a fire broke
out which destroyed not only the contents of
the rooms. but all the interior woodwork.
AT no time the building itself in danger. but
the confagration so fierce that the occupants
or the upper stories were for brief time driven
out by the smoke, and the furnishings OF the two
rooms had 10 be entirely replaced. In replacing
them The Tribune again a pioneer. abandoned the
use of wood and substituted therefor doors. floors.
window frames and trimmings made Of alignum.
careful examination will reveal the difference But
alignum. unlike wood, will not burn.
In a recent magazine article eminent architect
laid down the following rules for absolute safety
against fire:
building be satisfied until his architect say to
There is not in the building Itself its walls doors
or nttnss OF all sorts; so much wood as would make
of the assurance of a wood which will not burn
se sfh T T%neT % and architect should set up for him
ings If they work in this way; and that fact is
hereby Offered additional inducement those
who would fan have buildings that will not burn.
When these words were written the author of
them probably had no idea that the achievement
OF his ideal possible, present at least
Algnum solves the difficulty. Algnum is a mineral
substitute for wood made under heat and pressure
into any form and any appearance desired. II
looks like wood and can be worked like wood
sawed. bored. nailed moulded. Tests show that
1t ranks next to terra Gotta in fire resistance.
The aggregate fire loss in the United States in
1899 is said been s153O0oOO In 1885 It
was over SlO2,O 900. This wear it will probably
reach S17OOOOOOO. What d saving could be accom-
pished by strict adherence 10 the precepts quoted
above as to the use of wood And altgnum makes
adherence TO those precepts possible.
But the financial loss is not the worst feature OF
the fire problem. Scarcely a day goes by that the
newspapers do not chronicle loss of life from the
burning OF buildings over and over again the
story is told of how the fire eats its way through
and stairways in flames. cutting off the means OF
escape and emitting volumes Of deadly smoke. How
floors. ceilings window frames, wainscotings stairs
and elevator Innings made of non-combustible
origin. With aliSnum such construction Is possible
and yet the appearance of the building is the same
If wood were used
The recent Jefferson Hotel dis aster. with its
citing and two terrible deaths. is still fresh
I'm the public mind, and twice since the fire itself
attention has been attracted to IL anew by the
nOunCements in the papers of two additional
deaths from the exposure and shock of the rescues
those OF Mr.. and Mrs. Mason. Fire Chief Croker
declared II be his belief the fire originated
at the foot of the elevator shaft The flames swept
up the shaft and spread out like mushroom on the
sixth and seventh floors. and then made their way
through the roof. Had the elevator shaft been
IL been made OF alignum the shaft voTls have
been chimney instead Of fire trap, and the lat
est tale OF horror would have remained untold.
structibiity Of the material under the influence OF
heat the Algnum Company has set up, at it's fac
hot fire is kept burning every day without any
more damage than to the ordinary stove.