The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-02-18


the large recent in
crease in fire losses has been opened
by the author of a paper in Insurance
Engineering for January. This writer,
DIR. James G. Bayles. who is not an
insurance man, but a mechanical engi-
neer, claims that leakage of gas from
city mains is the cause of thousands OF
fires which are usually called nyster-
ious, and he gives enough personal
testimony to prove that there must be
a good deal in his theory.
DR.. Bayles shows, at the outset, that
there is much more gas leakage under
the best conditions of piping than the
average man realizes. Having studied
gas distribution in every part of the
United States and Europe. he gives it
as his belief that in good gas practice
a leakage of 225,OOO cubic feet per mile
per annum for mains of six inches dia-
meter is normal. Often, ne says, it is
twice that amount; rarely much less.
Not all of this leaking gas can be de-
tected by it's smell. When it has fill
tered through layer of earth, it
ceases to have an odor, but loses none
of it's explosive or calorific force. In
his opinion from twelve to twenty per
cent of all the gas distributed in New
York city is lost through leakage; and
of this enormous amount in the aggre-
gate much collects in cellars, crevices
in walls, under floors and i'll other
places, where it turks until the time
comes for a flame to appear when,
puff! the place goes up in smoke.
THAT the appalling Windsor Hotel
fire was a typical gas fire was known
to every gas man in New York" says
DR.. Bayles, "but the tortures of the
Inquistion would probably not induce
one of them to admit it. On this sub
sonal knowledge. Scarcely more than
two months before the fire / had occa-
sion TO make an especially critical sur
Vey of the house, which took me into
every room, passage-Way, closet and
pantry, and occupied my own time and
that of a number of assistants for sew
eral days. 1t was a strictly profess
sional service; its object is of no inter
est to the reader. Suffice it to say
that | examined every part of the
building, from the sub-cellar to the
roof. During this examination, | be-
came aware chat the house was full
of gas, and had reason TO believe that
the walls and floor spaces We're full of
1t. / mentioned the fact to the pro-
prietor, although it was only inciden-
tally concern of mine, and perhaps
not even that. Mr.. Leland admitted
that he knew it and was rendered anX-
ious by it. The trouble had begun
during or shortly after the laying of
the large water main in Fifth avenue,
which had necessarily disturbed the
gas mains, more or less, and had been
increased by the Madison avenue
washout, due to the bursting of
water main. He said he would give
the subject attention. may say
truthfully that I did not at the time
appreciate the Significance of my dis
coVery, or l might have made better
use of my knowledge. The phenomena
of the fire which destroyed the house
would be ineNplieable on any other hy-
pothesis than that the building was
saturated with inhammable gas. Any
one who will read the account of that
historic fire, as published during the
days succeeding it in the files OF any
sane and unsensationaf newspaper,
will have no difficulty in discovering
In 40
dry woodwork, furniture and carpets
burned first and converted the build
Ing into a'furnaee with frightful rapid
ity. 1t was gas"
DR.. Bayles has collected the records
of more than a hundred fires in New
York city in which there We're mys-
terious circumstances, and he finds
what tpehis mind are indisputable evil
iences sof the presence of gas in in>
1ammable quantities, proving to his
satisfaction that careless or imperfect
installation of gas mains, frequent in-
reference with mains when laid, or in
difference to signs of gas leakage in
any place or from any cause, have
much more than has been generally
supposed to do with the statistics of
ire losses, as we'll as with many of
he diseases prevalent in cities which
Affect disastrously the mortality calcu-
ations of life insurance aetuaries. His
paper, therefore, is both timely and
valuable. We trust that the line of in
yestigation which II marks out will be
pursued.
Twelve years ago w. w. Bowers was