Waterbury Democrat., 1902-03-05
READ ABOUT THE FIRE.
Waterbury Man Tells of Fire Proof
 Buildings in Ohio.


 The following letter from Louis H. Walsh, son of MT and Mrs F. H. Walsh or l49 South Elm street. will be of in- terest to the people of Waterbury just now, especially to the city authorities and to those interested in building. The writer is now located in Dayton, O., and is prominent architect in that city. In connection with the building ordinance which has just been adopted by this city it will command attention. The letter is as follows:
 Dayton, O., Feb ', 1902 Have read nothing for a week but accounts of the fire, and even at the most conservative allowance for press dispatches it must have been a tre. mendous one. Well, I suppose that Lilley building will once more be re- built on it's former lines and repeat iii time its former offenses. Such 2 fire trap could hardly be desired to do its work better.
 | l trust that the proper authorities will get together and formulate q building code before the work of re- | construction begins. We don't have any such construction i'll this country, and 1 have done work in Pittsburg, i Cleveland, Cincinnati Chicago. Kan sas City and St Louis.
 They have fire-proofing down to science here. No joist floors, stud par titions, wood cornices and sncathed elevator shafts. We use a skeleton steel frame, then cover this frame en- tirely. every beam and column, with vitrified tile, porous terra cotta or con- crete. Then our walls are laid up, the wall for each story being supported by the frame, and the frame, if properly hre-proofed as above, cannot give way. so the wall is bound to stay. Then all partitions are made of hollow tile OF porous terra cotta. plastered, and these being both fire-proof, a fire cannot sweep from room to room throughout the entire floor
 The floors are of the same material. or concrete, with a wood or tile finish floor. so a fire cannot burn through from floor to floor except at the ele- yator shaft or stairway, and the ele- vator shaft being lined with tile and plaster and the stairs being of steel With marble treads. there is nothing Tor the flames to run up on, as there IS seldom, goods, furniture, etc. around the hall and elevator shaft sufficient to cause blaze that will reach up to the next floor
 1ou see that is the trouble with the buildings there. The fire burns through one floor until it strikes the elevator and stairs and these being of wood, it shoots up to the top like trail of DOW der.
 . Now in any one of the buildings that we put up out here q fire might Dufn up the furniture in one room, and II there was considerable amount of , it, it might develop heat enough to burn through q door and into the next 1 room but at best it could not go up or down, for to do this the fire would have to go out in the hall to the ele- vator shaft. and the hall is faced with marble or tile plastered, so there Is , nothing in the hall to carry it to the shaft, nor in the shaft to carry it up. , This is what Waterbury must come to, and the cry of expense has little foundation in these days of cheap steel and the competition of the many systems of fre-proof floor construc- } tion.
 An entire steel skeleton is not essen tial, but floors of some fire-proof ma l terial, supported on steel beams; parti- tions of dense tile or porous terra cotta stairs built with channel iron strings I and marble or slate treads; rear and : party walls carried up at least two l feet above the roof. and cornices of some fire-proof material such as galvan-
 ized iron. stone, brick or terra cotta, . are the things that arc absolutely es- sential, and I hope that the people in ,, charge at home will get together and . insist upon these requisites. Well, see I have let re-proofing
 run away with me and my note has '. assumed unexpected proportions. Rather expect to be east soon, as we : are getting out drawings for big ] hotel in Philadelphia and I shall run 2 up to see the ruins
 ' As ever, LOUIS A. WALSH.