Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-05-30
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.
Persistent Watchful1ess the Creates
Safeguard Against Fire.


Dealing with the subject of spontauc-
Gus combustion in a recent paper on i'll
SuFance inspection and fire hazards be
fore the New England Foundrymcn'S as
ISOLATION, J. II. l.. Coon mentioned
number of facts which it may be we'll Ia
remember. Thus, damp la1npblack wiI
ignite from the suns rays. The same
can be said of cotton waste moist with
iard or other animal oil. Lampnldck ana
httle oil or water will. under certain
conditions, ignite spontaneously. Nitric
&cld and charcoal create spontaneous
com bustIon. New printers ink Oh paper
wien IN contact with a hot steam pipe
Wlu ignite quickly Boiled lu~ecd oil
aud turpentine in equal parts on cotton
or linen rags or cotton waste will ignite
in Il few hours under 4 mild heat. and
VIII III time create enough heat to ignite
spontaneously. BituminouS coal should
not be stored where it will come in con-
I"ct with wooden partitions or columns
or against warm boiler settings or steam
pipes. This coal should not he very deep
II II Is to he kept on Storage for It long
PERIOD. If piled in the haScmpn, of Il
hullding, II should be shallow and free
from moisture, and under good ycntila-
non. That liable to absorb moisture
should be burned first. If on fire.
small quantity of water showered on this
KIND of coal cokes it upon the top and
retardS any great supply of water reach
lnG the hre. thus neceSsitating the over
hauling Of the pile Iron chips. filings or
turlngs should not be stored in q shop
IN wooden boxes. The oily waste which
Is not infrequently thrown among them
adds to the danger of fire from this
source. The sweepings from the machine
shop. If kept on hand, should never be
placed over iron shavingS This mass Of
uiSlntpuTafpI * m
heat and combustion. Iron and steel ill
InGS and turnings when mixed with oil
VIII ignite spontaneously after becoming
damp. y steam pipe against wood will
cause the latter to ignite spontaneously
after being carb0niZed. particularly if
Superheated steam enters the pipe, thus
increasing the heat temperature.
To this Mr.. Coon adds that as persist
ent watchfulness is the greatest safe
guard against the breaking out Of fires.
It Is important in Il manufacturing or
other large establishment to have a sys-
TEN OF periodical inspections carried out
by the managers. and a regular inSpcc-
tlon by competent man, one who is
likely to perSeycre in its supervisors
With most men immunity from fire oc-
caslons feeling of security, ana conSe-
quently after a few months of careful
attention to duty men fall into neglect
and perfunctOry habits. A daily inSppc-
tlon IS not too frequent, and VIII pay for
itself ultimately. Every part OF the
premises should be looked after Paric-
ular attention should be given To the line
of every steam pipe. 1t should be asccr-
tanned that no part of it is in contact
with wood. and that no cotton waste or
other infiammable substance is near it,
The surroundings of every steam boiler
stove or other heating apparatus should
DO examined, all inhammable material re-
moved from the vicinity, and defects i'll
smoke fiuaS or fue connections or sup
ports should be noted and reported The
open spaces beneath benches tables and
wide shelves and in enclosed belt boxes
should be examined for inflammahle ma
terlals, and these should be removed, and
the attention of any person responsible
for leaving such material in dangerous
position be called to the matter. All
places where oils, varnish. lacquerS. ia
pans or naphtha, etc, are used or stored.
should be particularly examined and ey-
cry precautiOn taken against fire. Spe-
cial care should be taken against leakage
OF these infiammable materials, and to
see if any cotton waste or rags or other
substances liable to combustible ignition
when fouled with oil have been left living
out side of their proper receptacle. The
condition of the yard should have attcn-
ton, and no accumulation Of infiamma-
BILE materials should be allowed against
buildings. A careful examination of FIRE
equipments should be made Every part
of the apparatus should he examined.
and anything whatever missing should he
promptly reported. These notes are gen
eral in their appication.-Cassier'S Mag
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