The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-07-27
WILL NOW PASS
BUILDING LAWS
AS RESULT OF SLATER FIRE.
BUILDING ORDINANCE DRAWN FOR
MONTHS BUT NEGLECTED..

Neither Mayor Nor building Inspec-
tor Will Talk About the Slater
building for Publication, but In
sPectOr Bartlett Reported That
He Did Not Believe the Bricks Had
Been Properly Laid-Ordinance
Requiring Fire Escapes Has Not
Been Enforced-Fire Chief Ma
guire Says Any One Can See That
Building Was Faulty in Con-
structiOn.
The fire in the Slater building will
doubtless result in the passage of the
building ordinance that has been
drawn for many months, but which
has never come up in Council for a
second reading. There is, however, an
ordinance that has been in existence
for several years. which requires all
buildings, three stores high or more,
other than dwellings, to be equipped
with fire escapes. This ordinance. ap-
parently has been overlooked by the
city authorities.
Mayor Myers when asked about the
Slater building said he knew nothing
about it. as the building inspector had
made no report.
Building Inspector Bartlett like
wise refused to discuss the mat
ter. He said he had not as
yet made thorough investigation. He
had visited the building, however and
had told the Mayor his opinion. He
thought the brick had not been prop
erly laid. The inspector will make a
more extended investigation and re-
port.
Brick Properly Laid.
The building inspector gave as his
reason for not wanting to discuss the
matter that he had not made Il
thorough examination and might do
some one an injustice. He did not
deny telling the Mayor that he did
not think the bricks had been properly
laid, nor did the Mayor deny that this
statement had been made to him,
though each of them wanted the state
ment to come from the other.
AS to the building ordinance which
has been held up for so long, the
Mayor says it will be taken up soon
1t has been in the hands of the at
torney for several weeks. The Mayor
wants to get it correct, he says, be-
fore it is passed. The ordinance was
delayed several months before it was
submitted to the city attorney.
Every one who was at the fire was
of the opinion that the building was
faulty in construction. even the build
ing inspector thought So
Fire Chief Mcguire said he was sur
prised at the collapse of the walls.
There could have been no possible rea-
son for it, he said, except what is
known as the back draft" A back
draft is caused by the heating of the
gases from the timber and other mate
rial, and exerts some pressure on a
building in case of fire. 1t should not
be sufficient, however, Chief Mcguire
said, to cause the walls to collapse.
Nothing but Veneering.
"All ask" said the fire chief, ''is
| for any sensible man to look at the
walls. II he won't say they were inn
properly constructed, then will give
it up. 1t was nothing but veneering,
and was not tied to the other portion
of the wall at ALL
THE building, of course, should have
| had fire escapes. There is an ordi-
nance requiring them, and 1 used to
enforce it. But the matter was taken
| out of my hands and given over to the
| Fire Committee during the Meldrim
| administration, because 1 got after an
| alderman and was about to make him
| put up fire escapes on a building that
| he owned. If the new ordinance had
been passed. then the building inspec-
| tor, the director of public works and
myself would have been to blame for
| the absence of the fire escapes, and we
should have been held criminally re-
! sponsible. But the ordinance has not
| been passed"