The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-08-05
SOME FRISCO FIRE LESSONS.
REPORT BY THE NATIONAL BOARD
or FIRE UNDERWRITERS.

or FIRE UNDERW RITERS.
Wire Glass Windows Proved o Failure, but
Reinforced Concrete stood the Test
Remarkably Wen Windows Proved the
Weak Point IN Fireproof Buildings.
Immediately after the San Francisco
oonflagraton tho committee OF twenty OF
the National Board Of Fire Underwr1ters
sent It's consulting engineer, s. Albert Heed,
TO San Francisco to study b effects OF
the fire on various types Of. construction.
The committee Of twenty has been con-
Quoting an examination Of the Are hazards
In the principal cities Of the United States
ever since the Baltimore confagraton
Of 1904 directed attention to the unsafe
fire conditions prevailing In America
Special reports, exposing defects and pro-
posing remedies, ave been published for o
number Of cities; a model building code has
been drawn up and recommended Tor
general adoption, with o view to raising tho
standard Of building construction, and
standard specifications covering various
types OF fire protecting apparatus n
appliances Ave been issued.
To these publications has now been added
the report submitted by Mr.. Reed on the
San Francisco confagradon. His invesn-
cation vi conducted from an engineering
standpoint, with reference TO the subjects
Of water supply. fro department equip
ment and building construction. Two
points Of special interest among the many
which the report discusses are window pro-
lection and concrete construction.
I Previous experience had shown hat tho
vulnerable spots In modern freproof build
ings are the window and other openings In
walls and roofs. This experience was amply
confirmed at San Frandsco. No device In
general use for protecting window openings
appears to be effective against the tre-
mendous heat developed In a confagradon,
as opposed to an ordinary fire.
Recently wire glass ndo have been
widely introdu oed. These, however, proved
Useless at San Francisco. ignition taking
place through the glass. There was no
chance to observe the legitimate action OF
shutters, because in nearly every case the
fire got in else where and ack the
shutters from the inside. "
No conclusive data was supplied by the
San Francisco conflagration on the subject
Of proper rules for window proteouon:
But the report suggests that the plan OF
a double line Of defence has great merit.
Two or more semi-pervious SCREENS. one
Denlnu VIC OtDCTt appC0i ~
a single nearly impervious screen.
Reinforced concrete, being cheaper than
the older, we'll tested, standard ftreproof
construction, has recently sho wn a tendency
to displaoe the latter in many parts OF the
country especially in the West. For this
reason it was Of importance to discover
how II stood the first decisive ordeal 70
which it has been subjected.
Among the prominent lessons OF the
Francisco oonfagration, as stated by Mr..
Reed, are the 'encouraging poseioinoee
of REINFORCED concrete AS concrete was
used most extensively In floor arches and
for column protection, 1t viii! be sufficient
TO quote what Is said about it In this CON-
N ction:
The results in the Bush Street Telephone
Exchange may be considered fairly decisive
as TO solid concrete column protection as
we'll as TO reinforced concrete floors. Inc
temperatures In this building were not only
extreme but were also protracted. The very
excellence Of the window protection prevented
the air from entering the building at the
ades, while the break In the roof afforded
lust sufficient draught to generate intense
and long continued heat, The large quantity
of combustible insulation and other material
provided ample fuel and the writer found
numerous cases OF melted glass. Nearly all
the light iron framework OF switchboard
apparatus was found collapsed Into a heap.
ana even a udhtitJ - "AS
welded into a mass; yet the column protection
appeared to be perfect and the floor arches
were apparently sound. The only breaks.
one In the roof and one In the floor below.
were ut points where cutting away had been
done to accommodate some OF the SWITCH
board equipment. The bracing eject OF the
solid concrete ~incasing the steel column is
doubtless an important FACTOR ana IL ID PROD.
able that with such reinforcement the steel
-Iubt ayan attain n ROfteQlnQ temDeTatuT6
without detection.
The excellent behavior Of this reinforced
concretel type OF floor was noticeable. In
the Baltimore fire were several cases OF
reinforced concrete floor arches: but they
were on low, small buildings. and the results.
though favorable. did not appear decisive
for the reason that quite a number OF one story
building escaped. which had no special
construction merits. The behavior OF one
storv building ~ In confa ~grations Is 80 capri
cious. on account Of the shelter they some
times get. that caution must be exercised In
drawing conclusions. There was one case
in baltimore OF q building Will reinforced
concrete frame. as well as floors. and 1t made
n GOOD record. but the results were not con-
sldered decisive for several special reasons.
In the San Francisco confa grafton. however.
thirty-one freproof buildings Of good height
had reinforced concrete floor arches, though
all but two had steel frames. Furthermore.
ofteen OF the buildings had mercantile stocks
and most Of them were exposed to maximum
exterior conditions. although there was. Of
course, no fire and water test. 1t was an
adyanta ge also. that a variety of represen-
tative types OF reinforced concrete con-
structlon were present In San Francisco. the
results showing a substantial equality In their
ability TO stand the test.
Private Sales.
WATER STREET.-G. Carlucci d Co. have
sold for a client to Martin Garone the four
Mt No 2Sh Vatar Rf rect on