The Pensacola journal., 1907-06-12

Statistics, recently gathered, as to
fires in college buildings. show the
number of these fires 10 be surpri i5-
inGly large, and the result may be an
advance in the rate by Insurance com
Fanies. insurance Engineering" de-
votes its entire May issue to an an
alysiS of conditions in schools and
colleges. II received reports from
322 institutions in reply to a list OF
questions. We learn the lesson
from the colleges and universities" a."
writes the editor, that precautions
against fire have been neglected gen
orally"
According to a compilation made
for fire underwriters, 7S4 fires in col
Iege buildings in the United States
in Is years caused d loss of $40 800,
600, besides several human lives.
The average money loss exceeded
$4,000
Prominent underwriters were asked
by Insurance Engineering" to give
opinions upon the average college
building as risk" Nearly all
agreed that it was a poor risk.
There can be no question" said one
underwater, ''as to the Improbable
mitOries" Another said: For the
company shows a loss and expense
experience of 100 per cent, on col
leges and schools"
Summing up his opinions an under
writer in one of the big insurance
companies says:
college buildings should all be Of
fire-pTOOf cOnStructiOn-hOllow brick
interior walls and floors, iron or stone
stairways. and equipped with some ap-
proved fire extinguishers.
F. W Fitzpatrick, Secretary of the
International Society of Building IE-
spectors. says:
In no case is fre-proOf construction
more necessary than in the case OF
college dormitories. Like hotels,
they should be absolutely 6re-proOf.
in the long run. TO put up a building
that won't burn than to maintain an
elaborate fire-fghting service-espec-
tally as the latter often proves use
less. The best way to stop college
fires is to use no wood in the struc-
turaI parts of buildings Most mod
ern dOrmitOries now are stone or
brick on the outside; the inside
should be just as fire-proof. The
ordinary brick building, with wood in
side, is easy prey for the flames. But
hollow terra Gotta blocks an mex
pensive material, make floors and
partitions unburnable.
Disastrous fires within the last year
or so have emphasized the need OF
better interior construction to pro-
tect the life of students. The burn
ing of the main building at Dart
mouth College is still fresh in the pub
lie memory.
Last December the Chi Psi Fratern-
ity House at Cornell University caught
fire in the night. and three students
were burned to death. In the attempt
to save them three volunteer f1remen
also perished: five students were in
jured and the property loss was $780,
600.
In Montreal, Canada, on February
26th. the cry of Fire" was raised
in Hochelaga School while it was in
session. The only stairway, four feet
wide, was made impossible by smoke
The kindergarten teacher on the
second floor stayed in the building to
help her pupils. She and nine of the
children lost their lives. Two brick
Luildings of the Roman Catholic
Seminary at Marieville, Canada. were
destroyed in the same month by
fire that burned for 10 hours.
seven-story brick building of the ST
Stanislaus ShoOl in Chicago was prac-
tically destroyed by fire on Decem-
Der 22d. Five days before that fif-
teen girls were killed or fatally in
iured in Nashville, Tenn. by fire
that gutted a fOur-stOry brick build
ing in about one hour. Here there
were no fire PSCaDeS