Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-25
GOVERNMENT TESTS
BUILDING MATERIAL
DEFINITE INFORMATION WANTED
BY ARCHITECTS
Destructive Blaze Possible Any Day
in Any Large City, According
to Findings of Ex-
perts

WASHINGTON, April 24.-The con-
fiagration at Chelsea, Mass, which
rendered 10000 persons homeless and
resulted in a property loss of several
million dollars, following as 1t did
closely upon the heels of the Boyer
town, Pa, and Collinwood, o., holo-
causts with their terrible loss OF life,
has added much significance to the fire
tests of building materials that nave
been conducted recently by the United
States geological survey In behalf OF
the government.
The federal government, owner OF
buildings valued at more than half q
billion dollars and spending $2O00O,0OO
every year for new structures through
out the country, conducted these testS
in order that it's architects may have
definite information concerning the nre-
resistingqualities of the different ma
terials of construction, to the end that
the governments buildings may be
properly safeguarded from fire within
and without.
The government engineers have long
contended that with present methods
of construction a conflagration, result
ing in the destruction of millions or dol
lars worth of property and the sacriiice
of human life, is possible in every city
of any size in the country. Their posi-
ton has been proved in tragic man
ner by the Baltimore fire, the fire fol-
lowing the earthquake in San Fran
cisco and that of Chelsea just the other
day.
Great Fires Unnecessary
1t is the belief of the engineers that
these great fires are unnecessary and
can be prevented by the erection OF
proper fireproof buildings. The govern
ment does not insure its buildings
against loss by fire, but bends its ener~
Ito Il In
proof. A small fraction of what would
be paid to insurance companies III
premiums is being spent in finding ou'
the materials that are best adapted to
resist fire.
The first of a series of elaborate tets
have lust been completed by the struc-
tural materials laboratories of the geo.
logical survey, under the direction OF
Richard L. Humphrey, engineer IT
charge. The tests were conducted al
the fire underwriters laboratories In
Chicago and were made possible py tht
co-operation of the national board OF
fire underwriters and the National tlre
Protection association. Thirty panels
of various building materials, 1ncludlns
concrete building blocks, common
| hydraulic pressed and sand lime bricKi
concrete of gravel, cinder, limestone ano
granite: glazed building and partition
| terra Gotta tile; sandstone, granite ano
| marble building stone were testeo
| The materials were subjected 10 the
direct application of heat for Two hour:
and were then Immediately quencheo
with water. An effort was made 10 op
| tain a maximum temperature or l'o'
degree Fahrenheit within half an hour
| after starting the tests and to main
| tain this temperature as nearly as pos
sible constant through the succeeding
| half hours.
From a Furnace
The building materials were placed
| in a sliding panel, which, When ar
ranged for the fire tests, formed one
| side of the furnace. In the furnace ga'
flames were forced by blast OF an
two hours the panel was brought from
| the furnace and the water turned OF
from a hose with pressure OF nltS
pounds to the square 1ncn. -,
THE conditions under which thes'
tests were made were unusually severe
and as none of the materials passe'
perfectly it proved a good test Tor com
| used would hardly be reached IN al
ordinary fire, but might be In con
While these tests are not conclusive
heinq hut the beginning of genera
line of Investigations, said Director
Smith of the geological survey the9
bring out a number of important facts
The brick panels probably withstooe
the tests better than any other ma
terials. There were two lots OF com
mon brick tested-one was an unused
were split, while 60 to 20 per cent o.
gine foundation for some years. TIT
the old bricks were not damaged.
The bricks at the back of the pane
were entirely unaffected. The hydraulic
pressed brick stood the test better
than anv other material. No damage
was apparent whatever after the f1rint
and before the water was applied, ant
although a number of the bricks
cracked, 20 per cent of them were
found to be sound after quenching.
There was apparently little differ
ence in the strength of the bricks be
fore and after firing. The natura
building stones behaved the worst o.
all the material tested. The almos
complete destruction of these stones
precludes any comparison betweel
them. The sandstone panel entirel.
collapsed soon after the test wal
| started.
Little Difference in Strength
The testing engineers report that /
was difficult to determine whether th'
concrete made of limestone, granite
gravel or cinders sustained the leas
damage. Their surfaces were all rathe
containing large percentage of un
latter seemed to withstand the test th
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