The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1908-03-14

Specially 0pportune at This Time
inzthe Light Of Cleveland 5<z
Holocaust. f:8s
CONFEDERATION DANGER.

Inc aggregate wealth In the con-
gested business districts Of OUT cities,
has become so great that the capitol
OF the insurance companies, home and
foreign. is inadequate to it's protection.
This makes it instantly imperative
that serious errors in architecture
should be remedied. There is urgent
need that this matter be considered by
legislatures municipal government,
boards Of trade and manufacturers as
sociations. w.: ~ ! -
The insurance carried on, a single
block In New York city is. $25,00O,0Q0;
Philadelphia and Chicago each have a
block carrying $S,000,000; Minneapolis
and st.: Paul each have buildings
carrying over 100000. 49, II.
The common faults in building
which invite confagration are: =,
Open stairways and elevator shafts.
Internal openings in brick dividing
walls. =" x; A. ~ !
Absence of fire: shutters, or metal
sash with wired glass.
Low parapet walls.
Single roofs. =, -.
Hot air and steam pipes too, near
wood. 4 I
Unprotected metal floor supports.
Chlmneys less than one length of
brick in thickness and unlined by
burnt clay or terra-cotta pipe.
= Serious Faults.
Each of these errors in building, ex-
cept the chimney. can be corrected for
a sum, the interest of which would be
much less than the saving that would
result from a reduction Of the insur-'
ance premium for each of the above
mentioned defects is charged for.
The vertical opening is the greatest
producer Of total losses because it fur
nishes an ip1ammable fue for flames.
Openings In dividing walls should be
furnished with automatic iron doors or
filled with brick.
Either metal sash with wired glass
or tin-clad shutters should be placed
In exposed windows. A wooden shut
ter covered with tin will not warp
from heat SO as to let in. sparks, as
an iron shutter may. -
Parapet walls should be built up to-
three feet:
- Stadrways, if enclosed, should be
fitted with spring doors, If not enclosed
tor shafts should be enclosed or have
trap door at each floor
The single roof adds so much to
the Insurance rate that one cannot at
ford to let one remain on an expensive
building: -
Wood should be cut away from hot
air and steam pipes Either may be-
come red hot Against wood they con-
vert the surface into charcoal and then
fire. It, >31~ .z,:::"
Metal pillars or joists if not protect
ed by some burnt! clay product or con-,
crete, spring when heated and let down
the ceiling of the burning room.
A CONGREGATION danger that it is
hardly worth while to preach against
Is the immense size of the rooms in
wholesale and department stores. A
partition will ordinarily hold back a
fire until the f1renlen can get water to
it. Such rooms should have sprink-
lers. ia.
It is intelligence rather than expense
in building that secures the lowest in
surance rate. One about to build
should gather information as to the in
fuence Of material and detail of archi-
lecture on the fire danger and the
insurance premium. The threatened
exhaustion Of our: timber supply is an
ill wind, to be sure, but it blows in one
good by making lumber so expensive
that .dt is economy, air things consid-
cred, to use fire resistive material for
nearly all buildings.
Ordinary joist construction costs
about liz cents for. each cubic foot.
Slow burning or "mill'' buildings, In
which floors are thick enough to re-
sist, fire until the fire depart
ment 1 has ample time to get to
work, costs II cents. Re- Enforced con-
crete with external walls of brick costs
10 cents. Fire resistive construction
with steel skeleton and brick curtain
walls costs about 20 cents cubic foot.
Since the San Francisco conflagration
the term fire PROOF has given way to
fire resistive construction III the
vocabulary Of the architect
EDWARD PETERSON,
State Fire Marshal. =
WILL examine CAUSE