Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-05-10
LESSONS IN FIRE COS !!

Engineer In Charge of Geological Sur,
tories Points to Need of Absolutely
Fireproof BuiIdines-No Other Lane
Suffers Sc Greatly.
Federal experts who are making
study of building materials that "
lest withstand fire and who are Their
tore taking keen interest In the t
losses as they are reported for tn
Whole Of the United States deca,
hat in spite of all efforts toward -
Ter building conditions. the death an
destruction due to fires and confagts
lions In 1000 will eclipse all previou-
records. with the exception Of ~
years In which the Baltimore and So
Francisco fires occurred
They point to the fact that In siN
teen days of April five big fires In Gif
ferent parts of the United States re-
suited In Il loss of COCO GOO, the deaf
of twenty persons the injury of sever
teen and the rendering homeless %.
more than 1000 The Greatest OF the
fires was at Fort Worth. Tex. resulf
ing In property loss of between s:
100000 and $4O0O.OaO and the secou,
in Importance was at Rochester. y
with Il loss of half II million dollars
THE people of the United Sta
ave not yet learned the lesson of ta
baltimore aud San Francisco fire
id Richard L. Humphrey, engin,
g charge of the structural mater
gical survey. Fort Worth's rece'
experience. when more than 300 hom
were devoured by the flames. is but
repetition of what has happened /
the past and what will occur In the f,i
ture until American municipalltie
wake to the situation and enact legis
lation which will absolutely proven
the further construction OF films.
buildings that are not freproof.
ut seems difficult to make the PEG
pie believe that in 1907 fires In the
United States cost more than $3.50,
600 for every day In the year, al
annual tax of more than SIS for ever,
man, woman and child In the United
States. We are spending 81 600. 100000
year on new buildings and construc
ton work, while our fires cost $500,
100000. No other nation has such al
unenviable record as this. Our fire.
are costing from six to eight times a.
much per capita as any country II
Europe. BY the total cost of fires re
fer not only to the actual destruction
Of property, which amounted to $215,
100000, but also to the cost OF mainte
nance of fire departments and tn
amount Of insurance paid over ant
above the money returned to REIN
burse owners of burned buildings
While we are wasting several time.
as much property per capita as Eu
rope, we are also destroying In thes,
fires five times rs many lives as ar,
lost in the other countries. In 1905
according to the United States census
5000 persons died of burns and per
haps 10000 were seriously injured.
mo other country suffers so enor
nous conflagration losses as does tn
United States, and it Is this class o
loss, due to the rapidity with whicl
fires spread. involving whole block
and cities, that requires attention. !!
every city and village In the Unite,
States there is ever present the posi-
bility Of large loss of life and property
1.-THE federal government is directl,
interested In this question, because
is the owner OF buildings valued n
more than half billion dollars, which
are not insured. and is spending NOR
than S20.00O,OOO each year for ney
structures. This building and cor
struction work is all intended to be O
permanent nature. 1t involves In
terests OF such magnitude that tn
government can afford to take no risk
concerning either the methods Of con
struction or the materials to be used
1t Is therefore necessary that its ARCH
tects and engineers have definite infol
nation concerning the fire resisting
qualities Of the different materials O
construction to the end that the gov
eminent buildings may be properl
safeguarded from fire within and with
out
Carrying out this idea, the geoloe
zeal survey, through Its TECHNOLOGY
branch. some time ago completed
series Of preliminary fire tests Of build
ing materials, which will soon b
printed by the government in the forr
OF bulletin. The building material
were placed in furnace, where ga
flames ~'rre 'a-ced ny. blast OF al