Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-11-22
Mise Building Laws.

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Wise Building Laws.
According to the report OF =. ..
Consul Britain AZ Prague, Bohemia,
American cities and towns would DO
we'll to COPY the wise building laws IN
operation there. In this city Of over
500 900 population there has not been
a life lost. in consequence of fire, IN
the last fifteen years The annual
property loss in the last three years
has been only 100000.
The consul writes that the buildings
there are rarely over five stories hlgh
and the height cannot excede twice
the width of the street on which the
building fronts. Nearly every build
ing is constructed of large bricks lald
in cement. The outside walls" are COW
cred with a coating of cement and the
ornamentation is frequently MADE OIL
the same material. The Joists ana
the space between them are usually
covered with terra Gotta ana concrete
with no exposed wood work except the
window and door frame. The nall
ways are nearly all made OF concrete
and the stairs Of granite built seh
supporting with practically no exposed
wood work. The kitchen floors are
usually built of concrete with tiled
wainscoting. No exposed wood work
is permitted in chimneys or close to
furnaces. All the old houses ana
hotels are heated by Tile stoves but
many Of the new ones have central
heating plants like those in American
buildings. -
While the ordinary laborer receives
small wages, yet there is probably not
another city in Europe where there are
SO few poorly constructed houses as IN
Prague. The building department OF
the city consists of two sections, the
administrative and technical, with
several subdivisions. When applica-
tions for permits are presented they
must be accompanied by plans in
duplicate. 4 commission from the ad-
ministrative department is then APP
pointed, consisting Of two officers from
the city building department Cone an
administration official and the other a
technical expcrt), one city councilman
and one officer from the sanitary de-
partnent. whose duty it is to examine
the plans and proposed site and see
whether everything is according to the
building laws. If all details have been
compiled with, a permit is granted; II
not, the plans are returned with nota-
tions where they shall be changed
All of the expenses OF the fire de-
partment are betrayed by the city, but
for detailing firemen at the theatres
the city receives annually s257s; also
2 per cent. of the profits of the city
fire insurance company, amounting
last year to $3.50. The city also re-
CclNeu Il uoitdllOIl VI SsV,oVV AlOhi tIiS
city insurance company. The force of
the fire department consists of 1863
men. The department is not so well
equipped as a fire department in an
American city of equal size, nor is
there any necessity for it. owing to the
careful construction of the buildings.
Such a remarkable fire record should
serve as a strong argument for better
construction and more stringent build
ing laws, and less pretentious fire de-
partments. 1t is always so much
aScr to 20 on in the same old way
than it is to break away and adopt
methods that have been demonstrated
to US as far superior to our methods
plant would be the extra expense of
initial construction, yet our consul at
Prague points out that laborcrs there
receive small pay. 1t is our habits
of extravaganza ana wastefulness.
bred by long continued prosperity,
that holds our noses to the grindstone
of lax and eventually expensive con-
struction. In these days of tile and
concrete it should be the duty of
| municipalities to encourage tireproof
construction, even to ordinances pro-
viding for abatement of taxes and 9TH
g id