The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1911-10-12

,uoTo navy taugfIt. Is tfistI no EtliIu-
ing Is more ireprcof than are its
doors and windows, while tie pres
ence Of wood in trim or casing any
where lessons, to that extent. the fire
resisting and fre-confning power of
the structure. No matter if the
walls are fully freproof, doors of
wooden construction permit the
flames to sweep from room to room
and floor to floor, instead of being
confined to enc room, as is possible
in fireproof buildings in reality-not
fireproof only in name.
theatres, apartment buildings and
tie like. arr advertised as 'freproof
throughout. only to have some fire
disclose that the buildings were ver-
tab'a "tIe-t1a~s. tee fireproof
construction of the walls. floors and
kver stairways making only more
perfect flues for the rapid combns-
ton cf tinder-like doors. partitions.
window-casings, trim and room-con-
4 tents! Those who 90 into public ho-
tells and halls at nigh should have
protection and assurance that repre-
sensations of fireproof construction
are in reality wel-founded.
Every building should have
straight. broad stairways of freproof
construction. And every door and
PARTITION, no matter how small or how
temporary. should be ireproof. Right
here | want to sayft to you that by
the term "fireproof' as applied BY
me, to doors, partitions. and all other
interior work of buildings, / do not
mean slow burning. near-freproof. or
any of the other so-called makeshifts
which are used In many instances.
One of the most notable fires in
the history of New York City was
the Singer building fire of last fall
Combustible material in room on
the twenty-sixth floor of that struct
ure caught fire on the morning of
September Doth. just one year ago
and was a mass of flames before
discovered. TIE inciDient confag-
ration was of course far above the
height at which fremen could work
rtfectivelv. and if the building had
not been really freproof the struct-
ure would have become giant chin
ney through which the flames could
have eoursed and destroyed at will
This building. however. was COM
pletely equipped with hollow steel
doors and trim throughout. so per-
1 fectly enameled and grained that
even an expert in wood could only
detect their true composition BY
sounding the trim with a metallic
substance. The result was that the
fire practically burned itself out In
the room in which it started before
the arrival of the fire department
Accordingly this fire was most not
able, not for loss of life and prop
erty. the disastrous consequences
for which fires are usually notable.
but for the disastrous consequences
which were prevented by complete
fireproofing,
Tp-me there is fascination about
steel interiors. 1t constantly empha-
sizes TIE absurditv of fre-fghting,
for how can fires rage if they have
nothing to feed upon? Before max
ing this talk L again Inspected one
of the hollow steel doors from the
! Singer building fire which Is on Ok
hibition at this Congress. If every
building was constructed in this mani
GER and made absolutely freproof
the appropriations fer the mainte,l-
ance of fire departments could be
greatly reduced
Within the next year / expect to
build a home. Some of my friends
await the result with interest. ex-
pecting a freak. Quite the contrary.
| am going to have it absolutely
ireproof. without having to make ex-
cuses fer using the term fireproof.
1t is going to be far more artistic
than even the. old tinderbox | am
not going to spend a fortune on it.
either. for the slight additional ex-
pense incurred in eliminating wood
will be comparatively insignificant
and will prove perpetual asset in
the long run. just to demonstrate
that my freproof ideas can be car
ried to homes / am going to fire my
house as soon as it is completed
and prove conelusively that it will
not burn, simply because it cannot.