The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-04-26

as GIiucii tilt as the losses tnett-
selves, the ratio Is about $500 TO 06
lcehts. That 1874 difference Is a po-
tent one where dealing With nations
having populations from Hfty 70 one
hundred millions
THE reason for this astonishing dif.
ference lies in our wooden and other
wise poor building construction, our
inefficient building inspection, and
particularly in our national trait Of
carelessness. The time keeper Of the
Cafe Sayafin entered his little room
lin the basement Of the Equitable
Building 1T 5 o'clock idsthe morning.
He lighted the gas, threw the match
lin the waste basket and left the room.
la few minutes later fire was discover
ed in the basket and in the nearby
furniture. 1t was soon controlled, but,
and here Is where our poor construc.
ton comes in, II had spread up the
battery of wooden dumb walters, and
in few moments more had mush-
roomed under the roof. In this man
ner another American record had been
created. A Sunday morning card game
in a stable at Bangor coupled with
careless smoking caused the conaagra.
tion in that city. These are two recent
occurrences. The statistics OF the
100000 fires which we have annually
tell story similar in principle in a
large per cent, Of the cases.
mo American city is conaagratlon
proof. New York, as so ably sci forth
in recent magazine article, can SUI.
fer a disastrous fire loss. The author
kept well within the limits OF proba.
bilty. That city, as a matter of fact,
can have eonaagration in freproof
building above, the head, of itslfre der
partment.y III almost happened when
the Equitable Building burnedJiFGiE,
mont can ,sufters,sweeping fiTeapon't
let the fact that youlhaEe never had;la
eonfagratio4t mIslead you. The larger
the, city grows, the greater the con.
centration of value, the introduction of
specia hazards, and the more serious
the danger. Let ME outline briefly the
reasons.
With the exception Of small
percentage, your important buildings
have their interiors constructed ell.
tirely of wood
20 The stories are connected with
each other through unprotected Gle
yators. stairs, light wells, and other
vertical fiues. Thes make for exceed
lngly rapid spread OF fire through a
given building.
"S All buildings are filled with
combustible contents.
"a Yndbws are OF ordinary glass
lin weollsn frames and easily broken
or igBitea.
% Infiammable shingle roofs exist
In few sections, and there are other
combustible roof structures.
F6 Infiamable liquids and especial
~ hazardous stocks. are scattered
through the city and are likely 70 pro.
duce d very rapid spread of fire.
Nov combine suctaa situation with
avery high wind, or excessive cold, or
a failure of an Harm system or of
water supply, and what may happen?
| leave tire rest to your imagination.
There is plenty Of precedent In the
annals of our fires.
What is the remedy? 1t Is well
known2 1T is being applied in NUM- |
Der of our cities, and the movement is
gaining momentum. The essential
points are as follows:
Il Adopt a first class building code.
Your present one is a mere skeleton.
It covers only in fairly satisfactory |
manner a portion Of your city. De
sign code based upon the excellent
ones prepared by the National Board
Of Fire Underwriters and distributed
freely to the cities OF the country
"9 Provide especially for the pro-
lection of window and door openings
in exterior walls Of buildings 10 guard
against sweeping fire. Wired glass
windows in metal frames should be
generally used, evenron street fronts.
Aybrick city with SUCH window protec=l
tiolr,&odld be conaagrat iopsRFoefz>- +
"BS all means~paRei tHisl9ro6 si6fi
J. irrespective i1sd&s hss Y EpheAfSI i
particularly dahsetans hpcd tiShkl 4hsrb /
Is no reason for adopt1Rgl 81 ssg
lent ,safeguaEdst and applying e'thenlf
only to building erected in the future,
'"3 Be particularly liberal in pro-
vlding for fire scape facilities, especl-
ally in your schools and in places Of
public gathering,
"a Arrange for the rigorous en-.
forcement of your building laws by a
department.
20 Let your fire department, or u
special fire prevention bureau. inspect
frequently and thoroughly for
weaknesses of structural character,
for needless accumulations of combuSt.
ible materials, for lack of cleanliness,
for the presence OF especially danger
Dus liquids, defective fiues, etc. New
York formerly spent $S,OO0,0OO for its
fire department upkeep and $4,000
for prevention. This is ratio Of GGG
In Half and holf will hn tho order