The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-03
AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS.
The Need OF Them Emphasized Anew by
the salem Fire.


| than forty years ago. on the second floor
! of a loft building on the corner Of Frank
| lin and Congress streets. in Boston, in the
! hallway stood an old fashioned sink.
| housed in underneath in the shiftless
fashion OF the time with quarter inch
stun, thus forming a fine receptacle for
the odds and ends which shiftless people
wished to put out Of sight and out OF
mind. Some painters presumably chucked
"A lot OF oily rags in there. and when, as a
natural consequence. the rags that night
got heated and finally blazed up, all the
elements OF a first class fire mao been de-
veloped in the only too usual way usual
then as now.
But this time the unexpected happened.
The hot fire under the sink melted the
lead pipe that carried the water to the
sink faucet above, and the water .spurt-
ing out put out the fire and saved mayhap
100000 worth of damage that would
otherwise have taken place mayhap more
than that
Before this occurrence. an account OF
which I read in the morning paper OF the
time. cotton mills In New England had
been forced by frequent and destructive
fires. especially in their picker rooms"
in which the air Is always saturated with
lint. which carries flame like n train OF
gunpowdor. and the flame referred to Is
produced whenever the picker strikes n
rock or sand In the cotton. these mills had
been driven to study efficient fire protec-
ton. and had introduced lines OF perfor-
ated pipes along toe ceiling. with valves.
placed In the mill yard outside. to turn on
a shower OF water
From these circumstances as rected
arose the art OF protecting buildings nv
means OF automatic sprinklers. until now
the mUG-rn sprinkler can he set going
by holding n lighted match under H. and
no manufacturer OF sense and OF thrift
need ever suffer more than an inmate
rial loss by fire.
Automatic sprinklers may he seen In
place in most buildings Of business or
manufacture belonging to thrifty people,
more especially II they have once suffered
fire losses.
In New England the manufacturers'
mutual Are insurance companies have
made the payment Of premiums on nre
insurance policies almost a tradition. The
money they still spend goes for fire pre-
ventlon, not cure And right here is TO he
seen the beauty of the system 7 am advo-
eating. In very few years let the ex-
perts say just how many. thu money
saved by paying lower insurance rates on
sprinkler protected buildings will pay for
the cost and maintenance OF the sprink-
!
forded by sprinklers, amounting almost to
"A total freedom from fire risk. is ha for
next 10 nothing.
And yet legislators go on year after
year wasting their energies on mere PAL
liTuves or else on the fatuous, such as
/ Inspections. fire drills. unlocked doors fire
escapes and this factory law and that
Then city ordinances pile Pelion on that
! ossa. while nothing Is made obligatory In
the line or automatic sprinkIers, Wnlrh
alone would furnish greater safeguards
against losses or life and property IMAM
all the safeguards ! nave named ana
others that exist In the legislation OF TO-
day. all put together. We want these
things, but we need sprinklers hrst.
/ have no pecuniar' interest IN spr,nk-
lers whatever. but 1t doth amaze me To
see these fires going on year atter year
when they might SO easiy ana ecohoini
cally he made th,ng OF tne past ara
D u