New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-03-29
Tells City Club No Life Was
Ever Lost Where They
Were Used.
MAY SUE OWNERS WHO
DO NOT INSTALL THEM
Others Speak of Difficulties In
Making Another Triangle
Disaster Impossible.

Three Years After-Could the Triangle
Fire Occur Today" was the question dis
cussed yesterday at the weekly luncheon
OF the City Club. The question implied.
said Robert Adamson, Fire Commissioner,
who led the discussion, the BELIEF
that a wonderful progress had been
made in hre prevention since the IRE.
Although much had been accomplished.
he said. it was not true that a repetition
OF the fire was impossible.
The work of the Fire Prevention Blu
reau. he said, had been handicapped by
delays in getting it organized and by an
inadequate force with the result that
when he took Office as Fire Commissioner
there were more than 5000 complaints
that had never been investigated. and as
many more reports made against places
investigated but never executed because
of the lack OF sufficient Inspection force
In speaking OF fire prevention devices, he
said that the most effective was the
sprinkler system.
Few people will dispute the statement"
he said, that had the Triangle building
been equipped with automatic sprinkiers
no loss OF life would have occurred. The
records Of the Fire Department show that
no loss OF life has ever occurred in a
building so equipped. But in this matter
Of issuing orders for the installation Of
sprinklers the Fire Prevention Bureau
has met with most resistance. For almost
a year many sprinkler orders have been
held up because OF litigation over the
Kaye case TO test the power OF the bureau
in this matter.
I'VE have had several bad fires in fac
tories where sprinkler orders were issued.
but not complied with, and in one case
fifty firemen were overcome. am ad-
vised that the Fire Commissioner can sue
the owners Of such factories TO recover
the expense TO the department to extin-
gushing the fire and also to recover dam
ages for the iremen injured. ! have nov
under consideration such action"
A vast majority of fires in this city.
he said were caused BY carelessness.
which could be prevented only by educat-
ing the children in the schools as we'll as
grown-ups. He had taken up the matter
of such education in the schools with
Thomas w. Churchill. president of the
Board Of Education, and had received as
surances that his suggestions would soon
be put into effect
Joseph Q. Hammitt chief OF the Bureau
of Fire Prevention, told of the difficulties
of placing the bureau on a footing Of
efficiency.
In some far off millennium he said.
when every one wears asbestos clothing
and the species of hrebugs has become
extinct, there will be no fires 10 put out"
Robert D. Kohn. president Of the Ma
tional Fire Protection Association, criti-
cised the practice of placing men without
technical fitness in charge OF IRE proven
/ ton work which, he said. had come TO
/ be science, not to be undertaken by
amateurs.
"One result OF the Triangle fire." he
said, lis that we have four or five diff
ferent sets OF officials issuing orders. fire.
quently exactly counter to one another,
so that the owner does not know what &c
do. We must have standards, and one
single force of competent inspectors to dc
this work"
Miss Frances Perkins, secretary Of The
Committee on Safety, also spoke of the
effect of factory fires in throwing work
ers out of employment and increasing the
unemployed problem.