New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-11-26
BAD FACTORY CONDITIONS LOCALIZED
An Engineer Analysis Laws Requirements the Case of the Williams
burg Factory Which Burned-I1ow Over-occupancy Was
Permitted Resulting in Disaster

what would it have cost? 1t would have al
lowed 120 people to occupy each floor, and
il could have been introduced into this
tuildng at an expense in the neighborhood
Of $4,000. OF course the permission granted
by this amendment to the law Is a still fur-
Their violation of the spirit OF the statute
which says that the number allowed to
occupy building or portion OF 1t shall be
limited TO the number that can safely escape
by the means of exit provided, and If the
means of exit already provided allowed only
sixty a floor, surely the installation OF a
sprinkler system mot being an exit facility
should not provide an increase in the occu-
pancy, and, as far as safety is concerned,
sprinkler system, being automatic in It's
action, does not always work. There are
valves, tanks, pumps and other parts which
may get out of order. There are concerns
which make living inspecting and supervis-
ing sprinkler systems, and unless sprinkler
system is supervised il rs uncertain of action.
But the law does not require this super
vision; therefore, when fire comes there
may be no water there to put it out, and it
is evident what will happen to the people.
II such supervision is desired it would cost
more money-$500 year for building like
this. But if the sprinkler system does work
InC IRE must SCI IL Oii anu II HiuSb som
Roadway to set it off and this takes time.
Meanwhile, people do not sit around waiting,
but as soon as the fire starts they go, and
as many people as can crowd into stairway
OIL each floor do so, and in this instance the
stairway would accommodate only ten a
floor, and the other 10 would have to re-
main on the floor TO await such casualty as
would confront them.
Ru- laW Saws that there is still another
way whereby the building owner can in
crease the occupancy and at the same time
obtain a greater amount of safety than
would be offered by any other means. This
H. by erecting a fire wall through his build
ing, practically bsecting it, This fire wall
must have doorways on each floor, covered
by freproOf doors. In case fire should
occur on one side of this wall all the people
have TO do TO escape from 1t is to walk
through the doorways in the wall (whlch
would not take more than a minute, close
the freproof doors after them, and then they
find themselves in what is practically sepa-
rate building in which there is no fire and
from each floor of which they can at their
leisure descend to the ground by the exist
ing exit facilities.
A fire wall in this building would cost
not TO exceed $500 a floor, or, say, $4,000
all told, and in addition fire alarm system
would have 10 be installed, costing, say, $500.
The law now requires that the stairways on
both sides Of this fire wall should be fire
PROCEED and that fire drill should be IN
stalled Both of these requirements are un-
necessary and the Industrial Board has omit,
ted them under the recent variations and
amendments With these omissions, there is
therefore greater probability that the
building owner would be willing to spend
SIS 800 to secure floor occupancy Of nearly
500. with the assurance in addition that
abundant safety would be secured for every
body in the building, than to spend $1,000
for a floor occupancy Of only 100, with no
assurance of safety for anybody.
These facts have been known since the
present laws were put the statute books
Under them conditions have not been i'm
proved; in fact, the bad conditions existing
n: the time of the Triangle fire are now
legalized The alternative offered to the
occupants of our factories of burning to
death or jumping to death" is still extended.
If we are seeking where to place respon-
sibility il must be divided between five bod
les. the one which drafted the laws, the one
which enacted them, the two which were
established 70 enforce them and the one in
trusted with the duty of seeing that they
were maintained on the statute books and
that the bodies created TO enforce them per-
Termed their functions. This fire demon
strates the way democracy works; and
until the people select efficient officials and
give them the necessary equipment to per-
form their functions effectively we must ex-
pect inef'iciency and suffer the consequences.
II. +. j. PORTER. |
New York, Nov is, 1915.