The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-26
r PREVENTION.
"Get" the Flre First and the People
win Not Have 10 "Get Away"

To THE EDITOR OF THE SCN-Sir: II.
II. j. Porter says in n letter to THE
L that while tho authorities are en-
deavoring to fix the responsibility for
the loss Of Me nj the Williamsburg
factory IRE II may be instructive to
look for fundamentals and SEQ whether
enforcement Of tho laws limiting the
number Of people permitted to work
in tho factory and insurIng safety TO
their lives would have tended to pre-
vent what happened" Mr.. Porter's
search for Fundamentally begins and
finishes with exits.
! Even the layinan uniformed in tech
meal matters knows that automatic
~snechanisms are much more dependable
than those dependent upon human ac-
ton. The safety to life committee Of
the National Fire Protection Associa-
ton AZ tho associations 1915 meet
ing said this OF the bisecting fire wall {:
"Thc committee feels that unwarranted
credit is being given horizontal exits
In division wallis. No one doubts the
ability to move persons more rapidly
and safely through n wall opening or
across a horizontal bridge than down
n flight of stairs. but tho trouble lies
in the fact that simply passing through
n wall In the same building does not
guarantee safety to those who u "
escaped in this way" The committee
described six conditions which would
menace the safety Of occupants In build
ings in which considerable increases In
numbers are allowed because OF the
bisect'ng fire wall. Therefore tho bisect-
ing fire wall cannot DO considered n
means of obtaining "a greater amount
of safety h any other means" More
over IL is n device whose attributes are
based more upon opinions than on facts.
However. IL ia mn excellent device. but
in that its success depends upon the
human equation, and tho percentage of
human error Ia far moro considerable
than that OF automatic m~echanisms. the
claim Of "a greater amount Of safety"
liz exaggerated.
The National Fire Prevention Asso-
citation committee also says that "it
IL to-day IN almost unquestioncd fact
that the automatic sprinkler affords the
largest degree OF protection of life
against fire. The immense number Of
fires which have either been promptly
~extinguishel or held in check by the
quick operation Of the automatic
sprinkler definitely demonstrates this
when the record Is compared with SINH
lar fires starting I'm buildings which had
no sprinkler protection and In which
large loss Of life has resulted" The
committee studied "A record OF 1874
fires and did not find a case where n
properly put In sprinkler system. main
tanned with adequate water supplies. did
not do its work.
The committee found ono case where
a life was lost In "A building fully
equipped with automatic sprinklcrs. 4
mechanic was working under an au-
tomobilc. A fire occurred under the
machine and so badly burned tho me-
chanic that no died IN the hospital. The
automatic %sprinklsrs overhead opened
and e~Xtinguished tho fire. And 90
prompt and efficient was tho action tina
all OF the hundreds of workers In the
building did moi know of the fire until
hours after. Nearly 100000 factory
workers IN North America enjoy SINH
lar immunity from fire uerlla.
II Is strange that persons seeking
the fundamentals Of safety from fire
persistently put the proposition Of get
ting away from the fire before tina of
getting tho fire before II gets away"
The fundamental test IL TO put out the
fire or confino 1, TO the locality OF
origin.
Put Il up souarely 70 the property
owners 10 provide safety inside build
ings n New York will rrallo condi-
tions Of safety that have been cstah-
nshed facts elsewhere IN tho country
for many years. 7. .. HoAGIASp.
Fire Prevention Engineer.
new YORK, November q.