Semi-weekly herald., 1916-10-12
lures and careless methods of build

lures anu careless methods of build
ing.
nir. Dietrich called attention to
-4e great loss OF lie which occuieu
IN the Slocum disaster. The Iriquois
neatre, the Great Shirt Waist Fac
cory tIres and the Equitable Buiiu-
ing in New York. lie pointed out
me need OF fire drills in schools ana
.ompnmented the Durango School
Doard lor their attention TO this I'M
portant matter. The high school
building can be emptied Of 900 pupils
IN less than one minute.
Mr.. j. w. Turner, County Treas
Irer, then introduced Mir. f.. T..
clark, Special agent Of the Insurance
20. for the State OF Pennsylvania,
| Nho is one OF the best posted men
N the country on the Dean schedule
Of rating insurance. This is used BY
ali insurance companies in classify
.ng risks. Briefly, towns are divided
INTO classes from 1 TO q. To be in
lass l, a town has to have the very
oest fire fighting equipment, water
works, building construction, etc. In
lass are town which have no fire
protection at all.
he then entered into a careful ex-
planation OF how insurance schedules
are made, starting with brick
building with II inch wall, 20 by
% feet, with a wood floor, wood
Joists and composition roof, with no
exposure. The base rating in town
Jf Class 6 would be 80 cents per $l00
! 1alue. After this the insurance de
pends on the people who construct
he building. 1t is what they put
On to make fire that adds to the
insurance rate over DO cents per 800
Jalue. For instance, if non standard
kylight, or improper cornice, or
wooden partitions or non standard
openings are made, the rates is ad-
Sanced accordingly. The rate may
some to $l.50 or $500 per 500 val
Ie and in consequence the Insurance
20. is blamed for robbing the people
When as a matter of fact the build
er himself is to blame for faulty
construction.
Mr.. Clark pointed out that the In
surance Companies were not max
ng over IL per cent profit, which
very slender considering that at
Inytime a great conflagration may
appen which viii wipe out the In
iurance Company entirely.
Durango is in Glass a 1-2. On a
itandard brick building with 12
nch wall, 20 by 40 feet with wood
iloor, wood joists etc, the base rate
43 cents per S100 value. Mr..
lark pointed out other hazards in
building, such as stove-pipes thru
partitions, chimneys on brackets, etc.
f care were taken in building con-
itruction in Durango an insurance
ate Of 80 cents to So cents could be
made by the Insurance companies.
lie stated that the extreme hazard in
almost every town without fire pro-
ection ordinances is the electric wir-
ng and Durango is at fault also in
this articular
Citizens Of Durango can obtain the
advantage of the so-called Reduced
Rate Contribution Clause if the coun-
Ill would pass ordinances making
more stringent rules in building con-
;truction, storage of gasoline and ex-
llosives and the supervision of cleo
ric wiring, If mercantile risks car
| " 80 per cent of the value of their
property and these ordinances were
passed the saving of 15 to 25 per
cent in the cost of insurance could be
made. This is apart from changing
the Class from a 1-2 to 4, which by
the way, would save 10 per cent in
the cost Of insurance. To change
The class in Durango the system of
water mains should be radically over
hauled, cutting out the dead ends.
| Mr.. Hood drew attention TO our
reservoir capacity; ten million gal
Ions on Reservoir Hill and 16 million
gallons in the second reservoir and
our new fire fighting equipment. He
also advised that the council were
taking up with the Insurance I'm
derwriters question of their require
ments in the way Of ordinances and
gave assurance that every attempt
would be made to conform to these
requirements.
Mrs. Fred Egan gave very Hum
mating talk on the accidents in the
home which we hope to have review
ed in later issue.
Mr. II. G.. Rosseter master mechan-