The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1916-02-11
%"FIREPROoF" is ONLY
No Form of Construction Yet
Devised Really Defes the
Flames.

really tlrepr0Of remains an an
solved problem, in spite OF the
best efforts of our scientific men
Periodically a new absolutely
freproof material OF method is
announced, and frequently ehe-e
is erected a building gaaran-
teed' to be impergious to fire ;
but when the test comes the
result to all intents and purposes
is the same-the flames prove
again their claim to the descrip-
tive adjective "all devouring. .
"Fireproof'' structures that ar
not actually consumed crumble
or collapse and are left ghastiy
ruins less suspectible of restor-
alton and less capable of yielding
salvage than buildings commonly
regarded as being least resistent
to fire. Fireproofing methods
and the best of the least com
bustible materials unquestionab-
ly retard the spread of fires, but
once the flames gain vigorous
Roadway in any building, what
ever the material used in its con-
struction, the result is practical
ruin Of the structure. Steel is
bent, twisted and otherwise con
torted by fierce heat, and con-
crete, hailed a few years ago as
a substance eternal before which
the forces of nature we're power
less, bursts, crumbles and falls to
bits or remains a lettering anu
lifeless shell scarcely capable Of
supporting its own weight.
Thomas A. Edison, the wizard
Of invention, was for years an en-
thusiastic advocate of 'ffeproof"
and otherwise "indestrucctible"
concrete construction. He not
only urged the general adoption
of concrete in the construction
Of dwellings, exercising his in
ventive genius to design plans
for such, but he favored the use
of concrete furniture in his con-
crete houses. 1t is probable his
opinions have undergone revision
since the great fire in his factor
les at West Orange, New Jersey,
last December when the loss ex-
ceeded five million dollars. Mr..
Edison carried no insurance on
his concrete buildings, because
he had convinced himself they
were ireproof. In its description
Of the fire the New York Herald
of December 10 said:
although twelve of the build
ings destroyed were of modern
fireproof construction and sup
posedly freproof, they furnished
a lesson for architects and build
ers. Fireproof in themselves,
because of the inhammable mat
erial they contained, and when
the fire in them was at its height
the cement framework of the
structures became fairly incan-
descent in the heat, standing out
as great glittering white frames
and casting a tremendous heat
throughout a wide radius.
Frequently great chunks of
superheated concrete would be
cast off from the structure, and
these chunks would crash to the
ground and be shattered into
thousands of fragments, each
atom forming an incandescent
spark that %glittered brightly as
it shot through the air like
sparks from a blacksmith's an.
viii"
The further effect of the heat
on the "freproof" walls of tn,
factory building was indicated
by the following from the New
York Journal of Commerce 0.
December IL:
mo insurance was carried OF
the buildings of so-called fire
proof construction. A fireman
happened to lean against a thicI
and apparently strong concret
wall yesterday and it toppled ov