The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-10-31
wby CONGREGATIONS Occur.

Why CONGREGATIONS Occur. :.
Fires start from a variety Oh
causes They spread and become
conflagrations mainly because OF one
reason-improper constructor, az
lcompanied in many instances py IN
adequate water supply ana nre ue-
partment protection. Wlthout aue
ouate protection, the number or con-
ifiagrations would doubtless be great
lily Increased.
Improper construction involves
such matters as inflammable roofs
and walls, unprotected elevator, light
ing or ventilating shafts; large I'M
divided areas, the lack of fire doors
/ he absence of approved shutters or
wire glass for windows, and the lay
| ing out of a city in such way that
there are no intentional, and few ac-
cidental. fire stops in the shape Oh
j fre-resistive buildings, open spaces,
or water ways.
! A high wind has usually, II not AZ
ways, been an important influence IN
spreading CONGREGATIONS, put il
structural conditions were favorapie
the wind velocity would not be OF
great Importance, since the names
would lack fuel to feed upon. VI
should be mentioned here that DIG
fires create their own draft owmg 10
the immense volume of rising heat.
This causes a partial vacuum which
cold air rushes in to fill,) Fire de-
partment efficiency, water supply,
topography and street conditions are
vital factors, and delay in turning IN
me alarm has also figured as
reason for fires getting beyond con-
troll.
In the Baltimore conflagration the
building where the blaze originated
had an open well for the elevator
shaft and stairway ga most repre-
,hensible practice), and by this con-
venient avenue the flames swept
uuickly through the structure. An eX-
plosion occurred that lifted the root
and shattered every window above
the first floor as we'll as many IN
neighboring structures. The names
shot out with a loud whfstling sound,
and as nearby buildings were not
protected by wire glass windows or
shutters they became virtually horl
zontal flues through which the flames
, whirled from structure to structure
What sprinkler system would have
saved Baltimore, had one been In
IStall6Q III lie VI ,AiS H'N'A y
! can be estimated, for the total loss
. was placed at $40,000,000. Even il
} the elevator and stair well had beer
> enclosed, the fire would probably
2 Ihave been confined to IT'S place O.
4 origin.
:. In San Francisco an accident de
9 prived the city. of it's fire chief ant
!. Handicapped the fight from the start
J. but the true reason for the spread o
g the flames was the character OF thu
: buildings, despite the fact that thu
l., Iearthquake burst the large main sup
plying most of the city's water Thu
I'uuake scattered boiler fires ant
household fires, and the live coal
a Iignited combustible material present
# but the blazes would in all LIKELIHOOD
q have been extinguished had struc
r. tural conditions been favorable
q There were number of private arte
q sian wells and they were called upo1
>. ito smother local fires, but the ali
'. thus secured was not sufficient t
- stem the tide of destruction becaus
g of the inf1ammable nature of the city
, II had been built to burn and not TO
IS safety.
In a report made at the time, !
A. was pointed out that or cerfai
o