Pueblo chieftain., 1921-01-09
BY f. II. STRONG

BY f. f. STRONG
Fires in the home are easier to pre-
vent than to extinguish.
The presence of engineers represent
ers, in Pueblo last August. directed
considerable attention to fire pre-
vcption and the revision of city ord
inances concerning same. but little
attention was given to the fire hazard
in the private dwelling.
The protection of the home from FIRE
is matter that has been sadly
neglected, tho it should receive
thoughtful consideration in the formu-
lating of building ordinances. which, at
regarding the construction of dwell
linCs.
Dwellings have the least protection
of any class of buildings and the ma
jority are absolutely devoid of fire re-
sisting features. No honest person can
have his house burn without suffering
serious financial loss even tho it be
fully insured. Loss of money is of
small consideration compared to the
appalling loss of life from fire. The
able loss of life over 10000 lives
per year in the United States, due to
fires. 1t is certain that large per-
centage of these result from fires in
dwellings,
The average fire loss year on
dwellings and contents for the years
13lS-191S inclusive was: on frame $50
$50, 7s7; on brick S4,s14 500. Total aver
age yearly loss for period noted above
in Colorado alone. frame S5oS.711; brick
4S5.359, or a total average of 1888. $40.
The losses are due to four leading
ca auses:
First and greatest: detective CHM
neys and fiues.
Second: exposure. caused largely by
frame construction and shfnEle roofs.
Fourth: stoves, furnaces. boilers, and
their pipes.
"A Code of Suggestions for Construc-
ton and Fire Protection of Dwellings.
and builder by applying to The Nation
al Board of Fire Underwriters, New
York city. The following suggestions
are quoted therefrcm.
Tho thickness Of bearing wans for
brick dwellings. not exceeding three
stories in height. should not be less
than Il inches, altho the use of s-inch
walls for dwellings is common, in
more stable and much less liable to be
ruined by expansion due to heat in
cass Of fire. Walls of hollow building
blocks are common in all parts of the
country. and proper construction
should be insisted upon. To insure
either be veneercd with brick. stone.
tile. or covered with stucco. Walls of
interior concrete blocks are almost
sure to be a total loss when subjected
tho web splitting in the middle of the
Blocks, due to unequal expansion of
tho walls. Also to general disinter-
grafton OF tho low grade concrete.
First class blocks are not subject to
this criticism. The practice of building
h0l1 r~k l. tA~ nd fOh
Inches thick should not be encouraged.
Wooden shingle roofs in combina-
ton with chimneys. defective or other
wise. have probably been accountable
for more dwelling house fires than
any other defect in construction or
equipment Records show that they are
responsible for over 20 per cent OF all
fire losses in dwellings. There arc
numerous instances of fires being
started on shingie roofs by tho burn
ing OF another ovcr half a mile away.
Therefore, the National Board OF Fire
Underwriters urges that wooden
shingles shall not be used whcrc 4 SAT-
er roofing can be secured.
Defective Chin,e,s
Statistics show that on an average
over one-ffth of all dwelling house
fires are due to defective chimneys,
construction is therefore the one most
important structural feature reducing
the chances of frc-
solid brick or concrete chimney
wallis shall not be less than four
inches thick. exclusive Of Nue lininge
All chimncya. Irrespective of which
material the walls are built, shall be
lined with FIRE clay fue lining or with.
fro brick The use of ordinary con-
crete blocks in chimney construction is
not recommended.
"A chimney shall never rest upon or
he carried by wooden floor beams or
brackets or huns from wooden
rafters.
Build an chfnneyR to q point al
least four feet above nat roofs and
three feet above the ridge of peaked
roofs. and provide a proper cappins of
stone. terra Gotta concrete. or cast
iron"
s1sks PtDes
NHs in Importance to correct con-
R4ruetfon OF the chimney Is tho proper
Installation and maintenance of smoke
pipes. Thousands of fires occur an
pually from detective smoke pipes,
,,S,, lie. Tho rsrs,tlt NJ