New-York tribune., 1921-09-14
Hylan Regime Ignored
1858 Violations and
so Blazes Since 1917.
Meyer Inquiry Reveals
Thousands Saved
BY Glass Drills
Expert Says $4, 500, 900
Is Needed for Repairs;
$25O,OOO Is Provided

Utter neglect Of the Hylan adm. Ais.
tration to safeguard the lives of the
city's school children against fire dan
gers was charged by Elon r, Brown
counsel for the Meyer legislative com.
mittee, at yesterdays session of the
committees investigation of the mu-
nicipality's affairs.
Testimony showed that notices of
1858 violations of the fire regulations
in 496 out of 695 public school build
ings, had been filed by the Bureau of
Fire Prevention of the Fire Depart
ment since January, 1918, when Mayor
Hylan took Office. Not one of these
violations, according to the record, had
been rectifed up to date.
Fifty Fires in Schools
More than fifty fires have taken place
in various of the city school buildings
in the four years of the Hylan admin
istration from causes similar to the
violations complained Of, it was tcsti-
fed, and the lives of thousands of chill
dren were saved only through their
training in fire drills.
Aiming S. Prall, president Of the
Board of Education, who was the com
mtteei's witness yesterday, attributed
the condition to the failure of the
Board, OF Estimate to provide the funds
for the necessary repairs. He insisted
that he had gone before the Board Of
Estimate every year for the last four
years with a demand for S250000 to
enable the educational authorities to
rectify the fire danger evils, and that
in each instance the request was
ignored.
He said the first appropriation for
the purpose was made on April % of
this year, the sum being $250,000. An
expert said that to correct all Of the
would cost at least $4,000, 900.
Among the dangers referred to, vary
ing widely in their seriousness, were
which could not be emptied
within three or three and half min
utes; wooden starways with obstruc-
tions; absence of fireproof and smoke
proof, self-closng doors; inside wooden
stairways, coat rooms with entrances in
corridors, bringing the danger Of con-
gestion in the halls; absence of suffi-
cient exits and the absence of fireproof
safeguards generally with special ref
erence to the ceilings Of boiler rooms.
Figures Reveal Peril
Mr.. Prall said that while ne knew
violations of the fire regulations had
come up for discussion before the
Board of Education from time to time,
he did not know personally the num-
Der of these violations complained of
during the last four years. Mr.. Brown
then submitted the following figures
for the period beginning January, 1918:
Manhattan, 2,743 violations; Brooklyn,
1915; Queens, 1,678; the Bronx, 1906;
Richmond 81, making total of 1853.
"Have you any. idea," Mr.. Brown
asked Of Mr. Prall, "that you wish to
offer the committee in relation to the
seriousness or non-seriousness of such
an extensive list of violations of the
fire prevention rules? ?"
II don't know the nature of the vio-
lations," replied Mr.. Prall. "They may
be serious and they may not. In any
event, I would unhesitatingly say that
they should be corrected"
Mr. Brown then pointed out to Pres
ident Prall that the Board of Education
had asked for fire prevention funds on
four different occasions during the first
four months of 1918, and once every
year following, without success
Requests Made Annually
"You made these requests annually ?"
asked Mr.. Brown.
Eyes, every year, of the Board of
Estimate, and we did not get any until
April %, 1921"
Mr. Prall then said he had requested
$1,500,OO0 for fire prevention purposes
for 1922, and that this was to be part
of the budget still to be worked out.
Mr.. Brown introduced extracts from
report of School Building Super
intendent C. B. J. Snyder to the super
intendent Of schools, in which the