New-York tribune., 1922-01-31
Theater Roofs
Here Built to
Hold Big Snow
Designed to Sustain Ten
Feet 10 Square Foot Of
Area. Asserts a Designer
Of Many New York Houses
Secs Weakness i'm Law
Fleischmann Would Ii
ccnsc Engineers 10 Com.
pei Observance Of Statute

Motion picture thcater roofs in this
city are designed to carry ten feet Of
snow to the cubic foot Of space. it was
explained yesterday by Leon Flc,sch
mann, of the Flcischmann Construction
Company. designers Of many of the
larger thcaters and motion picture
houses in New York. thus obvating the
danger Of repetition o. he Washing
ton disaster. which cost the lives Of
more than hundred persons.
Engineers, according TO Mr.. Fleisch-
mann. arc required by the Building
Code in New York to allow for forty
pounds live load square foot on a
nat roof or roof up 10 q slant of 20
degrees. For roof more slanting than
20 degrees the load may be reduced to
thirty pounds square foot, Mr.
Fleischmarn said.
The factor of safety usually used i'll
theater construction is five. or the
engineer must build his roof so strong
that 1t will support five times the load
a square foot that is required In New
York, where the live load allowed is
forty pounds, he must make his roof
strong enough to support five times
forty, or 250 pounds square foot at
less than an angle of 20 degrees. or
five times thirty, $50 pounds a square
foot of roof inclined more steeply than
20 degrees.
Weakness in Law Cited
Wet snow is calculated by engineers
to weigh about twenty-five pounds q
cubic foot. A roof capable of support
ing 700 pounds cubic foot therefore
could carry ten feet of wet snow be
fore reaching the breaking point.
The weakness of the New York law.
according TO Mr.. Fleischmann, lies in
the lack of any Law providing that en-
gineers Who draw their plans -hou,d
be licensed to insure their living up
10 the law, than in danger that the
provisions of the law would not insure
safety.
The Washington building code diff
fers from that of New York in load
because its climate is more moderate,
1t was explained by II. Robbss. con-
suitlng engineer. who makes spe-
clalty of theatcrs. In Washington, he
said. the roof must be constructed so as
to support twenty five pounds a SQUARE
foot for fiat roof. A ,oad of ten to
thirty pounds is added according to
the angle of the roof for wind PRESSURE
Brady Sees No Peril Here
Charles Brady. Superintendent Of
Buildings for Manhattan. said that
there is no danger that New York City
Will experience tragedy similar to
the one in Washington. declaring that
the safety limit here "is set At a much
lower figure than the construction
could stand
The only collapscs Of construction
that have occurred here recently have
/ been in the canopies Of two motion
( picture theatcrs. be said The causes
for these accidents never has been de
termincd. MIR. Brady admitted that his
depa rtment had not inspected any other
canopies nor changed the regulations
as result of these accidents
Rigid reinspecton of al Ncw York
theater buildings and the closing Of
+ those found at all unsafe until such
/ time as the necessary repairs have
/ been made, and the placing of men in
the Office of the Commissioner of
/ Public Works who have sufficient abi-
ity to pass on all plans submitted by
architects. are recommendations made
IN statement issued yesterday by
Chief Magistrate McAdoo, who for the
last few weeks has been conducting a
John Doe inquiry into the collapse of
Brooklyn theater at Park and Bed
ford avenues. When the roof of the
building gave way on November 29
last seven workmen were killed and
seventeen others injured
Dlstrlct Attorney John T.. Ruston Of
Brooklyn also issued a statement urg-
ing the imm ediate inspection by compo-
tent engineers is precauton agaius,
a recurrence Of the Washington diss $
ter. Mr.. Euston declared that the John
Doe investiga ton had shown that loose
methods III the Brooklyn Building De
partment in passing on plans and en-
forcing safeguards had demonstrated
tie pressing need for such an inspec
tion.