The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-11-18
fire HAZARDS
NUMEROUSON
TIMES SURVEY
Prevention Chief Warns Of
Gasoline Use, Careless
Paper Handling.
ASHES PUT IN BASKETS
Apartments and Hotels in
Downtown Area Show
Little Caution.
BY DENNIS J. O'NEML

BY DENNIS J. O'NEILL
'-The vapor from one gallon Of
gasoline is equal in explosive power
to eighty-three pounds Of dyna-
mite"
Fire Prevention Chief Horace w.
Carey so informed $50 employees Of
factories located in the jackson
Bldg, 634-46 s. Meridian ST., on
the third day Of the fire hazard
survey being conducted by the In
dianapolis Fire Prevention Bureau
in cooperation with the Times.
Carey urged against cleaning In
the home with gasoline, benzine,
benzol, naphtha and commercial
explosive cleaner.
"For Is cents you can buy an
equal amount of carbon-tetra-
chloride, an equally good cleaner,
and instead of being inf1ammable 1t
is an exinguisber Of fire." Carey
said.
Gas Cleaning Causes Fires
He cited several local cases in re-
cent years in which home cleaning
with gasoline had been followed,
with disastrous fires, sometimes
with loss OF life.
Fire Inspectors Writ H. Torbet,
Charles . Seekamp, and Charles
Brooks assisted Carey in organic
ing the workers, with captain on
each of the buildings seven floors,
to practice fire drills.
This is the 18TH drill established
since Feb. /. An organization plan
has been developed by the bureau
and is being put into effect in
factories, department stores. and
Office buildings, whereby building
occupants are trained to- leave in
an orderly manner in case of fire.
Carey urged the workers to read
this series of disclosures of Indian
apolis fire traps.
Credit Given Times
"The Times is the only paper in
the city with nerve enough to print
the truth about indianapolis fire
hazards" Carey said.
Following the meeting, I accom-
panied Brooks on an inspection of
Illinois st. hotel and apartment
buildings, between st. Clair and
north SITS.
We found ten gallons of gasoline
in ffve-gallon cans in the rear of
a store room. A hotel is located on
the second and third floors Of the
same building.
The hotel has stairs at each end
of the building and a fire escape
at the back. This complies with
State law, even though the halls
are long and there are no avenues
of escape at either side of the
building.
Two fire extinguishers in the
hotel-one on each f1oor-were
tested on Nov. Z, 1925.
Fire Hazards Numerous
In the basement of the same
building, crates were piled under
the stairway, oil rags were on the
floor, and large box of excelsior
stood at the bottom of the stairs.
A three-story apartment buildirNs
nearby has paper tackled to its
boiler room ceiling beams. Origin
ally. the paper covered the entire
ceiling, but now it hangs in strips
some almost touching the top of
the furnace.
THAT paper has been there
eleven years and we never had .
fire." the custodian told us.
Rome lasted 814 years before its
serious conhagration.
One well-meaning, but mistaken,
rooming house keeper just had pur-
chased twelve bushel baskets in
which he intended to store his
winters ashes as they came glow
ing from the furnace. He was
ordered to substitute metal con-
tanners.
Other PeriIs Found
One apartment building had q
pile Of loose paper stored in the
furnace room, under the stairway,
which Brooks conservatively esti-
mated at "a wagon load"
The same building had open wir-
ing to a basement switch and
rubbish stored in closet off the
entrance corridor on the first floor.
The closet door stood open just
enough to permit Brooks to insert
his hasbught. A heavy piece of
antique furniture that we could
not bulge kept the door from OPEN
ing further.
Brooks pointed out that a Gig
aret could be tossed into the closet
and a resulting fire made difficult
to fight because of the obstacle in
the way Of the door.
Brooks issued orders against all
these unlawful conditions.
1.-THE trouble u.s." he said, people
obey the orders for a day and then
lapse back into their old careless
habits"