Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-17
HANGAR SPRINKLER
TESTS ARE PLANNED
Site at Bureau of Standards
Will Be Used in Trying
Out Effectiveness.

The national committee on wood
utilization of the Department of Com
merce, which now is making a study
of the subject of airport structures, is
cooperating in the work of the fact
finding committee on automatic sprin-
killer protection for airplane hangers, and
will construct an airplane hangar at
tn" Bureau of Standards in which to
conduct the proposed tests to deter-
mine the effectiveness of automatic
sprinkler systems, according to DR.. Axel
H. Oxholm, director of the national
committee on wood utilization.
This hangar is to be constructed OF
wood with a concrete foundation and
floor. and will be IS feet by 80 feet
inside dimension with Is feet clearance
between the floor and lower chord of
roof trusses. Arrangements have been
made with the Bureau of Standards for
the use of a suitable site, and con-
struction is to be started at once. 1t
is expected that the hangar will be
completed and ready for the tests in
about six weeks.
According to Col. Harry H. Blee,
chief of the airports division of the
aeronauticS branch and chairman OF
the fact-finding committee, three con-
ferenceS have been held at the request
of the National Board of Fire Under
writers for the purpose of discussing
with the aviation industry the boards
proposed code for the construction and
protection of airports. Two of these
conferences were held in Washington
under the auspices of the aeronautics
branch of the Commerce Department,
and one was held during the Chicago
aircraft show under the auspices of the
Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce.
At all three conferences the industry
objected to the requirements of the code
with respect to automatic Sprinklers.
AS result the national board has
agreed to postpone the PRONUNCIATION of
its code pending the making of a series
of tests to determine the effectiveness
of automatic skrinklerS in controlling
airplane hangar fires
The committee organized by the De-
partment of Commerce to arrange and
conduct such tests includes:
Col. Harry H. Blee, chairman, aero
nautics branch, Department of Com
merce; w. S. Garland, bureau of aero
nauticS, Navy Department; r. W. Hen
bricks. Underwriters Laboratories: Ira
G. Hoagland, National Automatic
Kennedy, u. S. Army Air Corps; w.
Laurence LIE Page, Aeronautic Chamber
of Commerce of America; Nolan D.
Mitchell, Bureau of Standards H. E.
Newell, National Board of Fire Under
writer's; Starr Truscott, national ad-
visory committee for aeronautics.
The Bureau of Standards, in addi-
ton to naming representative on the
committee, has agreed to furnish such
personnel and instruments as may be
necessary for making adequate records
of these tests. which contemplate tests
of the wet-pipe and dry-pipe systems
and also of the open sprinkler system
with automatically controlled water
supply operated by thermoStatic devices
It Is planned that the tests of each
system shall include four types of fires:
% fire from exterior source; (2) fire
starting inside of wing due to faulty
wiring; 90 fire starting in fuselage
due to gasoline leak; and a. fire start
ing from gasoline on floor from leaky
connections.