Chapter 10 of 21 · 3964 words · ~20 min read

Part 10

Of further expenses which have to be considered, there are items for fire research and fire inquest. If managed economically, due confidence being placed in the opinions of the fire officers and surveyors, there is no reason why the outlay should be great. The statistical work would only require some clerical aid. Where special coroners are retained for criminal cases some extra money will of course be required; but even here the costs need not be excessive, as there are many retired fire brigade officers and fire surveyors who are well suited for the work, and would be satisfied with a small emolument.

As to the cost of the water supply, there are but few places where special fire high-pressure mains are laid on in the interests of fire protection. As a rule the costs which are debited to the heading "Fire Protection" have simply to cover the maintenance of hydrants and tablets, or at the most the cost of the water actually used for fire-extinguishing purposes. Sometimes the cost of hydrants is shared with the scavenging department or the commission of sewers, which also have the use of them. Where the provision of water and hydrants falls to a private water company, the property owners will be paying their share for them, indirectly, in the form of water rates.

The protective measures referred to will serve both for life-saving and for the protection of property. It should be remembered that a good staircase and a ladder are often as useful for the manoeuvring of the firemen as for life-saving purposes, and that they are practically as essential for the saving of property as for saving life. No distinction need be made between the two risks when speaking of fire protection in general; but as the safety of the most valueless life is generally classed higher than that of the most valuable property, it may be well to give life-saving the first place when alluding to the two separately.

Criminal fire-raising only prevails where the fire-protective system is defective. With good construction and a fire survey, the quick arrival of the firemen, and careful inquests, the risks of detection are as a rule far too great to encourage its growth.

_Saving of Life._--Under "Fire Prevention" special requirements in the Building Act can greatly influence the safety of life by requiring practical exits and sufficient staircase accommodation. The risks in theatres and assembly halls require separate legislation. In ordinary structures no inmate of a building should be more than sixty feet away from a staircase, and preferably there should be two staircases at his disposal in the event of one being blocked. Generally, attention is only given to the construction of staircases; but it must be pointed out that their ventilation is equally important. Smoke is even a greater danger than fire, and may hamper the helpers terribly. The possibility of opening a window has saved many a life.

_Safety of Property._--As far as the protection of property is concerned, the prevention of outbreaks can be influenced by the careful construction of flues, hearths, stoves, and in certain classes of buildings by the construction of floors and ceilings, the arrangement of skylights, shutters and lightning conductors. Then comes the prevention of the fire spreading, first, by the division of risks, and secondly, by the materials used in construction.

The legislator's first ambition must be to prevent a fire in one house from spreading to another, and a stranger's property, so to say, from being endangered. This is quite possible, given good party walls carried well over the roof to a height regulated by the nature of the risk, the provision of the shutters to windows where necessary, and the use of fire-resisting glass. Again, a thoroughly good roof--or still better, a fire-resisting attic floor--can do much. If the locality has a fire brigade and the force is efficiently handled, "spreads" from one house to another should never occur. Narrow thoroughfares and courts are, however, a source of danger which may baffle all efforts to localize a fire. This should be remembered by those responsible for street improvements.

The division of a building or large "risk" into a number of minor ones is only possible to a certain extent. There is no need to spend enormous sums to make each of the minor "risks" impregnable. The desire should be simply to try to retard the spread for a certain limited time after the flames have really taken hold of the contents. In those minutes most fires will have been discovered, and, where there is an efficient fire-extinguishing establishment, a sufficient number of firemen can be on the spot to localize the outbreak and prevent the conflagration from becoming a big one. In the drawing-room of an ordinary well-built house, for example, if the joists are strong and the boards grooved, if some light pugging be used and the plastering properly done, if the doors are made well-fitting and fairly strong, a very considerable amount of furniture and fittings can remain well alight for half an hour before there is a spread. In a warehouse or factory "risk" the same holds good. With well-built wooden floors, thickly pugged, and the ceilings perhaps run on wire netting or on metal instead of on laths, with ordinary double ledged doors safely hung, at the most perhaps lined with sheet iron or asbestos cloth, a very stiff blaze can be imprisoned for a considerable time. Many of the recent forms of "patent" flooring are exceedingly useful for the division of "risks," and with their aid a fire can be limited to an individual storey of a building, but it should not be forgotten that even the best of flooring is useless if carried by unprotected iron girders supported, say, by some light framing or weak partition. The general mistake made in using expensive iron and concrete construction is the tendency to allow some breach to be made (for lifts, shafting, &c.), through which the fire spreads, or to forget that the protection of the supports and girder-work requires most careful attention.

Of the various systems of "patent" flooring, as a rule the simpler forms are the more satisfactory. It should, however, always be remembered that any specific form of flooring alone does not prevent a fire breaking from one "risk" to another. They should go hand in hand with general good construction, and naked ironwork must be non-existent. Some of the modern fire-resisting floors are too expensive to permit their introduction for fire protection alone. In considering their introduction, the general advantages which they afford as to spans, thickness, general stability, &c., should be taken into account. A practical installation of floors, partitions, doors, &c., should, first, not increase the cost of a building more than 5%, and secondly should add to the general value of the structure by giving it a more substantial character.

The danger of lift wells, skylights and shaft openings should not be forgotten. The last should be as small as possible, well armed with shutters, the skylights should have fire-resisting glass, and the lifts not only vertical doors, but also horizontal flaps, cutting up the well into sections. The question of light partitions must also not be neglected.

Division of "risks," common-sense construction, and proper staircase accommodation are really all that fire protection requires, and where the special Building Act clauses have been kept within the lines indicated, there has been little friction and discontent. It is only as a rule when the authorities are eccentric in their demands that the building owner considers himself harassed by protective measures.

Fire survey regulations should mainly aim at preventing the actual outbreak of fire. In certain classes of risks fire survey can also increase the personal safety of the inmates and lessen the possibility of a fire spreading. The provision of fire-escapes or ladders, and a regular inspection of their efficiency, will do much. The examination of a rusty door-catch may save a building. The actual preventive work of the surveyor will, however, mostly consist in warning property owners against temporary stoves standing on ordinary floor boards, sooty chimneys, badly hung lamps, dangerous burners and gas brackets fixed in risky positions. Self-help will be greatly facilitated by the judicious arrangement of fire-extinguishing gear, and a like inspection of its efficiency. Hydrants and cocks must not rust, nor must the hose get so stiff that the water cannot pass through it, or sprinklers choked. Hand pumps and pails must always stand ready filled. One of the greatest errors generally made in distributing such apparatus is disregard of the fact that the amateur likes to have an easy retreat if his efforts are unsuccessful, and if this is not the case, he may not, perhaps, use the gear at all.

With regard to regulations governing "special risks," so far as the safety of the public in theatres and public assembly halls is concerned, attention should be chiefly given to the exits. Spread of fire, and even its outbreak, are secondary considerations. A panic caused by the suspicion of a fire can be quite as fatal as that caused by the actual start of a conflagration. In the storage of petroleum in shops, direct communication should be prevented between the shop or cellar and the main staircase or the living rooms. The sale of dangerous lamps and burners should be prohibited.

_Fire-resisting Materials._--One of the greatest misnomers in connexion with fire prevention was originally the description of certain materials and systems of construction as being "fire-proof." This has seriously affected the development of the movement towards fire prevention, for, having regard to the fact that nothing described as "fire-proof" could be fire-proof in the true sense, confidence was lost in everything so described, and in fact everything described as "fire-proof" came to be looked on with suspicion. In order to decrease this suspicion and obtain a better understanding on the subject, the International Fire Prevention Congress of London in 1903, at which some 800 representatives of government departments and municipalities were present, discussed this matter at considerable length, and they arrived at conclusions which, in consideration of their importance in affecting the whole development of fire-resisting construction, are published below. It is the classification of fire resistance adopted by this congress in 1903 that has been utilized by all concerned throughout the British empire, and in numerous other countries, since that date.

The resolutions adopted by the congress embodied the recommendations contained in the following statement issued by the British Fire Prevention Committee:--

The executive of the British Fire Prevention Committee having given their careful consideration to the common misuse of the term "fire-proof," now indiscriminately and often most unsuitably applied to many building materials and systems of building construction in use in Great Britain, have come to the conclusion that the avoidance of this term in general business, technical, and legislative vocabulary is essential.

The executive consider the term "fire-resisting" more applicable for general use, and that it more correctly describes the varying qualities of different materials and systems of construction intended to resist the effect of fire for shorter or longer periods, at high or low temperatures, as the case may be, and they advocate the general adoption of this term in place of "fire-proof."

Further, the executive, fully realizing the great variations in the fire-resisting qualities of materials and systems of construction, consider that the public, the professions concerned, and likewise the authorities controlling building operations, should clearly discriminate between the amount of protection obtainable or, in fact, requisite for different classes of property. For instance, the city warehouse filled with highly inflammable goods of great weight requires very different protection from the tenement house of the suburbs.

The executive are desirous of discriminating between fire-resisting materials and systems of construction affording _temporary_ protection, _partial_ protection, and _full_ protection against fire, and to classify all building materials and systems of construction under these three headings. The exact and definite limit of these three classes is based on the experience obtained from numerous investigations and tests, combined with the experience obtained from actual fires, and after due consideration of the limitations of building practice and the question of cost.

The executive's minimum requirements of fire-resistance for building materials or systems of construction will be seen from the standard tables appended for--

I. Fire-resisting floors and ceilings, II. Fire-resisting partitions, III. Fire-resisting doors,

but they could be popularly summarized as follows:--

(a) That temporary protection implies resistance against fire for at least three-quarters of an hour.

(b) That partial protection implies resistance against a fierce fire for at least one hour and a half.

The conditions under this resistance should be obtainable, the actual minimum temperatures, thickness, questions of load, and the application of water can be appreciated from the annexed tables by all technically interested, but for the popular discrimination---which the executive are desirous of encouraging--the time standard alone should suffice.

It is desirable that these standards become the universal standards in this country, on the continent and in the United States, so that the same standardization may in future be common to all countries, and the preliminary arrangements for this universal standardization are already in hand.

_Fire Combating._--As to self-help, complication must always be avoided. The amateur fireman must be drilled on the simplest lines. One thing which must be instilled into him is not to waste water--a sure sign of lack of training. Of course the drills must be on the same lines as those of the local brigade, and on no account should other gear be used for self-help than is generally customary in that force. When volunteers and regulars work together, the former should always remember that the paid force are experts, though the regulars must never have that contempt for volunteer work so often noticeable. Volunteers are often men who are probably experts in some other vocation outside fire-fighting, and have not had the opportunities which a professional fire-fighter has had.

_Standard Table for Fire-resisting Floors and Ceilings._

_Standard Table for Fire-resisting Partitions._

_Standard Table for Fire-resisting Single Doors, with or without Frames._

_Transmission of Fire-Calls._--There are several methods of transmitting the message of a fire-call. The simplest is, of course, to run direct to the nearest fire-station; but this is only possible where the distance is short. In one or two cities, however, the number of fire-stations is so great that they are very close to one another, and hence "direct" calls are generally recorded.

Then comes the system of special messengers. The fire is reported at some public office, police-station or guard-room, where there are always runners ready to start off to the nearest fire-station. The special runner is here practically a makeshift for the more modern telegraph or telephone line, and it is believed that the only city in which this system is employed is one where the unsettled political atmosphere has compelled the authorities to prohibit the construction of any telegraph lines other than those for the use of the general postal service. Similar messenger services have, however, also been introduced in connexion with the telegraphic signalling system. Private enterprises known as "general messenger" or "call-boy" services, which are organized for business purposes, have the advantage of including the fire-call and the police-call. In the same way that a cab can be signalled, a call may come for a fire-engine, and the ever-ready runner makes off to the fire-station instead of to the cab rank. As a rule, these messenger offices are near the fire-station. The combination is rather a curious one, as it embraces the most advanced notions of giving every "risk" its own fire-call, and the somewhat ancient one of the special runner.

Another system for facilitating the fire-call relies entirely on the public telephone system, the terms of subscription to which may compel holders to forward fire messages if required to do so. This system allows for such development as the payment of retaining fees to porters in public and other buildings which have a night service, on condition that the fire-call shall be promptly despatched. The telephones are, perhaps, even provided free, if they are not forthcoming; but it should be remembered that the service always goes through a general telephone exchange, which is, of course, open day and night.

In the special telephone line system special wires are laid from buildings which are practically open all the year round direct to their nearest fire-stations, and some payment is again made for prompt attention. Sometimes the telegraph takes the place of the telephone, but this requires the porter or attendant to be specially trained to the work. To simplify matters, the buildings are sometimes provided with automatic fire-calls instead of telephones; but the principle of the system remains the same. In districts where there are few public offices, the list of buildings at which messages can be handed in has been frequently augmented by a set of bakeries or apothecaries' shops, where night service is not unusual.

What may be termed semi-public street alarms come next. Automatic fire-calls are put up in the street, but their handles are under lock and key, and the keys are distributed only among policemen, watchmen or householders, and the messages can, therefore, only be given by persons known to the authorities.

The public automatic street-call is the simplest system next to the direct message. Private automatic fire-calls or telephones can be laid on from dangerous risks, and there has even been an instance where an attempt was made to give every householder a private fire-call. This system is, however, unfortunately too extreme for the municipal purse. If in connexion with some other paying enterprise, as in the case of the messenger services referred to, it would be a different matter, though it should also not be forgotten that too great a number of call points means a probable repetition of signals of the same fire, and a risk of too many sections of the fire brigade being on the road to it.

Besides these forms of "call," there is also the private alarm. Dangerous buildings are frequently provided with telephones, alarm-posts, or even automatic temperature indicators, by which a call can be given direct from the "risk" involved.

Call points should be not only conspicuous, but also in most frequented positions. Possibly, in some towns, a point in front of a church would be the best; in others, the front of a public-house. It should always be remembered that every facility should be given to enable as many people as possible to know the whereabouts of the call points without any distinct effort on their part. Red paint may make a call pillar conspicuous by day, and a coloured lamp by night.