OCR Text |
Show THE "FIREPROOF" MYTH , ' . .v . "An important truth is constantly being emphasized by the experience of fires' occurring in so-called, 'fireproof 'fire-proof buildings, which are not what their name implies. In other words, while they will not burn 'down', they wiil burn 'out.' 'This fact has been demonstrated in several more or less recent occurrences, occur-rences, in somei instances in fires arising from outside exposure, and again from the contents, inflammable in their nature, becoming ignited and the fire spreading through ventilating ventilat-ing shafts and other openings to other floors, where more burnable material i3 stored,'' says the magazine, Fire Engineering. , " -. "No-matter how fire, resistant the yie structure itself may be, it i only as fireproof as its contents. -If the contents "are inflammable, there is just as likely to be a hot "and severe se-vere fire in the 'fireproof building as in that of less resistent. construction. construc-tion. . , , ."The term 'fireproof, as applied to buildings, is very deceiving, and its use should be discouraged, as it naturally nat-urally gives to 'those not well informed in-formed in the matter, a false sense of security which is dangerous in the extreme... "A much more sensible and certainly certain-ly truer term is. that of 'fire resistant,' resist-ant,' which tells the story of the modern mod-ern building, and emphasizes its advantages, ad-vantages, without exaggeration." . " 11 11 1 |