Fire Prevention and Fire Protection

Fire Prevention and Fire Protection

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At the outset of my remarks I desire to express to you my sincere thanks for the invitation to address the International Association of Fire Engineers. The subject of fire prevention and fire protection is an exhaustive one; it would require unlimited time to go thoroughly into the many interesting branches. It is therefore my intention to briefly synopsis the many interesting features pertaining to fire prevention and with your permission place the details of my discourse on file in the minutes of your meeting here to-day for future reference. The only means of reaching the people on the necessity of fire prevention is to bring to their minds in language which is most resolute and even terrifying the dangers which threaten them. It is hard to realize, when reading newspaper reports of some great conflagration, quite what it all means; it seems so far away, so entirely remote, it is passed over and forgotten. Suddenly there comes a day when the fire menace appears in all its lurid horror; then the lack of knowledge of the means of fire prevention makes itself manifest, and the total lack of life saving apparatus is then taken up—too late to save the hundreds of souls which have perished in the flames. Fire prevention or preventive measures against fire directly bears upon the causes, which must be divided into “hazards.” This term probably expresses the meaning better than any word in the English vocabulary. The “hazards" can be said to be divided into the ordinary hazard, the special hazard, incendiarism, and the hazard caused by carelessness; it would also embrace the educational features and building laws with other regulations which deal with preventive measures. In considering construction, one must not confound fire-resisting with non-combustible material Fire resisting construction must first be properly planned or designed along the lines above mentioned, which in itself will constitute fire protective features of importance which should be found in public buildings, theaters, schools, etc. To be really fire resisting, no building can be considered such unless backed up with auxiliary or automatic fire fighting equipment; with this, fire resisting qualities of any construction must be considered questionable.