HOW A BEAM HOLDS FIRE.

HOW A BEAM HOLDS FIRE.

The great length of time a beam of wood, in favorable circumstances, will continue to smoulder has been proved again by a discovery at Selby abbey. Although the fire there had occurred nine months previously, workmen early last month found that a beam imbedded in the walls of the tower had been slowly smouldering ever since. The discovery was made as the men were preparing to remove the beam ends which formerly sup ported the ringing floor. There can be no doubt that fires in old houses have often been caused by the sudden bursting into flame of charred ends of beams built into chimneys or under hearths, which have been smouldering for long periods before the conflagration broke out.—The London Fireman.

The great length of time a beam of wood, in favorable circumstances, will continue to smoulder has been proved again by a discovery at Selby abbey. Although the fire there had occurred nine months previously, workmen early last month found that a beam imbedded in the walls of the tower had been slowly smouldering ever since. The discovery was made as the men were preparing to remove the beam ends which formerly sup ported the ringing floor. There can be no doubt that fires in old houses have often been caused by the sudden bursting into flame of charred ends of beams built into chimneys or under hearths, which have been smouldering for long periods before the conflagration broke out.—The London Fireman.