Sprinklered Fires.
The following brief notices of some fires that occurred last May in various parts of the United States throw light upon some of the strange causes from which fires may start, and at the same time show how far sprinkler systems are of service or the reverse:
In one of the buildings of the machine works of the Keuffel & Esser company, of Hoboken, N. J., the night watchman discovered a slight fire. He at once turned in an alarm; but by the time the department arrived the fire had already been put out by a stream from a small hose which had recently been installed in the building. One of the roof beams, upon which soot and dust had accumulated, bail been affected by a smouldering tire, caused by spontaneous combustion. Orders had been given that these roof beams should be cleaned t»ff once a week. These orders had not been obeyed. The beam was considerably charred. If the night watchman had not been so prompt, a destructive fire would have been the result.
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