TIMBER FOR 



the year 1913, It develops from this same source of informa- 

 tion that the average loss per fire in the United States was $532, 

 while the average in European cities was $82 greater or $614. 

 From this it is apparent that the average building in the United 

 States is a fourteen per cent better fire risk than the average 

 building in European cities. 



The whole fire question with respect to timber construction 

 largely resolves itself into the fact that the public has been told 

 about the fires in wooden buildings, while little or nothing has 

 been said about what actually happens to buildings of non-com- 

 bustible material. Fire prevention propaganda, based on 

 proper construction, adequate safeguards, elimination of haz- 

 ardous contents and carelessness, and .the use of automatic 

 sprinklers, will be welcomed by the lumbermen and go farther 

 towards actual reduction of losses than an attempt to create 

 prejudice against wood. 



A great many reports on fire prevention and the use of 

 structural materials in building, state that a carefully designed 

 timber structure is as safe against fire as any other type of 

 structure if all floors are isolated, elevators and stairways en- 

 closed in fireproof shafts with all openings protected by self- 

 closing doors, and proper sprinkler systems used throughout. 



A heavy timber which has been charred by fire becomes of 

 slow-burning nature due to the charred coating, in the same 

 manner that a solid log burns slowly. Even when charred, the 

 timber loses but little of its original strength, and the building 

 is not distorted nor weakened perceptibly. 



Mill Mill construction is a type of structure which 



Construction has been well known to engineers for many 

 years. Its advantages as an economical and 

 substantial form of building for warehouses, factories, and 

 many other uses are as strong today as ever, if properly de- 

 signed with well-selected structural timber. Heavy mill con- 

 struction with a sprinkler system is a very acceptable fire risk, 

 as evidenced by its being preferred over all other risks by strong 



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