Popular Science Monthly 



653 



Solidly locked when 

 not needed, the outside 

 doors of the stable are 

 held shut by triggers 

 connected with a shaft 

 which runs the length 

 of the building and is 

 operated by a single 

 lever. The device can 

 be arranged to operate 

 automatically in case 

 of fire. In this case a 

 weight lifts the lever 

 — the weight being re- 

 leased when any of the 

 fusible metal sections of 

 a cable are burnt out in 

 any part of the stable 



Diagram 

 of door 

 release 

 system. 

 The tim- 

 ber at 

 the top 

 of the 

 doorway 

 is a shaft 

 connect- 

 ed with 

 the gate 

 at the 

 rear, which 



A Stable Door Which Opens When a Fire Breaks Out 



When the door, which is hung on gravity hinges, is unlatched, it falls open. When released, 

 the gate drops and the animal is prevented from backing into the stable. As the door is 

 opened still farther the manger collapses and falls to the floor, the opening of the door hav- 

 ing released the rods which support it. This all occurs in an instant. The animal is forced 



to move out into the open air 



