40 SAFETY OF LIFE FROM FIRE AT SEA. 



sprinklers in the United States and Canada there are 2,225,000 employees who are 

 safe from fire. The fire records show, however, an appalling loss of life in facto- 

 ries not protected by automatic sprinklers. 



In spite of these well-known facts the application of this safeguard to vessels 

 has only just begun, the delay doubtless being due to the additional expense of a 

 sprinkler system, there being no direct return on the investment. The estimated 

 cost of a sprinkler equipment on shipboard, exclusive of the pumps and tanks, 

 would be about $4 per sprinkler, these being spaced about 10 feet apart, each one 

 protecting 100 square feet. 



The automatic sprinkler is in principle a J^ -inch globe valve having a soldered 

 link or strut to hold the valve disc tight on its seat against water under pressure 

 in the pipe system. The sprinklers are located near the ceiling and spaced about 

 10 feet apart. In event of fire the solder melts, releasing the valve cap, and water 

 is distributed all around in a dense spray. Where the compartment is not heated 

 in winter, as in storehouses or the holds of vessels, the pipe system is maintained 

 under air pressure at about 35 pounds, a special device, termed a dry-pipe valve, 

 being installed in the main supply pipe in a heated enclosure to hold back the water 

 until fire opens a sprinkler, when the valve trips and water is permitted to flow into 

 the system. 



On shipboard the water can be maintained under pressure by continued slow 

 operation of the steam fire pump, using an automatic governor or a large tank 

 nearly filled with water with air above kept under pressure by intermittent opera- 

 tion of a small air pump, the fire pump to be started as soon after discovery of fire 

 as possible. 



The limited capacity of the pressure tank and the possibility of the air pres- 

 sure lowering are sources of weakness, but it seems entirely feasible to overcome 

 these on large ocean liners by the use of a gravity supply by providing a tank built 

 in the form of an extra funnel. For steamers with several funnels, large water- 

 jackets could be fitted to them to provide the supply. 



There are a number of coastwise, sound and lake steamers already fitted with 

 sprinkler systems, and several ocean liners have partial systems. The steel steamer 

 Alabama operating on Lake Michigan has automatic sprinklers on the dry-pipe 

 system in the holds and passenger and crew quarters. There are 300 sprinklers 

 in all, each of those in the holds covering from 80 to 120 square feet, and one 

 being installed in each inner stateroom and a number in the hallways, stairways, 

 locker spaces, etc. Sprinklers were not provided in the outer staterooms as these 

 are more accessible for the use of hose streams and other appliances. 



There are two 25^-inch hose connections on the main deck with 200 feet of 

 2j/^-inch hose and fifty ij^-inch hose connections with 2,500 feet of ij4-inchhose 

 distributed over the several other decks. In the engine-room there are the follow- 

 ing steam pumps: i duplex, 600 gallons capacity; i fire engine duplex, 1,200 

 gallons; 2 single, 180 gallons; 3 feed, 390 gallons; the total capacity being 3,330 

 gallons per minute. On the forecastle deck there is a hand deck and fire pump of 

 50 gallons capacity. 



